U.S.-Egypt Cooperative Research: An Investigation of the Performance of Superplasticizers for Concrete Applications

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9810979QutubuddinDescription: This award is for support of a cooperative project by a US team including Professor Syed Qutubuddin of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and Dr. Samy M. Shendy, Senior Research Scientist at Master Builders in Cleveland, Ohio, and an Egyptian team including Dr. Magdy M.H. Ayoub, of the National Research Center in Cairo, Egypt and Professor Abdelgawad M. Rabie, Dean of the faculty of Science at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. The research objective is to understand the effects of chemical structure and molecular weight of superplasticizers (polymers) on adsorption behavior, dispersability and dispersability retention of cement particles. The goal is to understand the mechanism of superplasticizer adsorption on cement surfaces. The factors that cause undesirable air entrainment with some superplasticizers will also be explored. The research will lead to the development of advanced superplasticizers with higher performance and lower cost. Scope: This award is for collaboration between two experienced groups of scientists in the US and Egypt, to study the chemistry of cement additives (polymers) that can increase its strength while making it more fluid for easier workability. Dr. Qutubuddin is an expert in colloidal and interfacial phenomena, particularly surfactant and polymer systems. Dr. Ayoub is working in the areas of coating and dispersions. Dr. Shendy will represent the industrial experience in this work, being a scientist at one of the leading organizations in construction materials. Dr. Rabie is an expert in polymer chemistry, and will be involved in the characterization and synthesis of superplasticizers. The results of their collaboration would be useful for the construction industry in Egypt and the United States. This proposal meets the INT objective of increasing US-foreign collaboration in areas that benefit both sides. This project is being supported under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program, which provides grants to scientists and engineers in both countries to carry out these cooperative activities.