FOŘT, Jan, Jiří ŠÁL, Martin BÖHM, María Jesús MORALES-CONDE, Manuel Alejandro PEDREÑO-ROJAS and Robert ČERNÝ. Microstructure formation of cement mortars modified by superabsorbent polymers. Polymers. Basel, Switzerland: MDPI, vol. 13, No 20, p. 1-17, 18 pp. ISSN 2073-4360. 2021.
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Basic information
Original name Microstructure formation of cement mortars modified by superabsorbent polymers
Authors FOŘT, Jan (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution), Jiří ŠÁL (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution), Martin BÖHM, María Jesús MORALES-CONDE, Manuel Alejandro PEDREÑO-ROJAS and Robert ČERNÝ.
Edition Polymers, Basel, Switzerland, MDPI, 2021, 2073-4360.
Other information
Original language English
Type of outcome Article in a journal
Field of Study 20505 Composites
Country of publisher Switzerland
Confidentiality degree is not subject to a state or trade secret
WWW URL
RIV identification code RIV/75081431:_____/21:00002200
Organization unit Institute of Technology and Business in České Budějovice
Keywords in English Cement mortar; Mechanical strength; Porosity; Scanning electron microscopy; Shrinkage; Superabsorbent polymer
Tags KST3, RIV21, SCOPUS
Changed by Changed by: Mgr. Nikola Petříková, učo 28324. Changed: 16/11/2021 09:50.
Abstract
The utilization of superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) in cement-based materials has been found to be a promising means of mitigating the autogenous propagation of shrinkage and cracks. On the other hand, the undesired effects of SAPs’ application on functional properties, including mechanical strength, microstructure formation, and the evolution of hydration heat are not properly understood, given the variety in SAPs’ characteristics. To contribute to the present state-of-the-art, cement mortars, modified with two grades of SAPs by dosages of 0.3%, 0.6%, and 0.9%, were designed and studied with emphasis on the relationship between the materials’ porosities and mechanical strengths. The obtained results are interpreted by scanning electron microscopy analysis and hydration heat evolution to elucidate the major changes and their driving factors. Besides the benefits associated with the mitigation of autogenous shrinkage, the achieved results point to an adverse effect of supplementation with SAP on mechanical strength at an early age, and an even more pronounced increase at a later age. The employed scanning electron microscopy images, together with mercury-intrusion porosimetry data, depict distortion in the material porosity as a result of the filling of formed voids and the closing of open ends by swelled hydrogels. Only the minor benefit of a greater cross-linking density was obtained by the formation of dense structures and the gains in mechanical strength therefrom.
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