researcharticle optimising the performance of cement-based...

Research ArticleOptimising the Performance of Cement-Based Batteries

Aimee Byrne1 Shane Barry1 Niall Holmes1 and Brian Norton2

1School of Civil amp Structural Engineering Dublin Institute of Technology Bolton St Dublin 1 Ireland2Dublin Energy Lab Dublin Institute of Technology Grangegorman Dublin 7 Ireland

Correspondence should be addressed to Aimee Byrne aimeebyrneditie

Received 10 November 2016 Revised 8 June 2017 Accepted 14 June 2017 Published 20 August 2017

Academic Editor Kedsarin Pimraksa

Copyright copy 2017 Aimee Byrne et al This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licensewhich permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited

The development of a battery using different cement-based electrolytes to provide a low but potentially sustainable source ofelectricity is described The current voltage and lifespan of batteries produced using different electrolyte additives copper platecathodes and (usually) aluminium plate anodes were compared to identify the optimum design components and proportionsto increase power output and longevity Parameters examined include watercement ratio anode to cathode surface area ratioelectrode material electrode spacing and the effect of sand aggregate salts carbon black silica fume and sodium silicate on theelectrolyte The results indicate that the greatest and longest lasting power can be achieved using high proportions of water carbonblack plasticiser salts and silica fume in the electrolyte and using a magnesium anode and copper cathode This cell producedan open-circuit voltage of 155V a resistor-loaded peak current over 4mA maintaining over 1mA for 4 days and a quasi steadycurrent of 059mA with a lifespan of over 21 days

1 Introduction

For autonomous applications both wind and solar energysystems require batteries or other energy storagemechanismsto merit continuous loads due to the intermittency of theirsupply Novel battery design can thus help ease societyrsquosdependence on oil coal and gas Research into new formsof battery focuses on creating higher power storage andgreater recharge capacity and extending the life of traditionalbatteries by adapting their components and materials

Electricity is the flow of electrons through a conductivematerial initiated by an imbalance of electric charge [1]Voltage is the amount of potential energy available or workto be done per unit charge to move electrons through aconductor In a battery electrons move from one electrode toanother via ionic reactions between the electrode moleculesand the electrolyte molecules [1] These reactions are enabledwhen there is an external path for electric current (viaan electric circuit) and cease when it is broken Duringdischarge electrons are transferred from the anode to thecathode via the external wire Figure 1 displays the basicbattery concept with a zinc anode copper cathode andsodium chloride (NaCl) solution as the electrolyte In water

NaCl salt splits into sodium (Na+) and chloride (Clminus) ionsZinc atoms dissolve in the electrolyte as ions missing twoelectrons (Zn2+) and combine with two negative chlorideions in the electrolyte to form ZnCl2 Two negatively chargedelectrons from the dissolved zinc atom are left in the zincmetal (2eminus) The water molecules (H2O) in the electrolytereduce to form molecular hydrogen (H2) on the surface ofthe copper and bubbles out of the solutionThe electrons lostin the reaction are replenished by moving two electrons fromthe zinc through the external wire as shown in Figure 1

The electrolyte is an ionic conductor [2] Liquid elec-trolytes are favoured in batteries as there is a high mobilityof ions and continuity of interface between electrode andelectrolyte The main issue with liquid-electrolyte batteries isthe use of toxic materials and their tendency to leak duringuse or after disposal Solid electrolytes are not prone toleakage but their ionic conductivity tends to be less thantheir liquid counterparts and are more costly Some examplesof solid electrolytes are polymers doped with ions [3ndash5] orceramics with ions arranged to allow substantial movementof same [6ndash8] Cement is an ionic conductor due to itspore solution which can be stored in and travel through itspores and microcracks as shown in Figure 2 This facilitates

HindawiAdvances in Materials Science and EngineeringVolume 2017 Article ID 4724302 14 pageshttpsdoiorg10115520174724302

2 Advances in Materials Science and Engineering

Zinc

Cop

per

Anode (zinc)

Cathode (copper)

Electrolyte(NaCl solution)

