Improving the strength and microstructure of reactive magnesia based concrete blocks

• Main Author: Pu, Liyun
• Other Authors: Cise Unluer
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Civil engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/88537; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/47622
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This study focuses on reactive magnesium oxide (MgO) cements which has lower energy requirements and CO2 emissions compared to common Portland cement. A very limited amount of work has been reported on the carbonation degree, performance and durability of MgO cement concrete under various conditions. The main goal of this research is to (i) enhance the carbonation, mechanical performance and microstructural development of MgO cement concrete containing different additives, (ii) evaluate the stability of the formed phases under various conditions involving high temperatures and aggressive environments, and (iii) provide a comparison between commercial and lab scale blocks in terms of performance and microstructure. In all studies, the performance and microstructure of reactive MgO cement were investigated by various methods. The presented findings did not only facilitate the understanding and controlling of the properties that affect the performance and microstructure of MgO cement-based mixes, but also demonstrated the potential of commercial MgO cement-based concrete.