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Corrosion of steel bars embedded in reinforced concrete structures considerably reduces the service life and even causes early failure of the structure. This paper investigates the early corrosion behavior of an alloy corrosion-resistant steel bar in seawater–sea sand concrete (SWSSC) using various electrochemical measurements [electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) linear polarization resistance (LPR)] and surface characterization techniques [scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), atomic force microscope (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)], in comparison to low carbon steel bar (LC) and stainless steel bar (SS). The results reveal that the Cr10Mo1 alloy corrosion-resistant steel bar (CR) in SWSSC shows significant increase in the radius of the capacitive arc in later stages, particularly in the low frequency region. This increase in CR can be attributed to the enhanced corrosion resistance of the passivation film, as well as the rise of impedance at the interface between the passivation film and the concrete matrix. These improvements have effectively inhibited the penetration of free chloride ions into the concrete, thereby impeding the initiation and propagation of corrosion in CR In addition, the mechanical properties, pore structure and the hydration production of SWSSC were investigated. Based on the interactions between steel substrate and concrete matrix, the possible resistance mechanism of CR was proposed. This study innovatively provides a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of CR in SWSSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a series of polyethylene glycol (PEG)/hydrochloric acid-modified sepiolite (HSEP) composite phase change materials (PCMs) are fabricated via vacuum impregnation. HSEP exhibits high adsorption capacity, rendering it superior to natural sepiolite as carriers for PEG. The resulting composite PCMs possess a melting enthalpy of up to 88.9 J/g and maintain stable thermal performances and chemical structures over 100 heating–cooling cycles between room temperature and 65 °C, thus, indicating long-term reliability. Calorimetry studies on cement paste containing 30% composite PCMs reveal a 24.14% reduction in 3-day cumulative hydration heat. However, the mechanical strength and thermal conductivity of the cement paste are adversely affected. Hence, carbon fibers (CFs) are introduced as reinforcement, resulting in a 28-day compressive strength of 45.6 MPa for cement paste containing 20% composite PCMs and 0.6% CFs. The fabricated composite PCMs are promising functional materials for hydration heat control and energy storage in concrete structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alleviating cracks induced by the temperature rise in mass concrete has always been a research hotspot and engineering problem. In this study, a type of energy storage phase change low‐temperature rising concrete was designed and prepared to reduce the cracking risk of mass concrete. First, a type of energy storage coarse aggregate (ESA) was prepared using a semi‐dry method with cement and fly ash as matrix materials, mixed with carbon black (CB), carbon fiber (CF), and phase change material (PCM). Furthermore, the influence of these materials on the mechanical properties, microstructure, and pore structure of the ESA was studied. Subsequently, ESA was used to prepare phase change low‐temperature rising concrete, and its mechanical properties, thermal conductivity (TC), and internal temperature rise were investigated. The research results show that, except for the compressive strength of PCM‐15‐ESA, which is only 7% lower than that of the control, PC‐P0, other samples have no mechanical property deterioration. The double‐layer protection measures can effectively avoid the mechanical property deterioration of concrete induced by PCM leakage. The maximum internal temperature rise of concrete is reduced by 9.8°C, which greatly reduces the risk of cracking of concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, citric acid-modified chitosan (CAMC) was added to cement slurry and its adsorption and hydration regulation mechanism on cement particles was studied. The rheological properties, agglomeration properties, and adsorption properties were characterized by different testing techniques. The effect of CAMC on the evolution of C-S-H gel and aluminum hydrate was further studied by the NMR technique. The results show that the negatively charged CAMC will adsorb on the surface of cement and agglomerate cement particles. In addition to being adsorbed on the positively charged aluminate phase surface under the electrostatic effect, CAMC was also adsorbed on the negatively charged silicate phase through complexation between carboxyl groups and calcium ions. The formation of complexes on the surface of the silicate phase hinders the hydration of calcium silicate (C3S).CAMC significantly reduced the hydration rate of early cement, hindering the nucleation of C-S-H and ettringite (AFt). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, citric acid-modified chitosan (CAMC) is prepared by an acylation reaction to regulate the exothermic process occurring in cement hydration. The thermodynamic process of cement hydration is characterized by isothermal calorimetry. The effects of various CAMC contents of 0%, 0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.6% on the hydration process were systematically studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (ICP–OES), and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR). The results show that the adsorption effect delays the dissolution of alite (C3S). The content of CAMC is shown to have a significant effect on the formation time and amount of ettringite (AFt), and the competitive adsorption relationship increases the concentration of Ca2+. The increases in Ca2+ and SO42- concentrations resulted in an increase in the AFt amount. With prolongation of the hydration, the capillary pores of the cement paste are transformed into gel pores, and the cement slurry exhibits a self-drying phenomenon. Designed and prepared citric acid modified chitosan. Adsorption delays