Moisture and salt transport in three-layer plaster/substrate systems

We have investigated whether a plaster which has two plaster layers with different pore sizes can act as a salt accumulating plaster system, in which salt crystallizes in the base layer of the plaster and not in the substrate or at the external surface. We used two substrates; fired-clay brick and Bentheim sandstone. On the substrate we applied...

Alteration of swelling clay minerals by acid activation

The bulk material of six dioctahedral and two trioctahedral swellable clay minerals was leached in H2SO4 and HCl at concentrations of 1.0, 5.0 and 10.0 M at 80 °C for several hours. Alteration of the clay mineral structures was dependent on the individual character of each mineral (chemical composition and initial particle size). Acid attack...

Sepiolite needle-like clay for PA6 nanocomposites: An alternative to layered silicates?

This paper presents a study of polyamide 6/sepiolite clay nanocomposite, obtained by melt compounding in a mini twin-screw extruder, and characterised in terms of morphology (SEM and TEM analysis) and mechanical properties of the composite, along with their crystallinity and crystal structure of the semi-crystalline matrix. The tensile test...

Building stones from a muddy delta: Native natural stone from The Netherlands

Most of the Netherlands a Quaternary delta, local supplies of natural stone suitable for building are rare. These include: Quaternary bog iron ores used in early medieval times (until c. 1200); erratics, deposited in boulder clay during the Saalian ice age in the northern Netherlands and gravel from the river Meuse; Miocene lithified siliceous...

Building stones from a muddy delta: Native natural stone from The Netherlands

Materials with improved properties from polymer-ceramic nanocomposites

In order to link the fundamental research field of polymer crystallization with the technical important field of composite materials polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites from polyethylene (PE) are prepared and their morphology and properties are investigated. The effect of an external confinement introduced by highly anisotropic silicate...