Hokkaido University Research Profiles

Japanese

utilization of industrial by-products: 1

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  • Life Sciences
  • Information and Communication
  • Nanotechnology / Materials
  • Manufacturing Technology
  • Human and Social Sciences
  • Energy
  • Environment
  • Tourism / Community development
  • Arctic Research
  • Social Infrastructure
  • Open Facilities
  • Development of a Non-destructive CT-XRD Coupling Method and Its Application

    Visualization of the microstructure of hardened cement

    To develop innovative cement-hardening materials, we are devising a non-destructive integrated CT-XRD method, a novel measurement method combining the CT method to obtain geometric and spatial information on microstructures inside concrete with an accuracy of several microns, and a diffraction method to investigate hydrates and alterations in the region of interest.

    Research

    Concrete is structurally hardened by binding rock (aggregate) through a hydration reaction between cement and water. As a structural material, concrete is intended to withstand loading and certain weather/environmental conditions, but these may cause cracking of the concrete, which may progressively deteriorate due to strong acids and other chemical reactions caused by erosion and materials from the atmosphere, seawater and groundwater that come in contact with it. To stably use the social infrastructure for a long period of time, it is important to be able to see inside the internal structure of concrete with “bug eyes” and find any abnormalities that have occurred.
    With the pioneering “non-destructive integrated CT-XRD method,” the sample is irradiated with high-intensity X-rays from synchrotron radiation to selectively visualize 3D structures from transmitted monochromatic X-rays at 25 keV. Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction is also performed in specific regions of interest through multiple slit operations to identify hydrates (portlandite, calcite, etc.), their alteration and aggregate minerals.