Oxidation Reduction

Ｆminus

Ｆminus

+

+

H2

Ｈ(s) + 2Ｆminus ZnCl2(aq) + 2eminus

eminus

Ｆ(s) Na+(aq) + Clminus(aq)H2O

CuH2O + 2eminus rArr

rArr

rArr1

2H2 + OHminus

Figure 1 Example of basic battery chemical behaviour

Pores

Hydrated particles

Outer product

Figure 2 Backscattered SEM image of a mature cement pasteshowing the main microstructural features [9]

its potential as a good electrolyte for novel cement batterydesigns

Meng and Chung [2] provided the initial proof of conceptthat cement-based batteries could indeed be designed toprovide a voltage and current output In their design cementand water are the common constituents of all layers as shownin Figure 3 with the cathode also containing manganesedioxide particles and the anode layer zinc particles Carbonblack and a water reducing agent were added to bothelectrode layers The proposed advantage of this design overthe noncement-based electrode probes (Figure 1) is thatthe active phase is present in all layers (pore solution inthe cement paste) and not just at the electrodeelectrolyteinterface Manganese dioxide (MnO2) is one of the mostcommon cathodic battery materials as it is inexpensive andreadily available Zinc has a wide variety of applications asa negative electrode material in batteries for example inalkaline zinc-manganese dioxide silver-zinc nickel-zinc andzinc-air batteries [10] The carbon was added to increase theconductivity of interface between zinc and cement and toincrease its overall electronic conductivity The output fromthis battery design was very low with open-circuit voltages of

Cement-based anodeCement-based electrolyte

Cement-based cathode

Figure 3 Proof of concept layered battery using cement as thecontinuous constituent throughout the layers [2]

072V with peak currents of 120120583A and only operated whencompletely saturated

Examples of the successful development of cement bat-teries tend to follow the Meng and Chung [2] design ofelectrode cement layers with active additives separated bya basic cement electrolyte Rampradheep et al [11] useda similar design adding a self-curing agent to produce amaximum voltage of 06V and an undisclosed current valueQiao et al [12] produced batteries based on the Meng andChung design [2] and adding carbon fibres and nanotubes inthe electrolyte layers which achieved maximum voltages andcurrent densities of approximately 07 V and 3521 120583Acm2Holmes et al [13] compared batteries similar to Meng andChung [2] which were cured in either a deionised watersolution or a 05M Epsom salt solution and found that thelatter caused a decrease in output with faster drying timeand a shorter lifespan Maintaining a high water content isessential to the life of the layered cement battery

Examples of electrode-probe type batteries similar tothe design of Figure 1 but using cement in the electrolytetend to focus on corrosion energy harvesting Burstein andSpeckert [14] developed a battery with a steel cathode andan aluminium anode set into a concrete electrolyte thatcould provide a small current density Ouellette and Todd[10] developed a seawater battery energy harvester withmagnesium and carbon probe electrodes where cement wasincluded in the electrolyte to passively limit the amountof consumable oxygen in deeper water Holmes et al[13] showed that limiting cement to the electrolyte greatly

Advances in Materials Science and Engineering 3

Figure 4 Basic schematic of the battery with cement-based elec-trolyte

enhanced both the lifespan and output from cement batterieswhen compared to the layered design of Figure 3

This paper presents a parametric experimental study todevelop a cement-based battery to provide a reliable andsustainable source of electrical energy Cement-based batteryadvancement has not been fully academically investigatedup to now although there are many examples of smallscale experimentation available on video sharing websitesand online energy forums Because the area is so lightlyresearched there have not been many advances in makingthese batteries more efficient powerful long lasting andrechargeable Here different cement mix designs are com-pared with regard to their power output and longevity inorder to identify which additives enhance battery outputandor increase its lifespan

The intended use of the cement batteries presented hereis for Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICCP) of steelreinforcement in concrete structures ICCP is a method ofprotecting reinforcing steel in concrete from corrosion byconnecting it to an inert less noble metal than the steel andrunning a low level of current through it using an externalpower source [17] The recommended design current densityis 20mAm2 of the circumferential area of the bars [18]or lower values for fully submerged concrete exposed onboth sides of 1mAm2 [19] Cathodic prevention which isthe provision of protective current before any corrosion hastaken place requires a lower current density of 2ndash5mAm2

[20] Therefore the battery testing and development regimepresented in this paper focused on enhancing resistor-loadedcurrent and lifespan

2 Concept

21 Basic Design Following on from the findings of Holmeset al [13] a battery with solid metal electrodes and cementonly present in electrolyte was considered most efficient forthe applicationThe standard form of battery chosen is shownin Figure 4 and used to compare different electrolyte andelectrode designs while limiting other characteristics such assize and shape The base battery consisted of a cement andwater paste to form the electrolyte a copper plate cathodeand an aluminiumplate anodeThe size of the cell is irrelevantto its voltage however it does affect its internal resistancewhich in turn affects the maximum current that a cell can

provide [1] Therefore all batteries except for the electroderatio examinations were designed to the same size Spacingbetween electrodes was maintained at 100mm except for theelectrode spacing tests

