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Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of CaSO4 Whisker Reinforced Cement Mortar

  • Cementitious materials
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Abstract

Calcium sulfate whisker (CaSO4 whiskers), a new type of microfiber material, was used in cement matrix to increase the strength of the cement based composites. Effect of CaSO4 whiskers on the mechanical properties of the resulting cement mortar was also studied. The results showed that the flexural strength and compressive strength of the mortar specimen was improved as high as 28.3% and 8.5% by incorporating 5 wt% CaSO4 whiskers. Also, the chemical composition and structural transformation of the hardened cement matrix with CaSO4 whiskers were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Conclusion can be drawn that CaSO4 whiskers can effectively retard the formation and restrict the coalescence of micro-crack expansion. The interaction mechanism of CaSO4 whisker on the reinforcement is mainly on three aspects: whisker pullout, crack deflection, and crack bridging. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests have confirmed that for 28 d cement mortar, the harmless pores increased from 9.33% to 10.62%, and the harmful pores decreased from 2.08% to 1.90%. Therefore, the whisker can optimize the pore size distribution of the resulting cement mortar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Jianghai Polytechnic College, Yangzhou, 225101, China

    Lianjian Wan  (万连建)

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Yangzhou Polytechnic College, Yangzhou, 225009, China

    Ruizhi Pan  (潘锐之)

  3. College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212000, China

    Jun Xu

Authors
  1. Lianjian Wan  (万连建)
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  2. Ruizhi Pan  (潘锐之)
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  3. Jun Xu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ruizhi Pan  (潘锐之).

Additional information

Funded by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (No.2015AA034701) and the Research Innovation Program for College Graduates of Jiangsu Province (No. KYLX16_0588)

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Wan, L., Pan, R. & Xu, J. Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of CaSO4 Whisker Reinforced Cement Mortar. J. Wuhan Univ. Technol.-Mat. Sci. Edit. 34, 1170–1176 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-019-2174-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-019-2174-z

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