POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH PROGRAM
DOROTHY is a postdoctoral research programme open to researchers from all disciplines who wish to focus on research into public health crises.
START
This interdisciplinary fellowship programme has been created in July 2021 by three leading Irish national agencies, and co-funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme through Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.
OUTGOING
Fellowships will have an international outgoing phase of 18 months, followed by a return phase to Ireland of 18 months.
Research team
Applicant
Dr. Gurbir Kaur
Assitant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Thapar Institute of Eng and Tech, India
Outgoing phase supervisor
Dr. José Ignacio Álvarez Galindo
Full Professor Inorganic Chemistry
Head MATCH Research Group
Department of Chemistry
University of Navarra, Spain
Return phase supervisor
Dr. Sara Pavia
Associate Professor
Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Dept.
Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Status of research
Progress made and results to date in relation to the key research objectives planned
To achieve the first research objective of the project, network mud, which is an industrial by-product generated during the refining of bauxite ore to form alumina using the Bayer process, was procured from the Alcoa industry, Lugo, Spain. network mud was oven-dried at 105°C to remove moisture before being used in further investigations. The chemical composition and mineral phase identification of network mud was obtained using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The phase transformation of compounds in network mud was studied by combined thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (TGA-DSC). Based on the characterisation results, network mud owing to its favourable chemical composition (i.e., presence of iron oxide, silicon oxide, calcium oxide and alumina) has been established as a binder for cementitious materials. It was observed by means of laser diffraction measurements that network mud consists of fine particles; this characteristic is also beneficial for cementitious materials, and may lead to pore refinement in the cementitious matrices. Further, it was clear from the characterisation details that hematite (α-Fe2O3) and goethite (α-FeOOH) are the compounds or iron oxide phases which are found in abundance in network mud. Interestingly, hematite is a nontoxic and stable compound, which possesses a visible light active band gap and can be a potential catalyst for photocatalytic activity. In light of this observation, network mud has been thermally activated at 300°C and 600°C to transform its mineral phases, with the goal of increasing the concentration of hematite α-Fe2O3.
Cement (CEM III/A 42,5 N/SRC) procured under the industrial name 'Rezola FORTE' and siliceous standard sand conforming to EN 196-1 have been used in the present investigation to prepare mortars. The standard 1:3 cement-sand mortar prepared at 0.5 water-binder ratio has been designated as control mix. The cementitious mortars containing network mud (oven dried at 105°C and incinerated at 300°C and 600°C) as partial cement replacement (0-15% by weight of cement) were prepared and investigated for its mechanical strength (compressive strength and flexural strength). Prism specimens (40*40*160 mm) were cast to determine the compressive strength and flexural strength of mortars at 7 day and 28 days of curing. The universal testing machine of 5 tonnes capacity, manufactured by the Shimadzu corporation, was used to test the specimens for compressive strength and flexural strength. The porosity and pore size distribution of the mortars as obtained by mercury intrusion porosimetry technique has also been studied due to its significant impact on the material's properties, performance, and durability. The detailed insights into the microstructure and morphology of mortars were obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The findings of this objective indicate that incorporating network mud as a partial cement replacement up to 10-15% by weight appears feasible without significantly compromising the mechanical properties of cement mortars. This can help reduce cement consumption to some extent and provide a sustainable use for network mud.
Information updated on 3rd November 2024
More information soon
More information soon
Highlights on material characterizations
The universal testing machine of 5 tonnes capacity, manufactured by the Shimadzu corporation, was used to test the prism specimens (40*40*160 mm).
The instrument used for thermogravimetric analysis was the SDT650 from TA Instruments, New Castle, DE, USA, and data evaluation was performed using TRIOS, also from TA Instruments.
Porosity measurements were made by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) technique with AutoPore IV 9500 V1.07 mercury porosimeter (Micromeritics instrument corporation).
The microstructure of mortars studied by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) manufactured by the COXEM EM-30N (COXEM Co., Ltd., Daejeon, Republic of Korea) coupled with a Quantax Compact 30 Bruker EDS (Bruker Nano GmbH, Berlin, Germany).
X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements were conducted using a Bruker D8 Advance diffractometer. The data analysis was performed using DIFFRACplusEVA® software from Bruker.
The chemical composition of materials was determined using the Bruker S2 Puma apparatus, equipped with an X-ray tube containing a silver anode.
Dissemination activities
- G. Kaur, J.M. Fernández, I. Navarro-Blasco, J.I. Alvarez and S. Pavía
Potential use of network mud in cementitious materials for environmental remediation
3rd International Conference on Green Construction (ICGC2024)
Córdoba, Spain, 21-23/10/2024. Oral Presentation. >DADUN
- G. Kaur, J.M. Fernández, I. Navarro-Blasco, S. Pavía and J.I. Alvarez
Transforming waste network mud into sustainable cementitious materials for self-cleaning applications
congress of Sustainability and Applied Circular Economics (CSECA2024)
Madrid, Spain, 11-12/12/2024. Oral Presentation. >DADUN