22 Cement Electrolyte As discussed in Section 1 a good elec-trolyte is an ionic conductor which facilitates the movementof charge across it There are a number of examples of ionicsolutionmigration through hardened concrete Chloride ionsare considered to be the most dominant cause for corrosionof embedded reinforced steel in concrete [21 22] and caningress through absorption diffusion wicking and capillaryaction through an interconnected pore network The processof corrosion of embedded steel in concrete is another exampleof ionic flow through set concrete During corrosion ironatoms are removed from the steel surface by electrochemicalreaction and then dissolve into the surrounding electrolytesolution which in concrete can only occur where pores meetthe reinforcing steel surface at the anode As it is a redoxreaction electronsmust transfer from the anode to a cathodicsite which gains in electrons The transfer of electrons occursalong the metal and creates a current between areas ofdiffering potential The ions from the reactions such as theferrous ion (Fe2+) pass into the solution trapped in theconcrete pores and react with hydroxyl ions (OHminus) to formferric hydroxide which further reacts to form rust as shownin Figure 5

Ionic flow through concrete pores can also be encouragedor forced using ionic extraction techniquesThese techniquesare used to protect concrete steel reinforcement from cor-rosion by drawing the ions away Cathodic protection isessentially the reversal of the corrosion process acting as anelectrochemical cell by introducing an external anode andapplying a small current onto the reinforcement forcing itto act as the cathode (as opposed to the dissolving anode)in an electrochemical cell [23] Chloride extraction is similarto cathodic protection but it involves a much higher currentdensity and is a once-off application The ionic conductivityof cement can be increased by increasing the proportion ofsolution in the paste thereby increasing the pore volume andthe amount of solution in the pores It can also be increasedby enhancing the ionic conductivity of the solution itself byadding constituents whose chemicals dissociate readily toform free ions for example salts

23 Electrodes The amount of voltage (electromotive force)generated by any battery is specific to the particular chemicalreaction for that cell type Chemical interactions whereelectrons are transferred directly between molecules andatoms are called oxidation-reduction or (redox) reactionsIn a battery the anode and the cathode undergo oxidationand reduction respectively The galvanic series of metalsdisplayed in Table 1 is in the presence of seawater Aluminiumand copper were chosen due to being highly anodic andcathodic respectively resulting in an expected electromotivepotential of 2V (034V + 166V) for the base battery design

Theoretically the proportion of cathode to anode shouldbe determined using their oxidation and reduction reactions(see (1) and (2)) and their molar mass resulting in a design


Electronic current

Ionic current

Anode Cathode

Concrete

Reinforcement Fe rarr Fe2+ + 2eminus

1

2O2 + H2O + 2eminus 2OHminus

rarr

Figure 5 Process of embedded steel reinforcement providing an example of ionic flow in concrete [13]

Table 1 Partial standard electromotive force series as measuredagainst a hydrogen reference electrode [15]

Material Standard electrode potential (V)Magnesium

Ano

dicrarr

minus2363

Aluminium minus1662

Zinc minus0763

Iron minus0440

Nickel

larrCa

thod

ic minus0250

Copper +0345

Platinum +1200

Gold +1498

of 25 parts copper (Cu) to 1 part aluminium (Al) Howevera proportion of 1 1 was taken in the base designs before thistheory was tested

Al(s) 997888rarr Al3+(aq) + 3eminus (1)

Cu2+(aq) + 2eminus 997888rarr Cu(s) (2)

A common issue with metals particularly highly anodicmaterials is the formation of oxide layers (a thin layer of reac-tion product) Aluminium reacts with oxygen very rapidlyand forms aluminium oxide (Al2O3) in the atmosphereCopper also forms an oxide layer when exposed to air butthese reactions are slower and mainly consist of Cu2O andCuO [23] These oxide layers can impede the output of thebattery as it reduces the interface between the electrodes andelectrolyte Such layers can be removed by scraping usingsand paper or washing with acetic acid and rinsing with avolatile liquid such as ethanol [2] prior to addition to themix

3 Methodology

31 Preparation Materials of the highest purity were chosenso that their specific impact could be distinguished fromthe potential impact of their impurities Materials were alsochosen to be nontoxic if leaked so that these batteries couldoffer an advantage over many conventional liquid-electrolytetypes Details on the material used in the batteries aresummarised in Table 2

