Pyromeral Systems

“Breakthrough Innovation in High Temperature Materials
Pyromeral Systems develops and manufactures advanced materials and composite parts for applications requiring resistance to high temperatures or fire barrier. Our unique technologies based on innovative inorganic polymers and glass-ceramic matrices are designed for continuous exposure to temperatures as high as 1000°C (1800°F). They provide convenient, lightweight and durable solutions for industrial processes, motorsports and aerospace applications. Pyromeral Systems brings a smart alternative when conventional composites, metals or ceramics fail to deliver the desired performance.

Green by Nature
Since the creation of our company in 1984, inventing products and technologies that have little or no impact on the environment and the safety of the workplace has been part of our priorities. Our inorganic polymers and composite matrices do not use organic solvents and do not emit fumes. They are easy to store and discard, and safer to handle than most matrix systems for high-temperature composites. Because we care, all of our products are environmentally friendly since the beginning.”

Source: Pyromeral Systems

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Development of Sustainable Cementitious Materials

Abstract
In this paper, two types of sustainable cementitious composites, geopolymer and magnesium phosphate cement, are introduced. The geopolymer is a type of amorphous alumino-silicate products and magnesium cement is MgO based cementitious material. Geopolymer can be synthesized by polycondensation reaction of geopolymeric precursor, and alkali polysilicates. The MgO cement can be obtained by properly mixing MgO particles, fly ash, and phosphate. Comparing to portland cement, geopolymers and magnesium phosphate cement are energy efficient and environment friendly. Thus they are sustainable cementitious materials. In the paper, the recent developments of these two materials at HKUST are presented. The investigation shows that these two materials have superior properties to the portland cement such as high early strength, excellent volume stability, better durability, good fire resistance, and easy manufacture process.

Source: Geoswan.com

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Geopolymers: Building Blocks of the Future

Geopolymers are fire-resistant, blast-resistant and acid-resistant, and could become the building and construction industry’s materials of the future. Geopolymers are a new group of building materials that has the potential to transform the building products industry.

CSIRO is working with industry partners on developing world-leading applications of this technology that could soon see products on the market.

What are geopolymers? Geopolymers are ceramic-like, inorganic polymers (that is, based on silica not carbon) that are produced at low temperatures.

They are:
Geopolymer technology is just beginning to capture the imagination of the building industry.
– fire-resistant
– blast-resistant
– acid-resistant

Their properties include being:
– adhesive
– castable
– extrudable
– sprayable
– strong

Read more at CSIRO

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Phosphate Geopolymers

Abstract
Chemically bonded phosphate ceramics/cements (Ceramicrete for Mg-phosphate compositions) are room temperature-setting inorganic materials with high strength, low porosity, and good durability. These characteristics are similar to alumino-silicate geopolymers. Studying their structure, this author speculated in the annual meeting of the American Ceramic Society in 2004 that they may be considered as a class of geopolymers. Subsequently, Joseph Davidovits in his book on Geopolymers (2008) proposed chemistry and structure of phosphate and phospho-silicate geopolymers based on compositions developed in Argonne. His analysis gives key understanding of the amorphous phase found in these materials that is responsible for their high strength and dense structure. We propose here that the micro structure of phospho-silicate geoplymers consists of a network of crystalline phosphate minerals connected by phospho-silicate geopolymeric amorphous materials. Evidence is provided with X-ray diffraction studies, micro structural studies and strength properties on the presence of amorphous binding phase. We present evidence of such phosphate geopolymers from archeology on the passivation layer on a wrought iron Delhi iron pillar, which has shown no sign of corrosion despite its antiquity of 1600 years. We also propose for further research that because of more than normal abundance of phosphates in Nile delta, possibly phospho-silicates might have played a minor binding role in the blocks used in the Egyptian pyramids.

Source: EonCoat.com

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Geopolymer Research at Louisiana Tech University

Current Research and Technology Development Projects

– Use of geopolymer cement as a high performance sewer pipeline coating.
– Development of a polymer-geopolymer composite with high cross-bending strength and high durability.
– Evaluation of a geopolymer grout using fly ash activated with a sodium hydroxide solution.
– Correlation between chemical composition of fly ash stockpiles and their suitability for geopolymer related construction products.
Evaluation of a geopolymer grout using fly ash activated with a sodium hydroxide solution.

Abstract
High performance geopolymer materials have been evaluated numerous times displaying outstanding results in physical and chemical properties, overcoming Portland cement-based binders’ performance. However, Geopolymer binders can be used in a wide range of applications, and be focused in other characteristics such as flowability and setting time but always trying to find the best balance between all properties. The present paper will study and evaluate geopolymer properties such as flowability, setting time and compressive strength and their interaction with following factors: age, water/binder ratio, cement content, curing temperature, sodium hydroxide concentration and sand content. Compressive strength values up to 7000 psi with good flowability and setting times from 1 to 8 hours were obtained; very interesting tendencies in the responses when varying the factors were also noticed.

