journal article·2021-03-26Open access

Action of Hydraulic Pressure on Portland Cement Mortars - Current Understanding and Related Progress of the First-Ever In-Situ Deep Sea Tests at a 3515 m Depth

Keisuke Takahashi, Yuichiro Kawabata, Mari Kobayashi, Shinpei Gotoh, Shun Nomura, Takafumi Kasaya, Mitsuyasu Iwanami

Abstract

In order to realize the utilization of cement-based materials in the special extreme environment, the deep sea, the authors have launched a project targeted at creating a technology platform with in-situ methods and systems for monitoring and evaluating cement-based materials located at deep ocean bottom sites. The first in-situ test in the world with a view to investigating the time-dependence of the volumetric stability and microstructure of Portland cement mortar following its long-term exposure to deep-sea conditions is currently underway at a 3515-m depth in the Nankai Trough. This paper reviews previous studies about the influences of deep-sea hydraulic pressure on cement-based materials, verifies the action of short-term hydraulic pressure using Portland cement mortars on a laboratory scale, and introduces the ongoing progress of in-situ deep-sea tests. Results from laboratory tests indicate that dimensional changes were provoked by liquid water infiltration and confinement while under short-term hydraulic pressure, however, time-dependent behavior under stresses such as creep has not appeared. Weight gain, changes in pore-size distribution, compressive strength and bending strength of the cement mortar were monitored after pressurization and depressurization processes.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Geophysical Methods and Applications · Concrete and Cement Materials Research · Concrete Corrosion and Durability

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Technical Development Center, Ube Industries, Ltd., 1-6 Okinoyama Kogushi, Ube, 7558633, Japan.

Structural Engineering Field, Port and Airport Research Institute, National Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology.

Department of Marine Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology.

Department of Mathematical Science and Advanced Technology, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.

Research Institute for Marine Resources Utilization Submarine Resources Research Center, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology.

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