A watercement ratio of 04 was used as the basicelectrolyte designThe electrolytematerials wereweighed andpassed through a 200120583msieve to remove any nonconforming

lumps or bulk to achieve the desired powder format The dryconstituents weremixedwell with deionisedwater and placedinto 100 times 100 times 30mm plastic moulds (300 times 120 times 50mmfor electrode ratio testing) to create the electrolyte block

The 60 times 30 times 05mm electrode plates were sanded andwashed in a borax solution to remove any impurities andinserted into the wet electrolyte block protruding 5mm fromthe surface to facilitate connection to the resistor circuitBatteries were then placed on a vibration table for 30 secondsto remove any remaining air and allowed to cure for 24 hoursunder a polythene sheet after which testing began

32 Data Acquisition Open-circuit voltage and continuousvoltage (119881) readings during current discharge (119868) through a10Ω resistor (119877) were recorded over the life of the batteriesCurrent discharge through the resistor was calculated fromthe voltage readings using Ohmrsquos law (119868 = 119881119877)

A 10Ω resistor was connected between the anode andcathode of the battery to act as a resistor load as per Figure 6A LabVIEW National Instruments differential data acquisi-tion (DAQ) unit NI 9205 was used to record voltage eitherside of the resistor as shown in the same schematic Pilottesting using a multimeter refined the frequency of readingsand provided likely ranges of measured current and voltagesThese values allowed for a suitable LabVIEW programme tobe finalised (Figure 6)The setup was calibrated against a DCpower unit and volt meter Logged files from the LabVIEWprogrammewere written into CSV (comma separated values)format and imported directly into MS Excel after testing wascomplete

33 Battery Design and Reasoning Seven different compo-nents were examined for their effect on resistor-loaded-current open-circuit voltage and lifespan These were thewatercement ratio (WC 1ndash4) the anode to cathode ratio(Al 4 1 CundashAl 4 4 Cu) basic additives (Add 1ndash6) 05Msalt solutions to replace water (Soln 1ndashSoln 3) salt added assolid crystals (Crys 1-2) sodium silicate as full and partialwater replacement and as a coating to the plates (SS 1ndash3)electrode spacing (Sp 1ndash5) carbon black proportion (CB 1ndash4)and the effect of using different electrode materials (El 1ndash4)The proportions of the mix designs materials and electrodespacing are presented in Table 3 Add 1 and Add 5 shown inbold were often used as base mixes from which to compareother batteries The average dry weight of each cell was 335 g


Table 2 Details of cement battery materials

Element Material Details

Electrolyte

Carbon black Porous carbon agglomerates average size 30 nmCement CEM I complying with BS EN 197-1 2000 [16]

Water reducer Sika VistoCrete 30HESalts (NaCl Alum amp Epsom salt) Over 99 purity for allSand and lightweight aggregate Sand 04mm expanded clay aggregate 15mm

Sodium silicate Density of 138 gcm3 (40 Be) and a pH of 113

AnodeZinc plates gt99 purity

Aluminium plates gt99 purityMagnesium alloy plates 96 purity (3 aluminium amp 1 zinc)

Cathode Copper plate 995 purity 04mm thickCarbon Graphite rod

AnodeCathode

Cement-based electrolyte

NI 9205 differential module

CompactRIO DAQ chassis

LabVIEW program

10Ω

Figure 6 LabVIEW voltage recording across the batteryrsquos 10Ω resistor load

331 WaterCement Ratio The pore water solution in setcement mixes provides the network for ions to travel allow-ing the transfer of charge and the production of currentTherefore the relationship between watercement ratio (andtherefore the volume of water in the cement pores) and theperformance of the battery was compared by adjusting thewc ratio between 03 and 06 and recording the output

332 AnodeCathode Ratio Theoretically when designinga battery the ratio of anode to cathode can be calculatedas discussed in Section 23 using their molar mass Foraluminium and copper this should be approximately Al 25 1Cu Therefore the ratio of anode to cathode was examinedhere by altering the ratios in favour of the anode or thecathode

As discussed in Section 23 the greater the surface area ofcontact between the electrodes and electrolyte is the greater

the current should be and there should be no effect on voltageTherefore an increase in both anode and cathode materialwas also examined

333 Additives The rigidity of the battery was enhanced byadding sand (Add 2) or lightweight expanded clay aggregate(Add 3) to the basemix design (Add 1) Plasticiser is generallyadded to allow for a reduction in the amount of water neededwhile maintaining workability However as a reduction inwater would lead to a reduction in pores and pore solutionthe volume of water added to the mix was not reduced forAdd 4 Add 5 included carbon black as an admixture as itis known to increase electronic conductivity and formed thebase carbon black mix for comparison with batteries thatincluded carbon black along with other developments Silicafume has been shown to improve the mechanical propertiesand durability of cement [20] Silica fume was introduced as


