Relation between Young’s Modulus of set plaster and complete wetting of grain boundaries by water

The mechanical behavior of set plaster has been studied in humid atmospheres. This material is made of entangled needle-shaped gypsum crystals. At room temperature, Young’s modulus of set plaster decreases as the coexistence of gypsum and water is approached by increasing the humidity of the surroun...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Colloids and surfaces. A, Physicochemical and engineering aspects Physicochemical and engineering aspects, 1999-10, Vol.156 (1), p.373-379
Main Authors: Badens, Elisabeth, Veesler, Stéphane, Boistelle, Roland, Chatain, Dominique
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Complete wetting
Condensed Matter
Grain boundary
Gypsum
Materials Science
Physics
Set plaster
Water adsorption
Young’s modulus
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Summary:The mechanical behavior of set plaster has been studied in humid atmospheres. This material is made of entangled needle-shaped gypsum crystals. At room temperature, Young’s modulus of set plaster decreases as the coexistence of gypsum and water is approached by increasing the humidity of the surrounding air. Simultaneously, the thickness of the adsorbed water layer at the grain boundaries between the gypsum crystals is shown to diverge. It is suggested that the gypsum crystals are able to slide along certain grain boundaries because the viscosity of the water film approaches that of bulk liquid water. Small additions of d, l-tartaric acid prevent both the adsorption of water at grain boundaries of gypsum and the decrease of the Young’s modulus of set plaster.
ISSN:0927-7757
1873-4359
DOI:10.1016/S0927-7757(99)00097-7