the dissolution of C 3 S and the formation of hydrated products. Competitive adsorption increases calcium ion concentration. CAMC delays the formation of AFt and increases the amount of AFt formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To develop a scoring system for hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer patients who are expected to achieve axillary pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). To confirm the correlation between axillary status and survival rate in HR+ breast cancer after NAC. Methods. Women from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Breast Cancer Database (SJTU-BCDB) who underwent NAC for cT1-4N1-3M0 primary HR+ breast cancer between 2009 and 2018 were included in the study. In this case, patient follow up was performed until 2022 for those with complete data before and after NAC. The main outcome measures were the axillary pCR rate, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS). The patients were randomly assigned to a test set (n = 175) and a validation set (n = 68) in a 7 : 3 ratio. A prediction risk score was then developed based on the odds ratios from the multivariate analysis of the test set (n = 175) before being validated in the validation set (n = 68). Finally, the Kaplan–Meier curves were used to explore the survival on this score system. Results. From the database, 243 women were included, and the median follow-up period was 47.5 months (95% confidence interval: 41.9–53.1). The axillary pCR rate was 18.9% (46 of 243), with the independent predictors of residual positive axillary lymph nodes (LNs) being lymphovascular invasion (LVI), breast conserving surgery (BCS), Ki67 < 14%, HER2 negativity, positive lymph nodes in ultrasound (US) before surgery, and stage III histological grade (All, P < 0.05). Using the above predictors of the model, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used for calibration and inspection, with values for the test and validation sets being 0.847 (P < 0.001 ; 95% CI: 0.769, 0.925) and 0.813 (P < 0.001 ; 95% CI: 0.741, 0.885), respectively. The total risk score ranged from 0 to 6 for the multivariate analysis, and from this range, a risk score of 0–2 was defined as a low-risk group, while scores of 3–6 were defined as the high-risk one. By constructing the survival curve, it was found that the 5-year OS rates for the low-risk and high-risk groups were 89.0% and 84.2% (P = 0.236). Similarly, the 5-year DFS rates for the low-risk and high-risk groups were 80% and 68.5% (P = 0.048), respectively. In addition, axillary pathological stages were significantly correlated with the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) (All, P < 0.05). Conclusion. The prediction model showed good performance for HR + breast cancer. LVI, BCS, low Ki-67, HER2 negativity, suspected positive LNs before surgery, and stage III histological grade were all risk factors for residual positive axillary LNs. However, unlike pathological stages, achieving pCR in the axillary LNs does not affect the survival status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the use of aeolian sand for producing ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) was introduced. Preliminary investigations suggested that it was feasible to use aeolian sand to produce UHPC. In this study, systematic investigations on the workability, hydration, microstructure, and mechanical properties are conducted to unveil the dominant factors controlling the performance of the UHPC produced with aeolian sand. Moreover, an intensive mixing process is also introduced to promote the efficiency of using aeolian sand and steel fibers for producing UHPC. The results show that the UHPCs produced with aeolian sand by an intensive mixing process exhibit substantial improvements in workability, mechanical strength, fiber dispersibility, and porosity, although the degree of cement hydration is only slightly improved. The improvement in the performance of the UHPC is found to be mainly related to the improvement in dispersibility of steel fibers and thus the refinement in the pore structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fabrication of high-performance cement-based materials has benefited greatly from the extensive use of graphene and its derivatives. This paper studies the effects of graphene sulfonate nanosheets (GSNSs) on sacrificial cement paste and mortar (the tested materials) and other siliceous sacrificial materials, especially their ablation behaviors and mechanical properties. Decomposition temperatures and differential scanning calorimetry were used to examine how different contents of GSNSs determines the corresponding decomposition enthalpy of the tested materials and their ablation behaviors. Molecular dynamics was also used to clarify the mechanism how the GSNSs work in the CSH (calcium silicate hydrated)/GSNSs composite to increase the resistance to high temperature. The experimental results show that: (1) the contents of GSNSs at 0.03 wt.%, 0.1 wt.%, and 0.3 wt.% brought an increase of 10.97%, 22.21%, and 17.56%, respectively, in the flexural strength of siliceous sacrificial mortar, and an increase of 1.92%, 9.16%, and 6.70% in its compressive strength; (2) the porosity of siliceous sacrificial mortar was decreased by 5.04%, 9.91%, and 7.13%, respectively, and the threshold pore diameter of siliceous sacrificial mortar was decreased by 13.06%, 35.39%, and 24.02%, when the contents of GSNSs were 0.03 wt.%, 0.1 wt.%, and 0.3 wt.%, respectively; (3) a decline of 11.16%, 28.50%, and 61.01% was found in the ablation velocity of siliceous sacrificial mortar, when the contents of GSNSs were 0.03 wt.%, 0.1 wt.%, and 0.3 wt.%, respectively; (4) when considering the ablation velocities and mechanical properties of siliceous sacrificial materials, 0.1 wt.% GSNSs was considered to be the optimal amount; (5) the GSNSs contribute to the reinforced effect of GSNSs on CSH gel through the grab of dissociated calcium and water molecules, and the chemical reaction with silicate tetrahedron to produce S–O–Si bonds. These results are expected to promoting the development of new kinds of siliceous sacrificial materials that contain GSNSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]