Issue 30

G. Ferro et alii, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 30 (2014) 75-83; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.30.11

Feature

Value

Appearance

Amber

Specific gravity

1.090

PH value

6.5 - 9.0 30.50%

Solid content Recommended dosage

1.5 wt% of cement Table 2 : Properties of super plasticizer [22].

Synthesis of inert carbonized particles The as obtained hemp hurds (Fig. 2) were dried in oven for 24 hours at 105±5 o C. The dried hemp hurds were carbonized in a small air-tight quartz reactor under inert atmosphere. The inert atmosphere was obtained by the constant flow of argon gas under a pressure of 0.2 bar. The heating ramp of the furnace was fixed at 1 o C/sec. The hemp hurds were carbonized at 850 o C for 1 hour. After the completion of carbonization process, the carbonized hemp hurds were cooled and then removed from quartz reactor. The carbonized material was grinded by mortar and pestle and passed through ASTM sieve #120 (aperture size of 125µm). The sieved powder was then ball milled by using 10 mm diameter agate beads for 120 hours. The particle size was determined by means of a laser granulometer after ball milling and the average particle size was less than 14 µm. Then, the size of ground material was further reduced with the help of attrition milling. Attrition milling was carried out for 1 hour by using 2 mm alumina balls and distilled water as grinding media. After the attrition milling the powder was dried in oven and stored in air tight container for further use.

Figure 2 : (a) As obtained hemp hurds (b) Carbonized and grinded hemp hurds.

Material characterization The synthesized inert carbonized particles were observed by means of “Supra-40 Carl Zeiss” field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) for their microstructure and morphology. The FESEM micrographs are reported in Fig. 3. FESEM micrographs of ground-carbonized particles show their smooth texture and glossy surface. The edges of particles are sharp and highly angular indicating their brittleness. The size of particles varies from several nanometers (approx. 200 nm) to few micrometers (approx. 3 µm). Raman analysis of ground powder was carried out by using “Renishaw Ramanscope” operating at 514.5 nm wavelength. The results of analysis are represented in Fig. 4. In Raman spectra, two distinct peaks occurring at 1352 cm -1 & 1578 cm -1 are related to D-band & G-band, respectively. G-band refers to the graphitic structure of the carbon material and it is used as a measure of material’s quality. D-band is the defect band indicating the presence of defects in the crystal structure of material. The intensity peak ratio of D & G-bands (I D /I G ) of carbonized hemp powder is 0.66 indicating degree of structural defects concentration in the ground carbonized hemp hurds.

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