Although concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials, it is characterized by substantially low tensile strength in comparison to its compression strength, and the occurrence of cracks is unavoidable. In addition, cracks progress due to environmental conditions including damage by freezing, neutralization, and salt, etc. Moreover, detrimental damage can occur in concrete structures due to the permeation of deteriorating elements such as Cl− and CO2. Meanwhile, under an environment in which moisture is being supplied and if the width of the crack is small, a phenomenon of self-healing, in which a portion of the crack is filled in due to the rehydration of the cement particles and precipitation of CaCO3, is been confirmed. In this study, cracks in cementitious composite materials are effectively dispersed using synthetic fibers, and for cracks with a width of more than 0.1 mm, a review of the optimal self-healing conditions is conducted along with the review of a diverse range of self-healing performance factors. As a result, it was confirmed that the effective restoration of watertightness through the production of the majority of self-healing products was achieved by CaCO3 and the use of synthetic fibers with polarity, along with the effect of inducing a multiple number of hairline cracks. In addition, it was confirmed that the self-healing conditions of saturated Ca(OH)2 solution, which supplied CO2 micro-bubbles, displayed the most effective self-healing performance in the surface and internal sections of the cracks.

The aim of this study was to develop a technique for the complete recycling of concrete based on microwave heating of surface modification coarse aggregate (SMCA) with only inorganic materials such as cement and pozzolanic materials (silica fume, fly ash). The mechanical properties of SMCA, which was produced using original coarse aggregate (OCA) and inorganic admixtures, as well as its separation from the cement matrix and recovery performance were quantitatively assessed. The experimental results showed that micro structural reinforcement of the interfacial transition zone, which is a weak part of concrete, by coating the surface of the OCA with cement and admixtures such as pozzolanic materials can help suppress the occurrence of micro-cracks and improve the mechanical performance of the OCA. Microwave heating was observed to cause micro-cracking and hydrate decomposition. Increasing the void volume and weakening the hydrated cement paste led to the effective recovery of recycled coarse aggregate.

In this study, a quantitative review was performed on the mechanical performance, permeation resistance of concrete, and durability of surface-modified coarse aggregates (SMCA) produced using low-quality recycled coarse aggregates, the surface of which was modified using a fine inorganic powder. The shear bond strength was first measured experimentally and the interface between the SMCA and the cement matrix was observed with field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that a reinforcement of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ), a weak part of the concrete, by coating the surface of the original coarse aggregate with surface-modification material, can help suppress the occurrence of microcracks and improve the mechanical performance of the aggregate. Also, the use of low-quality recycled coarse aggregates, the surfaces of which were modified using inorganic materials, resulted in improved strength, permeability, and durability of concrete. These results are thought to be due to the enhanced adhesion between the recycled coarse aggregates and the cement matrix, which resulted from the improved ITZ in the interface between a coarse aggregate and the cement matrix.

Recently, there has been increased use of calcium-nitrite and calcium-nitrate as the main components of chloride- and alkali-free anti-freezing agents to promote concrete hydration in cold weather concreting. As the amount of nitrite/nitrate-based accelerators increases, the hydration of tricalcium aluminate (C3A phase) and tricalcium silicate (C3S phase) in cement is accelerated, thereby improving the early strength of cement and effectively preventing initial frost damage. Nitrite/nitrate-based accelerators are used in larger amounts than usual in low temperature areas below −10 °C. However, the correlation between the hydration process and strength development in concrete containing considerable nitrite/nitrate-based accelerators remains to be clearly identified. In this study, the hydrate composition (via X-ray diffraction and nuclear magnetic resonance), pore structures (via mercury intrusion porosimetry), and crystal form (via scanning electron microscopy) were determined, and investigations were performed to elucidate the effect of nitrite/nitrate-based accelerators on the initial strength development and hydrate formation of cement. Nitrite/nitrate-AFm (aluminate-ferret-monosulfate; AFm) was produced in addition to ettringite at the initial stage of hydration of cement by adding a nitrite/nitrate-based accelerator. The amount of the hydrates was attributed to an increase in the absolute amounts of NO2− and NO3− ions reacting with Al2O3 in the tricalcium aluminate (C3A phase). Further, by effectively filling the pores, it greatly contributed to the enhancement of the strength of the hardened cement product, and the degree of the contribution tended to increase with the amount of addition. On the other hand, in addition to the occurrence of cracks due to the release of a large amount of heat of hydration, the amount of expansion and contraction may increase, and it is considered necessary to adjust the amount used for each concrete work.

No abstract