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Production of geopolymer foam with addition of nanoparticles

Dr. Tomi NissinenGeopolymer Camp 2018

10/07/2018

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• NAMI – Your Materials Expert

• Nanotechnology

• Foam

• Geopolymer application

• Good to know

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Nano and Advanced Materials Institute Ltd.

• NAMI established in 2006 by Hong Kong government

• Focused on applied research

• Key figures:HK$ 150M+ annual R&D~200 technical talents>HK$ 100M equipment400+ filed patents40,000 ft2 lab area

Ideas Research

Traditional Research, Development & Implementation Cycle

Bench-top Prototypes

Technology Development�Scale-up�

Manufacturing Refinement

Industry, Startups

Academia, Universities

Applied R&D Centres

Applied Research Eco-system

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Cultivate research TalentContribute to HK’s Technology advancement

Collaborate with industries for Commercialization

Nano and Advanced Materials Institute Ltd.

MISSION

R&D MODEL

ConstructionEnvironment

Energy

Electronics

Healthcare

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Nano and Advanced Materials Institute Ltd.

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History of Nanotechnology

Lycurgus cup 4th CenturyBritish Museum, London

Gold Colloid, Faraday, 1857Royal Institute of Science, London

Richard Feynman, “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” American

Physical Society meeting at Caltech,1959

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Key Concepts

1 mm1,000,000 nm

6 mm2

6x1012 nm2

100 nmSurface area of one 100 nm cube= 60,000 nm2

1 mm particle is divided into 1,000,000,000,000 cubes

60,000 mm2

0.06 m2

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Key Concepts

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Key Concepts

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Nanoparticles in Geopolymer

ü nano-SiO2ü nano-Al2O3ü nano-clay

• Strength• Density• Water resistance

• Thermal conductivity• Electrical conductivity• Load transfer

ü Carbon nanotubeü Graphene oxide

• Retarding effect• Photocatalytic• Antibacterial

ü Carbon nanotubeü Graphene oxideü TiO2ü nano-Ag

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Go to menti.com and use code: 10 48 93

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FOAM

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Energy-saving construction

Special applicationsMotivation

Environmental protection

Civil Engineering

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Cement paste

Foam

Commercial Foam

Ultra-stable Foam

Challenge

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Solution

Market available product NAMI’s NANOFOAM

450 kg/m3 0.4 MPa 450 kg/m3 2.5 MPaLarge pore size, >500 um Small pore size, 65 um

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Modified nanomaterials assemble at the pore surface

SEM, TEM and TOF-SIMS analysis

Self-assembly of Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are part of cement matrix after hydration

Solution

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Business caseGeopolymerGypsum

Gypsum Material Geopolymer Nanoparticle foam

900 Density (kg/m3) 700

5-8 MPa Compressive strength (MPa) 8 MPa

No Water resistance Yes

0.2 W/mK Thermal conductivity 0.14 W/mKStudio City – Macau approximate indoor

wall area 140,000 m2

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Foams in Geopolymer

H2O2 Al-powder

Traditional foaming agent

NAMI’s alkaline resistant NANOFOAM

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Raw materials mixing

Foaming agent mixing

Foam pour into paste Foam paste mixing casting Foam geopolymer wall block

Product properties:üEasy to cast, spread diameter 160-180 mm üSmooth surfaceüDensity 700 kg/m3, 8 MPa CSüDensity 900 kg/m3, 17 MPa CS .

Scaling up tests

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Thermal couples on unexposed surface

Video monitoring Unexposed surface after test

Fire resistance test

2 3

45

67

8 1

23

4 5

6 7

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Exposed surface after test

Block during test

Testing Procedures: BS EN 1364

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Performance

CH1 rise CH2 rise CH3 rise CH4 rise CH5 rise CH6 rise CH7 rise CH8 rise CH 9 rise Average rise

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 4200

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40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220Initial Temp. :23.0 (deg C)

Max. Temp. rise limit

Tem

pera

ture

rise

(deg

C)

Time/min

Average Temp. rise limit

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Tem

pera

ture

(deg

C)

Before After

1100 kg/m3 foam geopolymer wall block fire test according to BS EN 1364. Specimen size 340mm*190mm*100mm

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5

10

15

20

25

30

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Com

pres

sive

stre

ngth

(MP

a)

3d compressive strength 28d compressive strength

Effect of nanoparticle foam in 1300 kg/m3 foam geopolymer

Foam Foam with nanoparticles

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Go to menti.com and use code: 15 41 3

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Conclusions

vFoam geopolymer material has been prepared by using nanoparticle stabilized physical foaming agent.

vDeveloped material has been applied in manufacturing of indoor partition wall blocks with density of 600-1100 kg/m3

vScaling up, mechanical and fire performance has been tested in NAMI

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Working with Nanomaterials

vQuality of bulk materials

vDispersion methods

vSurface charge, pH and surfactants

Dynamic Light Scattering measurement of size distribution of colloidal silica

Zeta potential measurement of alumina

Probe sonicatorRotor-type homogenizer

NAMIYour Materials Expert

Smart Construction Materials Lab (Center of Excellence) @ Science Park

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