Abrasion resistance of concrete and the use of high performance concrete for concrete railway crossties

Van Dam, Emily

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/49506 Copy

Description

Title

Abrasion resistance of concrete and the use of high performance concrete for concrete railway crossties

Author(s)

Van Dam, Emily

Issue Date

2014-05-30T16:47:37Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Lange, David A.

Department of Study

Civil & Environmental Eng

Discipline

Civil Engineering

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• concrete abrasion resistance
• abrasion model
• high performance concrete (HPC)
• concrete crossties
• silica fume concrete

Abstract

This project focused on the abrasion resistance of concrete railway crossties. In the first phase of this project, a series of high performance concrete mixes was developed that utilized different replacement levels of portland cement by silica fume (3%, 7% and 15%), class F fly ash (18%) and slag cement (25% and 43%). These mixes were tested via a variety of standard tests, including shrinkage, permeability, freeze-thaw resistance and compressive strength. A non-standardized concrete test was used to measure the abrasion resistance of each of the mixes. The results did not show a strong correlation between abrasion resistance and compressive strength. In the second phase of the project, the relationship between the abrasion resistance of individual phases of a composite and the overall abrasion of the composite was investigated. Layered composite specimens composed of different area-fractions of phases of different hardness and composition were tested. Four phases, in various combinations, were tested: a hard mortar, a soft mortar, dolomitic limestone and trap rock. These tests explored the relationship between the abrasion resistance of a composite and the abrasion resistance of the individual phases in the composite. A new model for abrasion resistance of two-phase composite materials was developed. The new approach is inspired by the classic Reuss model. It was found that the abrasion resistance decreased non-linearly with the introduction of a more resistant phase and that the harder of the two phases had a disproportional impact on the overall abrasion resistance of the composite. Furthermore, it was found that the abrasion resistance was minimally dependent on the boundary effects and sizes of the individual phases and was merely dependent on the overall exposed area fraction. The results of this study shed new light on an old rule of thumb. It is widely believed and supported by many papers in literature that the abrasion resistance of concrete is directly proportional to concrete strength. The current study shows that aggregate hardness plays a dominant role, and comparisons of concrete materials can be contrived such that the rule of thumb does not apply. The abrasion resistance of high strength concrete depends strongly on the hardness and abrasion resistance of the mineral used for coarse aggregate.

Graduation Semester

2014-05

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/49506

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Copyright 2014 Emily Van Dam

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