skip to main content


Search for: All records

Creators/Authors contains: "Masoumi, Saeed"

Note: When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
What is a DOI Number?

Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.

  1. null (Ed.)
  2. Abstract

    Geopolymers, as a potentially environmentally friendly alternative to Portland cement, are increasingly attracting attention in the construction industry. Various methods have been applied for customizing the properties of geopolymers and improving their commercial viability. One of the promising methods for refining the properties of geopolymers such as their toughness is the use of short fibers. The effectiveness of a high‐strength short fiber in the geopolymer matrix is largely dependent on the interfacial bonding between the fiber and its surrounding matrix. While the importance of this interfacial chemistry is highlighted in the literature, the characteristics of this bonding structure have not been fully understood. In this paper, we aim to investigate the bonding mechanism between the carbon fiber and metakaolin‐based geopolymer matrix. For the first time, the existence and nature of the chemical bonding at the interfacial region (interphase) between carbon fiber and geopolymer matrix has been revealed. X‐ray pair distribution function computed tomography (PDF‐CT), field emission‐scanning electron microscopy imaging, and nanoindentation techniques are employed to discern the chemo‐mechanical properties of the interphase. PDF‐CT results show the emergence of a new atom–atom correlation at the interfacial region (around 1.82 Å). This correlation is a characteristic of interfacial bonding between the fiber and its surrounding matrix, where the existence of chemical linkages (potentiallyVAl‐O‐C) between fibers and the matrix contributes to the adhesion between the two constituents making up the composite. Due to such chemical bonding, the nanomechanical properties of the interfacial region fall between that of the carbon fiber and geopolymer. The combination of advanced techniques is proved useful for enhancing our understanding of the interfacial chemistry between fibers and the binding matrix. This level of knowledge facilitates the engineering of composite systems through the manipulation of their nanostructure.

     
    more » « less
  3. Abstract

    Calcium‐silicate‐hydrates (C–S–H) gel, the main binding phase in cementitious materials, has a complex multiscale texture. Despite decades of intensive research, the relation between C–S–H's chemical composition and mesoscale texture remains experimentally limited to probe and theoretically elusive to comprehend. While the nanogranular texture explains a wide range of experimental observations, understanding the fundamental processes that control particles’ size and shape are still obscure. This paper strives to establish a link between the chemistry of C–S–H nanolayers at the molecular level and formation of C–S–H globules at the mesoscale via the potential‐of‐mean‐force (PMF) coarse‐graining approach. We propose a new thermomechanical load‐cycling scheme that effectively packs polydisperse coarse‐grained nanolayers and creates representative C–S–H gel structures at various packing densities. We find that the C–S–H nanolayers percolate at ~10% packing fraction, significantly below the percolation of ideal hard contact oblate particles and rather close to that of overlapping ellipsoids. The agglomeration of C–S–H nanolayers leads to the formation of globular clusters with the effective thickness of ~5 nm, in striking agreement with small angle neutron and X‐ray scattering measurements as well as nanoscale imaging observations. The study of pore structure and local packing distribution in the course of densification shows a transition from a connected pore network to isolated nanoporosity. Furthermore, the calculated mechanical properties are in excellent agreement with statistical nanoindentation experiments, positioning nanolayered morphology as a finer description of C–S–H globule models. Such high‐resolution description becomes indispensable when investigating phenomena that involve internal building blocks of globules such as shrinkage and creep.

     
    more » « less