Table 3 Cement battery designs

Ref CEM I(g)

Water(g) Anode Cathode Pl (g) CB (g) Additive (g) or space between

electrodes (mm) Photo

WC 1 300 90 Al CuWC 2 300 120 Al CuWC 3 300 150 Al CuWC 4 300 180 Al Cu

Al 4 1 Cu 900 360 Al Cu 15 5Al 3 1 Cu 900 360 Al Cu 15 5Al 2 1 Cu 900 360 Al Cu 15 5Al 1 1 Cu 900 360 Al Cu 15 5Al 1 2 Cu 900 360 Al Cu 15 5Al 1 3 Cu 900 360 Al Cu 15 5Al 1 4 Cu 900 360 Al Cu 15 5Al 4 4 Cu 900 360 Al Cu 15 5

Add 1 300 120 Al CuAdd 2 300 120 Al Cu 100 g sandAdd 3 300 120 Al Cu 100 g aggAdd 4 300 120 Al Cu 5Add 5 300 120 Al Cu 5 5Add 6 300 120 Al Cu 5 5 100 g silica fume

Soln 1 300 mdash Al Cu 5 5 120 g 05M NaClSoln 2 300 mdash Al Cu 5 5 120 g 05M EpsomSoln 3 300 mdash Al Cu 5 5 120 g 05M AlumCrys 1 300 120 Al Cu 5 5 100 g Epsom saltCrys 2 300 120 Al Cu 5 5 100 g Alum salt

SS 1 300 mdash Al Cu 5 5 120 g sodium silicateSS 2 300 100 Al Cu 5 5 20 g sodium silicateSS 3 300 120 Al Cu 5 5 Sodium silicate coating

Sp 1 300 120 Al Cu 5 5 5mmSp 2 300 120 Al Cu 5 5 10mmSp 3 300 120 Al Cu 5 5 30mmSp 4 300 120 Al Cu 5 5 60mmSp 5 300 120 Al Cu 5 5 80mm

CB 1 300 120 Al Cu 5 3CB 2 300 120 Al Cu 5 45CB 3 300 120 Al Cu 5 6CB 4 300 120 Al Cu 5 75

El 1 300 120 Mg Cu 5 5El 2 300 120 Al Cu 5 5El 3 300 120 Zn Cu 5 5El 4 600 230 Al C 12 12


an additive to the basemix alongside conductive carbon blackand plasticiser as Add 6

334 Salts Purewater is not very conductive however whensalt is dissolved in it salt molecules readily split and provideadditional ions in the fluid as discussed in Section 1 Add5 which contained carbon black and plasticiser was usedas the base mix for the salt batteries 05 Molar solutions ofsodium chloride (NaCl) Alum salt (AlKO8S2sdot12H2O) andEpsom salt (MgSO4sdot7H2O) were made up using deionisedwater These solutions were used as total water replacementswhen compared to the base mix as Soln 1 Soln 2 and Soln3 Alum (Crys 1) and Epsom salts (Crys 2) were also addedto the base Add 5 mix as solid crystals and the water contentwas maintained as per the base mix

335 Sodium Silicate Sodium silicate is typically added toconcrete to reduce its porosity by forming calcium silicateswhich fill the pores reducing water permeability [21] Sodiumsilicate was added to the base mix design as full replacement(SS 1) and partial replacement (SS 2) of water content Thesolution was further used to coat the electrodes (SS 3) in anattempt to reduce the gas which had been observed surfacingin the electrolyte at the aluminium anode plate therebyincreasing the smoothness of the electrodeelectrolyte inter-face

336 Electrode Proximity The cement electrolyte layer iskept as thin as possible to reduce resistance in layeredbatteries [2]The base pastemix (Add 5) was used to compareelectrode spacing of 5 10 30 60 and 80mmThis is examinedin order to determine whether the volume of electrolytebetween the electrodes had any significant influence onperformance

337 Carbon Black Carbon black (CB) particles are verysmall have high porosity and can form long branched chainswhich result in improving the electrical conductivity of thecompound such as conductive plastic composites [24] Itwas used in previous battery designs [2 11 13] to enhancethe connectivity between electrode particles or in cementbatteries to create a more intimate interface between theactive electrode material and the cement [2 25] Howeverin the arrangement under investigation here carbon blackcannot be added to the electrodes as they are solid plates andis instead added as an admixture to the cement electrolyte

