Densification of the interlayer spacing governs the nanomechanical properties of calcium-silicate-hydrate

High-Temperature Gaseous Reaction of Cesium with Siliceous Thermal Insulation: The Potential Implication to the Provenance of Enigmatic Fukushima Cesium-Bearing Material

Here, we report an investigation of the gas-solid reaction between cesium hydroxide (CsOH) and siliceous (calcium silicate) thermal insulation at high temperature, which is postulated as the origin for the formation mechanism of cesium-bearing material emitted from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. A developed reaction furnace consisting of two heating compartments was used to study the reaction at temperatures of 873, 973, and 1073 K. Under the influence of hydrogen-steam atmospheric conditions (H₂/H₂O = 0.2), the reaction between cesium hydroxide vapor and solid thermal insulation was confirmed to occur at temperatures of 973 and 1073 K with the formation of dicalcium silicate (Ca₂SiO₄) and cesium aluminum silicate (CsAlSiO₄). Water-dissolution analyses of the reaction products have demonstrated their stability, in particular, CsAlSiO₄. Constituent similarity of the field-observed cesium-bearing materials near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants with CsAlSiO₄ suggests for the first time that gaseous reaction between CsOH with calcium silicate thermal insulation could be one of the original formation mechanisms of the cesium-bearing materials.

Structure modeling and quantitative X-ray diffraction of C-(A)-S-H

Quantitative X-ray diffraction of nanocrystalline calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and its aluminium-substituted variants (C-A-S-H) has so far been limited by a lack of appropriate structure models. In this study, atomistic structure models derived from tobermorite were combined with a supercell approach using TOPAS. By accounting for nanostructural features such as isolated layers, turbostratic disorder and, for the first time, fibrils, characteristic reflections and asymmetric bands were more accurately simulated than before, providing the means for phase quantification and refinement of structural sites. This improved methodology is applied to autoclaved aerated concrete and the experimental study of related hydrothermal reactions. Scanning electron microscopy indicated a fibrillar morphology for intermediate C-(A)-S-H, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy constrained its Ca/Si ratio to 1.31-1.35. As a first step, the direct quantification of C-(A)-S-H via structure models was assessed by a series of X-ray diffraction measurements using corundum as an internal standard. Secondly, the verified structure model was applied to evaluate in situ X-ray diffraction experiments at 457, 466 and 473 K (1.1, 1.35 and 1.55 MPa, respectively). Finally, a quantitative study of industrially produced autoclaved aerated concrete was conducted, determining 20-30 wt% C-(A)-S-H at Ca/Si ratios < 1.0. In general, the developed structure models advance the study of Portland cement concrete and related materials, including autoclaved aerated concrete, and the supercell approach may be universally applicable to other nanocrystalline materials.

The physics of cement cohesion

Cement is the most produced material in the world. A major player in greenhouse gas emissions, it is the main binding agent in concrete, providing a cohesive strength that rapidly increases during setting. Understanding how such cohesion emerges is a major obstacle to advances in cement science and technology. Here, we combine computational statistical mechanics and theory to demonstrate how cement cohesion arises from the organization of interlocked ions and water, progressively confined in nanoslits between charged surfaces of calcium-silicate-hydrates. Because of the water/ions interlocking, dielectric screening is drastically reduced and ionic correlations are proven notably stronger than previously thought, dictating the evolution of nanoscale interactions during cement hydration. By developing a quantitative analytical prediction of cement cohesion based on Coulombic forces, we reconcile a fundamental understanding of cement hydration with the fully atomistic description of the solid cement paste and open new paths for scientific design of construction materials.

