http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35200 2026-04-10T11:40:31Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194594 Title: Modelling the effect of the water evaporation rate on total shrinkage of blended cement concrete Authors: Lin, HNN; Nguyen, QD; Castel, A Abstract: <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Concrete shrinkage is a key factor affecting the serviceability and durability of bridge structures, particularly in elements such as decks, girders, and piers where restrained shrinkage can lead to cracking and long-term performance issues. The incorporation of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), such as fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), significantly influences shrinkage behaviour. In addition, environmental conditions commonly encountered on bridge construction sites—such as elevated temperature, low relative humidity, and wind—can accelerate moisture loss, increasing the risk of shrinkage-induced cracking. This study investigates the total shrinkage of nine concrete mixes with 28-day compressive strengths ranging from 30 to 70 MPa, incorporating binder compositions of 30% fly ash, 40% slag, and 60% slag. Specimens were exposed to controlled environmental conditions to quantify the effects of temperature, humidity, and wind on shrinkage development. Based on experimental results, a new predictive model is proposed to estimate total shrinkage under harsh “field conditions” from shrinkage measured or calculated under standard laboratory conditions (23°C and 50% relative humidity). The results indicate that shrinkage under harsh conditions initially increases to a peak before gradually converging to standard-condition values at a defined “merging time.” While binder composition had only a marginal effect on this trend, compressive strength significantly influenced the merging time, which increased with higher strength levels. The proposed model demonstrates excellent predictive capability for concretes with compressive strengths between 30 and 70 MPa, including mixes with 100% general-purpose cement and SCM-blended binders. These findings provide a practical tool for bridge engineers to account for environmental effects on shrinkage, improving serviceability design and reducing the risk of early-age cracking in bridge structures.</jats:p> http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194591 Title: Advanced conductive textiles: from nanomaterial integration to wearable applications Authors: Arab, K; Sheikhzade, MH; Fakhri, V; Naqvi, M; Dare, MT; Jafari, A; Moghaddam, A; Altaee, A; Alibakhshi, E; Aminabhavi, TM; Khonakdar, HA http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194579 Title: Properties of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) mortar under different types of biochar – hydration kinetics, strength development, and chloride resistance Authors: Lin, X; Nguyen, QD; Castel, A; Deng, Z; Pang, Y; Yang, Y; Tam, VWY http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194524 Title: Environmentally friendly separation of monazite and fluorite using carboxymethyl cellulose and octyl hydroxamic acid: Experimental and DFT calculations Authors: Liu, Q; Han, R; Jie, L; Gao, P; Wang, X; Tang, Z Abstract: Fluorite, as the predominant calcium-bearing vein mineral in monazite-containing ores, presents significant challenges in selective separation due to its similar surface properties to monazite. This study demonstrates that carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) effectively inhibits fluorite while allowing selective flotation of monazite using the biodegradable collector octyl hydroxamic acid (OHA). Micro-flotation tests revealed a remarkable recovery difference of 92.31 % between monazite and fluorite in single-mineral systems. Specifically, under the proposed reagent scheme (OHA as collector and CMC as depressant), the flotation recoveries of monazite and fluorite were 95.40 % and 3.09 %, respectively. In contrast, using a conventional reagent system (mixed collector of OHA and OP10, with EDTA as depressant), the recoveries of monazite and fluorite were 80.01 % and 29.51 %, respectively, with a flotation recovery difference of only 50.50 %. Artificial mixed-mineral tests under optimized conditions achieved a monazite concentrate grading 61.15 % rare earth oxides (REO) with 87.69 % recovery. Characterizations via contact angle measurements, zeta potential analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed strong preferential adsorption of CMC on fluorite surfaces via Ca-O bonding. This adsorption mechanism effectively prevents OHA attachment on fluorite while maintaining monazite's floatability. This work provides insights into the efficiency and environmentally benign separation of monazite from fluorite (calcium-bearing vein materials). 2025-10-15T00:00:00Z