The addition of carbon black makes the hardened cementbrittle [13] It was therefore decided to determine the effectsof increasing the proportion of carbon black in the designon output while not impinging on the rigidity of the blockCarbon black was added to the base mix design by 3 45 6and 75 g alongside 5 g of plasticiser (Pl) so that no additionalwater was required (which would increase the brittleness)

338 Electrode Material As discussed in Section 23 theelectrode material and the respective electromotive forcepotentials control the voltage of any battery cell The designsso far (Sections 331ndash338) used copper and aluminium elec-trodesThe base design (Add 5)was used to compare different

electrode materials Al Cu (El 1) Mg Cu (El 2) Zn Cu (El3) and Al C (El 4) The plate sizes were maintained thesame to allow for direct comparison with the exception ofEl 4 as carbon could only be sourced in probe form witha greater surface area in which case the aluminium anodevolume had to be increased to match it These materialseach possess different electromotive potentials as presentedin Table 1 where different combinations should present thedifferent voltages

4 Results and Discussion

41 Parameters of Interest The following sections presentthe current discharge curves on a logarithmic scale to showthe effect of the different parameters discussed in Sections331ndash338 in terms of current discharge through a 10Ωresistor and lifespan

42 WaterCement Ratio The open-circuit voltage and lifes-pan were unaffected by the increasing water content How-ever a direct correlation exists between the water contentand the current under resistor load as shown in Figure 7 Apattern of increased current of 35ndash5was observed for every01 increases in watercement ratio Any higher water contentresulted in the water settling out of the mix during curing

The pore structure shape size distribution and con-nectivity affect the movement of ions in a cement batteryelectrolyte [21] Lower wc ratios have been shown to resultin smaller porosity and constrictivity (depends on the ratio ofthe diameter of the diffusing particle to the pore diameter) aswell as a higher tortuosity factor (property of pathway beingtortuous) [26] The work presented here reflects the findingsof these simulations as lowwc ratios resulted in lower currentoutputs from the battery cells due to the reduced connectivityand volume of pores

43 AnodeCathode Ratio A ratio of anode to cathode as permolar mass calculation which would lead to a balancing ofreactions in the electrode materials did not lead to a greateroutput from the cells Instead the more general trend of moreelectrode material resulting in higher current was observed(Figure 8) Open-circuit voltage was not impacted as theelectromotive force of the electrode materials remained thesame (around 12 V) but more current was produced withthe higher anode and cathode volumes as more chemicalreactions were facilitated

44 Additives As may be seen in Figure 9 the addition ofsand lightweight aggregate or plasticiser showed no signif-icant impact on current voltage or lifespan Carbon blackwas found to slightly increase the voltage (by approximately015 V) and improved the flow of electric charge (current)with a better discharge life to over 7 hours The additionof silica fume on top of carbon black further increasedboth the current and lifespan but had no further impacton open-circuit voltage Silica fumes relationship with ionicconductivity in cement is complex It has been shown toreduce the overall electrical conductivity of cement paste andreduce porosity [27 28] however at higher proportions it


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Curr

ent (

mA

)

WC 1WC 2

WC 3WC 4

Lifespan

WC 2WC 1 WC 3 WC 40

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

100 1000 1000010Seconds (logarithmic scale)

Figure 7 Current discharge curves across a 10Ω resistor for increasing wc ratio

Al 4 1 CuAL 3 1 CuAl 2 1 CuAl 1 1 Cu

Al 1 2 CuAl 1 3 CuAl 1 4 CuAl 4 4 Cu

Increasing Al Increasing Cu

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)

100 1000 1000010Seconds (logorithmic scale)

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Al4

4 C

u

Al1

4 C

u

Al3

1Cu

Al2

1 C

u

Al1

1 C

u

Al1

2 C

u

Al1

3 C

u

Al4

1 C

u

Figure 8 Current discharge curves across a 10Ω resistor for different anode to cathode ratios


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

10 100 1000 10000

Add 1 (base)Add 2 (base + sand)Add 3 (base + agg)

Add 4 (base + plasticiser)Add 5 (Add 4 + carbon black)Add 6 (Add 5 + silica fume)

Add 1 Add 2 Add 3 Add 4 Add 5 Add 6

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

(base)

Curr

ent (

mA

)

Seconds (logarithmic scale)

