Publications by authors named "Mihai-Marius Rusu"
Article Synopsis
- Urban areas are expanding rapidly, increasing the demand for concrete and highlighting the need to reduce its environmental impact, especially through the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) like zeolites.
- The study replaces ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with natural zeolite at varying percentages (10%, 20%, and 30%) and investigates pore structure and microstructure changes in cement pastes over time.
- Findings reveal that cement pastes with zeolite initially have smaller pore sizes, but by 28 days, those with 10% zeolite resemble the reference mix, while 30% zeolite increases pore size due to higher amounts of hydration products.
Calcium nitrate is considered a promising accelerator in cement-based composites, with high potential in 3D printing and cold cement concreting. The effect induced by the composition of calcium nitrate tetrahydrate (CN) accelerator into white Portland cement is evaluated here from three perspectives: (1) Fresh cement paste properties in terms of setting time and slump, (2) mechanical properties of hardened cement samples at 7 and 28 days and (3) material characteristics in terms of structure and porosity that further link the presence of the accelerator with the macroscopic performances. The compressive and flexural strength of the hardened samples, evaluated after 7 and 28 days of hydration, indicate a non-monotonous trend with CN concentration.
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