TY - JOUR
T1 - Microgravity effect on microstructural development of tri-calcium silicate (C3S) paste
AU - Moraes Neves, Juliana
AU - Collins, Peter J.
AU - Wilkerson, Ryan P.
AU - Grugel, Richard N.
AU - Radlińska, Aleksandra
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-Grant No. NNX17AC48G, as well as use of MSFC’s EM31 Materials Diagnostics laboratory and precious insights from David Donovan, Karen Stephens, and Pam Denkins. Appreciation is expressed to Reviewers of the manuscript, Dr. Farshad Rajabipour, Dr. Barry Scheetz for their feedback during manuscript writing, and the Science Concept Review committee: Jan Olek, Maria Juenger, Kim Kurtis, Jason Ideker, and Sulapha Peethamparan for their valuable suggestions in research planning stages. The authors also express gratitude for collaboration with NIST, in particular Dale Bentz and Jeff Bullard. Thanks to the Leidos team, particularly Micah Johnson, Cole Nelson, and Kile Mouch, for the pre-launch preparation of the samples. Lastly, the authors express immense gratitude for the astronauts of Expedition 56: Drew Fuestel, Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor, Ricky Arnold, Alexander Gerst, Sergey Prokopyev, and Oleg Artemyev, who executed the experiments aboard the ISS.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Moraes Neves, Collins, Wilkerson, Grugel and Radlińska.
PY - 2019/4/15
Y1 - 2019/4/15
N2 - For the first time, tricalcium silicate (C3S) and an aqueous solution were mixed and allowed to hydrate in the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The research hypothesis states that minimizing gravity-driven transport phenomena, such as buoyancy, sedimentation, and thermosolutal convection ensures diffusion-controlled crystal growth and, consequently, lead to unique microstructures. Results from SEM micrographs, image analysis, mercury intrusion porosimetry, thermogravimetry, and x-ray diffraction revealed that the primary differences in μg hydrated C3S paste are increased porosity and a lower aspect ratio of portlandite crystals, likely due to a more uniform phase distribution. Relevant observations led by the presence or absence of gravity, including bleeding effect, density, and crystallography are also presented and discussed.
AB - For the first time, tricalcium silicate (C3S) and an aqueous solution were mixed and allowed to hydrate in the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The research hypothesis states that minimizing gravity-driven transport phenomena, such as buoyancy, sedimentation, and thermosolutal convection ensures diffusion-controlled crystal growth and, consequently, lead to unique microstructures. Results from SEM micrographs, image analysis, mercury intrusion porosimetry, thermogravimetry, and x-ray diffraction revealed that the primary differences in μg hydrated C3S paste are increased porosity and a lower aspect ratio of portlandite crystals, likely due to a more uniform phase distribution. Relevant observations led by the presence or absence of gravity, including bleeding effect, density, and crystallography are also presented and discussed.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85067419316
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85067419316#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.3389/fmats.2019.00083
DO - 10.3389/fmats.2019.00083
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85067419316
SN - 2296-8016
VL - 6
JO - Frontiers in Materials
JF - Frontiers in Materials
M1 - 83
ER -