Strain hardening magnesium-silicate-hydrate composites (SHMSHC) reinforced with short and randomly oriented polyvinyl alcohol microfibers

Sonat, C., He, S., Li, J., Unluer, C. and Yang, E.-H. (2021) Strain hardening magnesium-silicate-hydrate composites (SHMSHC) reinforced with short and randomly oriented polyvinyl alcohol microfibers. Cement and Concrete Research, 142, 106354. (doi: 10.1016/j.cemconres.2021.106354)

Abstract

Magnesium-silicate-hydrate (M-S-H) cement has emerged as an alternative binder with potentially lower energy requirements and emissions. Due to the intrinsically low pH values of its matrix, however, normal steel reinforcement is not appropriate for M-S-H system. To toughen the matrix and to overcome the brittle nature of the material, a new strain hardening magnesium-silicate-hydrate composite (SHMSHC) is developed for the first time by incorporating 2 vol% short and randomly oriented polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) microfibers. The resulting SHMSHC exhibits significant strain hardening with a tensile strain capacity of more than 3%, a compressive strength beyond 50 MPa and a tensile strength of around 3 MPa. Remarkably, saturated multiple cracking with a tight crack width less than 10 μm invisible to the human naked eyes was observed. The newly developed SHMSHC addresses the fundamental challenge of M-S-H binder and is expected to widen possible application areas of M-S-H system.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Singapore MOE Academic Research Fund Tier 2 (MOE2017-T2-1-087 (S)).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Unluer, Dr Cise

Creator Roles

Unluer, C.: Resources, Methodology, Writing – review and editing, Supervision

• Authors: Sonat, C., He, S., Li, J., Unluer, C., and Yang, E.-H.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Infrastructure and Environment
• Journal Name: Cement and Concrete Research
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0008-8846
• ISSN (Online): 1873-3948
• Published Online: 16 January 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 Elsevier
• First Published: First published in Cement and Concrete Research 142:106354
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher