Cement Pastes with Hygroscopic Polymeric Additions for Potential Building Applications
The development of highly predictive analysis for designing cementitious composite with improved thermal and hygroscopic performance for building and construction poses a significant challenge. To investigate new potential applications, cement pastes have been prepared using a cement, sand, and crys...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/2/853 |
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| author | Rosa Di Maggio Gianluca Maracchini Oscar Cotini Rossano Albatici |
| author_facet | Rosa Di Maggio Gianluca Maracchini Oscar Cotini Rossano Albatici |
| author_sort | Rosa Di Maggio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The development of highly predictive analysis for designing cementitious composite with improved thermal and hygroscopic performance for building and construction poses a significant challenge. To investigate new potential applications, cement pastes have been prepared using a cement, sand, and crystallization admixture, with highly hygroscopic polymer additions (SA-PA) of sodium polyacrylate and/or recycled polyamide fibers. The porosity evolution was investigated at different curing stages and after heat treatment at 200 °C, the temperature at which the paste dehydrates quickly without structural changes. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic shear tests, thermal conductivity, and diffusivity measurements were carried out on the cement pastes to assess their microstructure. The behavior of the cement pastes varied with polymer additions and thermal treatments; ka<sup>−0.5</sup> must be maximized in heat storage applications, where a and k are thermal diffusivity and conductivity, respectively. In contrast, the product a<sup>0.5</sup>k<sup>−1</sup> must be maximized in energy-efficient insulation. Cement pastes with SA-PA exhibited the highest values of both 9.191 10<sup>2</sup> m<sup>−2</sup> K<sup>−1</sup> s<sup>0.5</sup> W and 1.088 10<sup>−3</sup> m<sup>2</sup> K s<sup>−0.5</sup> W<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. After the thermal treatment at 200 °C, SA-PA samples maintained the highest heat-storing performance of 6.258 10<sup>2</sup> m<sup>−2</sup> K<sup>−1</sup> s<sup>0.5</sup> W, while the samples with SA-PA and polyamide fibers performed better in energy-efficient insulation, demonstrating performance of 2.552 10<sup>−3</sup> m<sup>2</sup> K s<sup>−0.5</sup> W<sup>−1</sup>. These results, discussed in terms of pore size distribution, suggest potential applications in the building field and are valuable for designing plaster and concrete for applications such as thermal and hygroscopic control. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:57:33Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-2411fd14d926427bb26b7d304d6daf7c2024-01-29T13:45:21ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-01-0114285310.3390/app14020853Cement Pastes with Hygroscopic Polymeric Additions for Potential Building ApplicationsRosa Di Maggio0Gianluca Maracchini1Oscar Cotini2Rossano Albatici3Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano, 77, 38123 Trento, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano, 77, 38123 Trento, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano, 77, 38123 Trento, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano, 77, 38123 Trento, ItalyThe development of highly predictive analysis for designing cementitious composite with improved thermal and hygroscopic performance for building and construction poses a significant challenge. To investigate new potential applications, cement pastes have been prepared using a cement, sand, and crystallization admixture, with highly hygroscopic polymer additions (SA-PA) of sodium polyacrylate and/or recycled polyamide fibers. The porosity evolution was investigated at different curing stages and after heat treatment at 200 °C, the temperature at which the paste dehydrates quickly without structural changes. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic shear tests, thermal conductivity, and diffusivity measurements were carried out on the cement pastes to assess their microstructure. The behavior of the cement pastes varied with polymer additions and thermal treatments; ka<sup>−0.5</sup> must be maximized in heat storage applications, where a and k are thermal diffusivity and conductivity, respectively. In contrast, the product a<sup>0.5</sup>k<sup>−1</sup> must be maximized in energy-efficient insulation. Cement pastes with SA-PA exhibited the highest values of both 9.191 10<sup>2</sup> m<sup>−2</sup> K<sup>−1</sup> s<sup>0.5</sup> W and 1.088 10<sup>−3</sup> m<sup>2</sup> K s<sup>−0.5</sup> W<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. After the thermal treatment at 200 °C, SA-PA samples maintained the highest heat-storing performance of 6.258 10<sup>2</sup> m<sup>−2</sup> K<sup>−1</sup> s<sup>0.5</sup> W, while the samples with SA-PA and polyamide fibers performed better in energy-efficient insulation, demonstrating performance of 2.552 10<sup>−3</sup> m<sup>2</sup> K s<sup>−0.5</sup> W<sup>−1</sup>. These results, discussed in terms of pore size distribution, suggest potential applications in the building field and are valuable for designing plaster and concrete for applications such as thermal and hygroscopic control.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/2/853pore size distributionsuperabsorbent polyacrylatepolyamide fibersthermal propertieseco-friendly retrofitting |
| spellingShingle | Rosa Di Maggio Gianluca Maracchini Oscar Cotini Rossano Albatici Cement Pastes with Hygroscopic Polymeric Additions for Potential Building Applications Applied Sciences pore size distribution superabsorbent polyacrylate polyamide fibers thermal properties eco-friendly retrofitting |
| title | Cement Pastes with Hygroscopic Polymeric Additions for Potential Building Applications |
| title_full | Cement Pastes with Hygroscopic Polymeric Additions for Potential Building Applications |
| title_fullStr | Cement Pastes with Hygroscopic Polymeric Additions for Potential Building Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cement Pastes with Hygroscopic Polymeric Additions for Potential Building Applications |
| title_short | Cement Pastes with Hygroscopic Polymeric Additions for Potential Building Applications |
| title_sort | cement pastes with hygroscopic polymeric additions for potential building applications |
| topic | pore size distribution superabsorbent polyacrylate polyamide fibers thermal properties eco-friendly retrofitting |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/2/853 |
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