Course abstract

The objective of the course is to introduce students to the characterization of construction materials and their behaviour, with a view of developing their understanding of the mechanisms that govern the performance of these materials. The course will be focused primarily on cement and concrete, and include the following techniques; the physics of the techniques and their application to cement science, including lab demonstrations and experiments will be covered. 1. Calorimetry 2. X-ray diffraction 3. Thermal analysis 4. Surface area measurement 5. Microscopy (Optical and SEM) 6. Image analysis 7. Spectroscopy techniques: Atomic Absorption / Emission, Infra-Red, UV-Vis and NMR 8. Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry 9. Impedance analysis