ADHCEM · ADHESION AS A TOOL FOR IN-BUILT NANOTECHNOLOGY IN CEMENT-BASED MATERIALS
FP7 — People (Marie Curie Actions)
- Duration
- 2010-01-01 → 2011-12-31
- EU contribution
- €181,351
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MC-IIF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Adhesion as a tool for In-built nanotechnology in Cement-based Materials
1. FINAL PUBLISHABLE SUMMARY REPORT The main objective of this project was to develop cement-based materials by exploring their nanotechnology, especially in terms of the confined water associated with the nano-scale structure. This involved several tasks: (1) Study the adhesive interaction of the nanoparticle cement constituents to evaluate the effect on bending strength; (2) Focus on the incorporation of adhesive molecules which could affect the confined water (3) Characterise the adhesion to understand and define the new compositions and processes invented in the project. Scanning probe microscopy (AFM) and computer modeling will be the main methods, together with electron microscopy. (4) Transfer this new knowledge to Brazil where such applications will be needed to develop the future generations of cementitious materials. After considering the wide range of possible materials to be studied, magnesium oxide, alumina and silica were selected as suitable model materials in the project. Theory of the interactions between MgO nanoparticles in water with the addition of small quantities of contaminant molecules was developed with Dr Chin Yong at Daresbury Laboratory and Dr Aman Dhir/Prof Kevin Kendall in Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham. The results were published in the paper'Mechanics of adhesion hrough nanolayers of liquid, K Kendall, H. Rossetto, A. Dhir and C. W. Yong, J Adhesion 88 (2012) 108'. The first calculations showed the effect of inert gas like xenon on the adhesion of a nanoparticle to a surface. The xenon atoms formed layers which had to be squeezed out of the way as the adhesion process occurred. With water separating the nanoparticle from the surface, the oscillations were pronounced. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was used to detect these predicted forces but oscillations were not seen, probably because the probe was not sufficiently stiff. But oscillations were detected with larger molecules on the surface. Both gold nanoparticles and polyacrylic acid molecules gave oscillatory force behaviour.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The global cement industry produces 2.8 billion tones of product plus 1bn tones of CO2 and is increasing at 5% per annum, especially in developing nations. This is one of the largest CO2 producing industries which needs to improve the efficiency of its product to reduce global impact. Yet the understanding of the fundamental binding forces in cement is not clear. This project aims to study the nano-scale forces operating between the cement gel particles in order to produce more effective cement products, provided there is much of interest in linking phenomena occurring at the nano-scale with engineering performance at the macro-scale. The fellow’s expertise on the forces involved between nanoparticles with structured water on their surface will give an important insight in how to use the adhesive potential of water in cement-based materials. This should allow the designing of suitable cementitious microstructures containing nanometric particles, at present a very difficult task. Indeed, this is the first time that these interdisciplinary ideas of adhesion by confined water will be systematically explored in cement-based materials, including those used as biomaterials. To do so, this project will bring together the interdisciplinary concepts and techniques from nanoscience with examples from bioadhesion to define radical changes and applications. Ultimately, this project is timely and relevant because the European leading companies (cement-based service providers or manufacturers – four out of the world top five cement producers are European) are being pushed to offer sustainable materials as well as best mechanically tailored ones. The scientific benefit will be defined by the high quality papers submitted to leading academic adhesion and nanoscience journals. In turn, societal benefit will be gained by exporting the results to emerging countries where the economic development model needs urgently to respect the sustainability.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM · BirminghamCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union