Elucidating the constitutive relationship of calcium-silicate-hydrate gel using high throughput reactive molecular simulations and machine learning

Prediction of material behavior using machine learning (ML) requires consistent, accurate, and, representative large data for training. However, such consistent and reliable experimental datasets are not always available for materials. To address this challenge, we synergistically integrate ML with high-throughput reactive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to elucidate the constitutive relationship of calcium–silicate–hydrate (C–S–H) gel—the primary binding phase in concrete formed via the hydration of ordinary portland cement. Specifically, a highly consistent dataset on the nine elastic constants of more than 300 compositions of C–S–H gel is developed using high-throughput reactive simulations. From a comparative analysis of various ML algorithms including neural networks (NN) and Gaussian process (GP), we observe that NN provides excellent predictions. To interpret the predicted results from NN, we employ SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP), which reveals that the influence of silicate network on all the elastic constants of C–S–H is significantly higher than that of water and CaO content. Additionally, the water content is found to have a more prominent influence on the shear components than the normal components along the direction of the interlayer spaces within C–S–H. This result suggests that the in-plane elastic response is controlled by water molecules whereas the transverse response is mainly governed by the silicate network. Overall, by seamlessly integrating MD simulations with ML, this paper can be used as a starting point toward accelerated optimization of C–S–H nanostructures to design efficient cementitious binders with targeted properties.

Mechanical behavior and phase change of alkali-silica reaction products under hydrostatic compression

Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) causes severe degradation of concrete. The mechanical property of the ASR product is fundamental to the multiscale modeling of concrete behavior over the long term. Despite years of study, there is a lack of consensus regarding the structure and elastic modulus of the ASR product. Here, ASR products from both degraded field infrastructures and laboratory synthesis were investigated using high-pressure X-ray diffraction. The results unveiled the multiphase and metastable nature of ASR products from the field. The dominant phase undergoes permanent phase change via collapsing of the interlayer region and in-planar glide of the main layer, under pressure >2 GPa. The bulk moduli of the low- and high-pressure polymorphs are 27±3 and 46±3 GPa, respectively. The laboratory-synthesized sample and the minor phase in the field samples undergo no changes of phase during compression. Their bulk moduli are 35±2 and 76±4 GPa, respectively. The results provide the first atomistic-scale measurement of the mechanical property of crystalline ASR products.

The Atomic-Level Structure of Cementitious Calcium Aluminate Silicate Hydrate

Despite use of blended cements containing significant amounts of aluminum for over 30 years, the structural nature of aluminum in the main hydration product, calcium aluminate silicate hydrate (C-A-S-H), remains elusive. Using first-principles calculations, we predict that aluminum is incorporated into the bridging sites of the linear silicate chains and that at high Ca:Si and H₂O ratios, the stable coordination number of aluminum is six. Specifically, we predict that silicate-bridging [AlO₂(OH)₄]^5- complexes are favored, stabilized by hydroxyl ligands and charge balancing calcium ions in the interlayer space. This structure is then confirmed experimentally by one- and two-dimensional dynamic nuclear polarization enhanced ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si solid-state NMR experiments. We notably assign a narrow ²⁷Al NMR signal at 5 ppm to the silicate-bridging [AlO₂(OH)₄]^5- sites and show that this signal correlates to ²⁹Si NMR signals from silicates in C-A-S-H, conflicting with its conventional assignment to a "third aluminate hydrate" (TAH) phase. We therefore conclude that TAH does not exist. This resolves a long-standing dilemma about the location and nature of the six-fold-coordinated aluminum observed by ²⁷Al NMR in C-A-S-H samples.

Arsenic removal by copper-impregnated natural mineral tufa part II: a kinetics and column adsorption study

This batch and column kinetics study of arsenic removal utilized copper-impregnated natural mineral tufa (T-Cu(A-C)) under three ranges of particle size. Non-competitive kinetic data fitted by the Weber-Morris model and the single resistance mass transfer model, i.e., mass transfer coefficient k_fa and diffusion coefficient (D_eff) determination, defined intra-particle diffusion as the dominating rate controlling step. Kinetic activation parameters, derived from pseudo-second-order rate constants, showed low dependence on adsorbent geometry/morphology and porosity, while the diffusivity of the pores was significant to removal efficacy. The results of competitive arsenic adsorption in a multi-component system of phosphate, chromate, or silicate showed effective arsenic removal using T-Cu adsorbents. The high adsorption rate-pseudo-second-order constants in the range 0.509-0.789 g mg^-1 min^-1 for As(V) and 0.304-0.532 g mg¹ min¹ for As(III)-justified further application T-Cu(A-C) in a flow system. The fixed-bed column adsorption data was fitted using empirical Bohart-Adams, Yoon-Nelson, Thomas, and dose-response models to indicate capacities and breakthrough time dependence on arsenic influent concentration and the flow rate. Pore surface diffusion modeling (PSDM), following bed-column testing, further determined adsorbent capacities and mass transport under applied hydraulic loading rates.

