Mechanical properties of high strength gypsum

Author(s)

Wellington Massayuki Kanno

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Carlos.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Física de São Carlos (IFSC/BT)
• Defense date: 2010-02-24

Examining board members

Milton Ferreira de Souza; Anselmo Ortega Boschi; Mounir Khalil El Debs; Khosrow Ghavami; José de Anchieta Rodrigues

• Advisor: Milton Ferreira de Souza

Abstract

The humidification, compaction and drying (Umedecimento, Compactação e Secagem UCOS) (1, 2, 3) method produces a high strength material from plaster and water: up to 90 MPa in compression. This work presents the study of mechanical properties of this material and how water, temperature, impurity and microstructure influence in its behavior. During the study of the intercrystalline adhesion force, we found the presence of confined water and that it accounts for great part of the strength. In order to aid the study, another method was developed: Direct Packaging of the Dihydrate (Empacotamento Direto do Dihidrato EDD). In this methodology, it produces a material with the same resistance, but with some difference in the mechanical behavior. Through the high strength reached by the UCOS and EDD methods, the plaster applications can be extended, since the set material by these methods are reliable and safe. In order to evaluate the mechanical properties, the reliability and the safety of these pieces, we performed the study of the fracture mechanics and the fracture toughening mechanisms. In this work, the studied toughening are: microstructure control (enlargement of the fracture surface), polymeric fiber reinforcement (tension distribution on the fracture tip, fracture tip deflection, and fiber bridging), and polymer adhesive reinforcement (they enhance the adhesion between crystals and better distribute the tension on the fracture tip). The results show that the plaster composites of polymeric fibers and/or polymer adhesive have high resistance, and different mechanical behaviors for each type of composite and setting method. Based on the acquired knowledge, we conclude that it is possible to interfere on the processing and on the microstructure, as well as reinforcements in this material to satisfy the needs of a specific application (AU)