Figure 9 Current discharge curves across a 10Ω resistor for different additives

can increase the porosity of the paste [28] which is associatedwith increasing ionic conductivity However similar to thesefindings silica fume has previously been shown to increasethe electrical conductivity of cement pastes containing con-ductive additives such as carbon fibres by improving theirdispersion in the mix [29 30]

45 Salts The addition of salt whether in solution or rawcrystal form to the electrolyte significantly increased thebattery lifespan and improved the flow of electric charge asshown in Figure 10 The base mix contained only deionisedwater in the solution In the other three battery designsdifferent 05 Molar salt solutions were used Compared tothe base mix the use of salt solutions led to an increasein current output by approximately 20 from 169mA to202mAThe lifespan of the batteries was greatly increased byapproximately 50 from 682 hrs to 977ndash1217 hrs Althoughsalt solution increased current and longevity adding it insolid granule form was also beneficial increasing current by15 from 169mA to 190mA and lifespan by 625 from682 hrs to 1254ndash1257 hrs

46 Sodium Silicate Sodium silicate is typically added toconcrete to reduce porosity and water penetration whichwould inhibit ionic flow However it has a high conductiveion concentration in the pore solution and therefore hasshown a higher passing of charge than other activationmaterials in alkali-activated slag mortars [31] The electrical

conductivity of most ordinary silicate glasses is due to themotion of alkali ions especially sodium [32] The totalreplacement of water with sodium silicate (SS 1) reducedboth current and lifespan of the battery to almost nothing asseen in Figure 11 Its addition as a partial water replacement(SS 2) showed no significant impact when compared to thebase design with currents within 002mA of each other andlifespan within half an hour

In Burstein and Speckertrsquos work [14] a swelling of theelectrolyte systemwas observed during setting of the concretedue to hydrogen evolution at the aluminium anode Thiswas also observed in the batteries presented here as bubblesobserved between the anode and the concrete electrolyteCoating the anode with sodium silicate (SS 3) was an attemptto provide ions for the hydrogen to react with forming harm-less water however this did not result in any improvement inoutput

47 Electrode Proximity Figure 12 shows no discernible cor-relation in between electrode spacing and current lifespan oropen-circuit voltage Current was within 005mA of the basemix lifespan within 43 minutes and open-circuit voltagewithin 008V

48 Carbon Black Carbon black has been shown to increaseoutput particularly current and longevity as found in Sec-tion 44 As may be observed in Figure 13 there is a clearcorrelation between carbon black content and both current


Add 5Soln 1 (Add 5 + NaCl soln)Soln 2 (Add 5 + Alum soln)

Soln 3 (Add 5 + Epsom soln)Crys 1 (Add 5 + Alum salts)Crys 2 (Add 5 + Epsom salts)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Add

5(b

ase)

Soln

1

Soln

2

Soln

3

Crys

1

Crys

2

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Figure 10 Current discharge curves across a 10Ω resistor for different salts

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)

Add 5SS 1 (add 1 SS replacement)

SS 2 (add 1 SS part replacement)SS 3 (add 1 SS coat plates)


Lifespan

SS 1Add 5(base)

SS 2 SS 30

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Figure 11 Current discharge curves across a 10Ω resistor for sodium silicate additive


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Sp 1 Sp 2 Sp 3 Sp 4 Sp 5

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Sp 5 (80 mm)Sp 4 (60 mm)

Sp 3 (30 mm)Sp 2 (10 mm)Sp 1 (5 mm)

Figure 12 Current discharge curves across a 10Ω resistor for increasing electrode spacing


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Curr

ent (

mA

)

CB 4 (75 g)CB 3 (6 g)

CB 2 (45 g)CB 1 (3 g)

CB 1 CB 2 CB 3 CB 4

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Figure 13 Current discharge curves across a 10Ω resistor with increasing carbon black content


Table 4 Overview of findings

Variable Current (under 10Ω load) Voltage (initial open-circuit) LifespanIncrease wc ratio uarr = =Sand = = =Aggregate = = =Silica fume uarr = uarr

Carbon black (+plasticiser) uarr uarr uarr

Increase electrode material uarr = =Salt solution uarr = uarr

Salt crystals uarr = uarr

Sodium silicate = = =Closer electrodes = = =Magnesium anode uarr uarr uarr

output and lifespan As its proportion by weight increasesfrom 07 to 17 the resting current increases from 15mAto 22mA (44) open-circuit voltage increases from 13 to14 V (13) and lifespan increased from under 15 hours toover 21 hours (33) respectively Due to the fineness ofcarbon black particles its addition makes cells considerablymore brittle [13] and inclusion of a plasticiser proved to beessential when using carbon black in the cement paste inthese proportions

