The complexity of porous structure of building materials : phd thesis
Kompleksnost porozne strukture gradbenih materialov : doktorska disertacija

english

doktorska dela

2011

Univerza v Mariboru, Fakulteta za gradbeništvo, prometno inženirstvo in arhitekturo

This thesis seeks to establish the link between the structure (in a topological sense) of porous space and charged particle dynamics in porous matter, specifically in constituent elements of sustainable building materials such as clay, cement and soil. The work done is a combination of experimental research and modelling of analysed data using advanced and expanded network models to model pore structure and generalized conductivity model. The main outcome of this doctoral thesis is the demonstration that there is a correlation between the large scale structure of the pore space and the properties of the motion of charged particles through the pore space. This was achieved by conducting two experiments: the structure of pore space of selected porous materials (soil samples, clays, cements, clay-cement mixtures) was investigated using state-of-the-art X-ray computed microtomography, while the dynamics of charged particles in the samples was probed using low-frequency dielectric spectroscopy. The research done and described in the thesis is directed towards the advancement of understanding the transport phenomena and the structure of porous media which is of paramount importance for solving problems in building physics dealing with moist transport in building's envelope, the building-ground interaction, and in transport of contaminants in the vicinity of the repositories where the transfer of moist through soil can be the source of contamination.

07.08.2023