Center for Science and Technology of Advanced Cement-Based Materials

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The Center for Science and Technology of Advanced Cement-Based Materials at Northwestern University is a collaborative interdisciplinary effort involving research groups from Northwestern University, the University of Illinois at Champaign- Urbana, Purdue University, the University of Michigan, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST--formerly NBS). The director of the Center will be Professor Surendra P. Shah of Northwestern University. There are two basic complementary objectives to the research plan of the Center. The first is to provide a more complete understanding of the cementitious materials that are currently available, thus fostering more effective and efficient use. The second is to provide a comprehensive basis for the design of new materials with greatly improved properties. The plan of research includes: 1) the chemistry and physics of cementitious materials (rheology and setting processes, chemistry of silicate and aluminate cements, solid-solution interface chemistry, new cement chemistries, and polymer-cement composites); 2) processing science (prehardening processing, rheological processes, influence of temperature and pressure, influence of microstructure and reinforcement geometries, and novel processing techniques); 3) microstructural analysis (properties of reaction products, pore structure, solid-solid interfaces, and component distributions); 4) material properties (fracture processes and mechanisms, diffusion and transport phenomena, long-term deformation, environmental and thermal stability); and 5) fiber reinforcement (fiber geometry and distribution, fiber-matrix interactions, and micromechanics). These areas are interdependent and each will be augmented by mathematical modelling of reactions, processes and properties. The models generated will be used for predictive performance analyses and as a tool to develop new materials, processes, and systems. They will serve as a basis for introducing changes in the way cement-based materials are designed, fabricated and used. Outreach activities planned by the Center include publications and presentations, conferences, an industrial affiliates program, university-industry research projects and short courses.