A Review of Durability and Strength Characteristics of Alkali-Activated Slag Concrete

Alkali-activated slag (AAS) is a promising alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) as sole binder for reinforced concrete structures. OPC is reportedly responsible for over 5% of the global CO₂ emission. In addition, slag is an industrial by-product that must be land-filled if not re-used. Therefore, it has been studied by many investigators as environmentally friendly replacement of OPC. In addition to recycling, AAS offers favorable properties to concrete such as rapid development of compressive strength and high resistance to sulfate attack. Some of the potential shortcomings of AAS include high shrinkage, short setting time, and high rate of carbonation. Using ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) as an alternative to OPC requires its activation with high alkalinity compounds such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sodium sulfate (Na₂SO₃), sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃), or combination of these compounds such as NaOH and Na₂SO₃. The mechanism of alkali-activation is still not fully understood and further research is required. This paper overviews the properties, advantages, and potential shortcomings of AAS concrete.

Nanoscale origins of creep in calcium silicate hydrates

The time-dependent response of structural materials dominates our aging infrastructure's life expectancy and has important resilience implications. For calcium-silicate-hydrates, the glue of cement, nanoscale mechanisms underlying time-dependent phenomena are complex and remain poorly understood. This complexity originates in part from the inherent difficulty in studying nanoscale longtime phenomena in atomistic simulations. Herein, we propose a three-staged incremental stress-marching technique to overcome such limitations. The first stage unravels a stretched exponential relaxation, which is ubiquitous in glassy systems. When fully relaxed, the material behaves viscoelastically upon further loading, which is described by the standard solid model. By progressively increasing the interlayer water, the time-dependent response of calcium-silicate-hydrates exhibits a transition from viscoelastic to logarithmic creep. These findings bridge the gap between atomistic simulations and nanomechanical experimental measurements and pave the way for the design of reduced aging construction materials and other disordered systems such as metallic and oxide glasses.

Insights into the interfacial strengthening mechanisms of calcium-silicate-hydrate/polymer nanocomposites

The mechanical properties of organic/inorganic composites can be highly dependent on the interfacial interactions. In this work, with organic polymers intercalated into the interlayer of inorganic calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), the primary binding phase of Portland cement, great ductility improvement is obtained for the nanocomposites. Employing reactive molecular dynamics, the simulation results indicate that strong interfacial interactions between the polymers and the substrate contribute greatly to strengthening the materials, when C-S-H/poly ethylene glycol (PEG), C-S-H/poly acrylic acid (PAA), and C-S-H/poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) were subject to uniaxial tension along different lattice directions. In the x and z direction tensile processes, the Si-OCa bonds of the C-S-H gel, which were elongated and broken to form Si-OH and Ca-OH, play a critical role in loading resistance, while the incorporation of polymers bridged the neighboring silicate sheets, and activated more the hydrolytic reactions at the interfaces to avoid strain localization, thus increasing the tensile strength and postponing the fracture. On the other hand, Si-O-Si bonds of C-S-H mainly take the load when tension was applied along the y direction. During the post-yield stage, rearrangements of silicate tetrahedra occurred to prevent rapid damage. The polymer intercalation further elongates this post-yield period by forming interfacial Si-O-C bonds, which promote rearrangements and improve the connectivity of the defective silicate morphology, significantly improving the ductility. Among the polymers, PEG exhibits the strongest interaction with C-S-H, and thus C-S-H/PEG possesses the highest ductility. We expect that the molecular-scale mechanisms interpreted here will shed new light on the stress-activated chemical interactions at the organic/inorganic interfaces, and help eliminate the brittleness of cement-based materials on a genetic level.

Effects of CO2 and temperature on the structure and chemistry of C–(A–)S–H investigated by Raman spectroscopy

Calcium (alumino)silicate hydrate (C–(A–)S–H) is the critical binding phase in modern Portland cement-based concrete, yet the relationship between its structure and stoichiometry is not completely understood.