School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Ph.D. Thesis Defense Announcement

Assessment of Limestone-Portland Cement for Structural Applications

By

Ahmad Shalan

Advisor:

Dr. Lawrence Kahn (CEE)

Committee Members:

Dr. David Scott (CEE), Dr. Donald White (CEE), Dr. Russell Gentry (ARCH), Dr. Giovanni Loreto (Kennesaw State University)

Date & Time: Tuesday, May 14, 1pm

Location: Sustainable Education Building (SEB) 122

This research assessed the applicability of Type IL cements satisfying AASHTO M 240 specifications for use in structural applications in place of Type I/II cements which satisfy AASHTO M 85 specifications for construction of transportation structures.  Type I/II and Type IL cements from five producers were investigated where Type IL cements included up to 15% calcite by mass. The cements and both mortars and concretes made with these cements were studied to determine material properties including setting time and hydration kinetics; mechanical properties including strength development, elastic modulus, and tensile strength; dimensional stability properties including drying shrinkage and creep; and structural properties for precast prestressed concrete  including Mostafa strand pull-out strength, transfer length, development length, and beam flexural strength. The results showed that the performance of concrete made with Type IL cement was primarily affected by the cement fineness which increased strength and drying shrinkage. The structural properties of concrete made with Type IL cement showed similar performance to concrete made with Type I/II cement. Type IL cement may be used in place of Type I/II cement when fineness values are specified.