Source: Louisiana Tech University

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Geopolymer Concrete Tech Brief

“Geopolymer materials represent an innovative technology that is generating considerable interest in the construction industry, particularly in light of the ongoing emphasis on sustainability. In contrast to portland cement, most geopolymer systems rely on minimally processed natural materials or industrial byproducts to provide the binding agents. Since portland cement is responsible for upward of 85 percent of the energy and 90 percent of the carbon dioxide attributed to a typical ready-mixed concrete (Marceau et al. 2007), the potential energy and carbon dioxide savings through the use of geopolymers can be considerable. Consequently, there is growing interest in geopolymer applications in transportation infrastructure.

Although geopolymer technology is considered new, the technology has ancient roots and has been postulated as the building material used in the construction of the pyramids at Giza as well as in other ancient construction (Davidovits 1984; Barsoum and Ganguly 2006; Davidovits 2008). Moreover, alkali-activated slag cement is a type of geopolymer that has been in use since the mid-20th century.”

Read the complete article here: Concrete Pavement Technology Program

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Geopolymer Survival Shelters

Survival shelter built with concrete pipe

Here’s an innovative way to use concrete pipe to build survival shelters. The designer calls it a “21st Century Bag End by Storm Williams.” Maybe someday geopolymer pipe will be widely available.

“I have always been interested in bio-friendly housing, specifically designs that approach zero-environmental impact. After seeing The Fellowship of the Ring, you have probably fantasized about living in a Hobbit Hole and lazing about in the shade. I know I have. That is when I started expressing my inner architect and wondering of easy, bio-friendly ways to build a Hobbit Hole. This is what I have come up with.”

Source: Storm Bear World

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Geopolymers: New Generation Materials by Mimicking Rock Formation

“The term geopolymer was coined nearly three decades back by Davidovits for alumino-silicate polymers formed in alkaline environment. Geopolymers, have emerged as new generation inorganic polymeric materials well suited for numerous engineering applications. The versatility of these materials can be gauged from civil applications such as high strength cement and concrete, quick repair of materials for ancient archeological structures, to war time repair material for runways. Interior of modern aircraft makes use of fire-resistant properties of geopolymer composites. Preparation of permanent molds for metal casting exploits these materials as precursors for monolithic ceramics. While pure materials such as kaolin and metakaolin were traditionally used for geopolymer synthesis, possibility to use waste materials such as fly ash, slags, etc., further adds to their importance from the point of view of resource conservation, environment and economically attractive material. In essence, geopolymer formation or geosynthesis resembles to natural rock formation process. The basic idea of mimicking rock formation is to target properties of natural rocks. The building blocks, namely SiO 4 and AlO 4 tetrahedra, can form wide spectrum of structures through cross linking. This opens up possibilities to tailor the structure for properties required for specific applications ranging from building materials to matrix to host toxic elements for environmental safety.

Geosynthesis or geopolymerisation is science of making artificial rocks at low temperature by chemical reactions between various alumino-silicate oxides and silicates under highly alkaline conditions, yielding polymeric Si–O–Al–O bonds…”

Source: SciTopics.com

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Short Fiber Reinforced Geopolymer Composites Manufactured by Extrusion

Abstract
Geopolymer composites reinforced with short polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers have been manufactured using the extrusion technique. The extruded products were thin plates with 6 mm thickness. It was demonstrated that short fiber reinforced geopolymer composites (SFRGCs) could be extruded without additional rheological modifier. Bending tests have been conducted with the extruded samples to investigate their mechanical properties. The fiber failure patterns in SFRGCs with various formulations were examined by scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive x-ray analysis techniques. The experimental results showed that the addition of PVA fiber could largely increase the ductility of SFRGCs, resulting in fiber failure modes changing from brittle to ductile. The effects of varying the amount of fly ash on the flexural behavior of various SFRGCs were also investigated. The SFRGCs incorporating small percentage of fly ash showed higher flexural strengths but smaller defections, while the SFRGCs incorporating a large percentage of fly ash had lower flexural strengths, but larger deflections. This could be attributed to the change of the bonding between fiber and matrix that led the change of failure mode from fiber fracture to fiber pullout.

Source: American Society of Civil Engineers

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Calcined Clays and Shales, and Volcanic Ash

“Clays or shales suitable for use as a pozzolana are very widespread and are readily available in almost all regions of the world. They have been used as cement replacement materials on large-scale construction programmes in a number of countries, particularly the US, Brazil, Egypt and India. For example, in Egypt, a lime-calcined clay mortar was used in the core of the first Aswan dam built in 1902 and an OPC-calcined clay mixture was used in the construction of the Sennar dam in Sudan.

However this large-scale utilization has declined in the last three decades, due to the availability of pozzolanas which require less processing and are therefore cheaper, such as volcanic ash and pulverized fuel ash. Where these are not available, the use of calcined clay still has considerable potential. Although sandy clays are often used as a pozzolana, frequently in the form of crushed fired clay bricks, the coarser sand is not reactive. The pozzolanic activity resides in the finer clay mineral fraction, and sandy clays may not produce the best pozzolanas. Despite their variable pozzolanic performance, the use of ground underfired or reject bricks and tiles as a pozzolana is likely to continue on a small scale due to the low cost of these waste materials.”

Source: Pozzolanas – Calcined Clays and Shales, and Volcanic Ash – Technical Brief

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