HOUSTON, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Scientists of Rice University, Texas State, have determined that no matter how large or small a piece of tobermorite is, it will respond to loading forces in precisely the same way, which can benefit crystals in concrete.
According to a news release published on Wednesday by the Rice University, tobermorite is a naturally occurring crystalline analog to the calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) that makes up cement, which in turn binds concrete, the world's most-used material.
The finely layered material will deform in different ways depending on how standard forces - shear, compression and tension - are applied, but the deformation will be consistent among sample sizes, according to Rice materials scientist Rouzbeh Shahsavari. He conducted the research, which appears in Nature's open-access Scientific Reports, with lead author and graduate student Lei Tao.
For their latest survey, Shahsavari and Tao built molecular dynamics models of the material. Their simulations revealed three key molecular mechanisms at work in tobermorite that are also likely responsible for the strength of C-S-H and other layered materials.
Shahsavari is an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and of materials science and nanoengineering.