Carbon black particles have a graphite-type crystallinestructure which improves electrical conductivity and istherefore more typically used in electrode materials [33 34]It is therefore likely that the increase in voltage is due tothe carbon black particles in contact with the electrode Inthe electrolyte the movement of charge in the cell involvesthe generation and consumption of both ions and electronsHigh reaction activity is achieved when transport ratesare high for both ions and electrons Furthermore similarincreases in ionic conductivity have been found in previousstudies using carbon black in polymer mixes where it wasspeculated that the carbon blackmay contain a small numberofmobile ions that are able to contribute to ionic conductivityupon exposure to moisture [35] Modified carbon materialsincluding carbon black have also previously been added toenhance the ionically conductive pathways of polymer-ionicliquid electrolytes [36] For these tests the wealth of electronsin the carbon and the affinity with the ions in the polymerfacilitated ion dissociation and transportation through theelectrolyte

49 Electrode Material Replacing the aluminium anodewith magnesium greatly increased the current voltage andlifespan of the cell as shown in Figure 14 Replacing the coppercathode with carbon also showed a benefit however the totalsize of the El 4 cell was double that of the other cells dueto the available carbon cathode size meaning that a directcomparison cannot be made

Copper was consistently used as the cathodematerial as itis highly noble Comparing aluminium zinc andmagnesiumanodes it can be seen thatmagnesium produced a substantialimprovement in all areas particularly current and longevityMagnesium is one of the most active materials (Table 1)

Figure 14 Current discharge curves across a 10Ω resistor fordifferent electrode combinations (note this is not a logarithmicscale)

followed by zinc and then aluminium [37] The measuredopen-circuit voltages for El 1 and El 2 reflect this at 1553Vfor Mg Cu and 1311 V Al Cu However the value for zincmeasured to be 0059V It can therefore be presumed that anerror occurred during the zinc test by short circuiting thebattery or that the zinc plates were sealed or had an oxidelayer that was not removed adequately thus creating a barrierbetween the anode and the electrolyte This is an area wherefurther investigation is required

410 Results Summary Table 4 presents a summary of theimpact of each individual change in battery constituentor proportion on loaded current open-circuit voltage andlifespan Cases listed as equal include minor changes (below01mA 02 V or 1 hour) or where no discernible pattern wasidentified

Initial battery testing with prioritised current and lifes-pan indicates that optimal output could be achieved bydesigning high wc ratios using magnesium as the anode


Table 5 Final battery design

CEM I(g)

Water(g)

Carbon black(g)

Plasticiser(g)

Silica fume(g)

Epsom salt(g)

Alum salt(g)

Magnesium anode(mm)

Copper cathode(mm)

300 176 6 5 20 50 50 60 times 30 times 05 60 times 30 times 05

0

1

2

3

4

5

Curr

ent (

mA

)

Time (1 gridline = 24 hrs)

Figure 15 Final battery current discharge curve across 10Ω resistor(note this is not a logarithmic scale)

and adding high proportions of carbon black plasticisersalt granules and silica fume Changes to the electrolyteconstituents or the electrode proximity and ratio showedno significant influence on the time taken for the currentoutput to plateau However changing the electrode materialhad a significant influence particularly in the Mg Cu cell Afinal battery was designed as per Table 5 which has a highwatercement ratio of 06 Although carbon black is inertit is similar in density to silica fume and its inclusion hasbeen shown to increase the strength of cement mixes [27]therefore if both carbon black and silica fume are consideredas pozzolanic materials the presented mix watercement +pozzolan ratio is 054

As shown in Figure 15 the lifespan of the battery wasconsiderably higher than the previous designs lasting 21 daysThe quasi steady 10Ω resistor-loaded current taken fromthree days after the initial peak (437mA) over a 12-day periodwas 059mA

The discharge curve has a similar shape to the previousbattery design that used magnesium as the anode (El 1 inFigure 14) with a curved peak and slow decline The peakcurrent achieved (437mA) was also similar to El 1 (413mA)However there was a considerable increase in lifespan whencomparing these batteries from 40 hrs to 505 hrs Further-more the average quasi steady discharge current of 059mAlasted only 19 hrs for El 1 (Figure 14) increasing to 288 hrsfor the final battery (Figure 15) As the anode and cathodematerials and sizes were the same for both batteries thisenhancement in both current and longevity can be attributedto the design of the electrolyte which provided more carbonblack higher water content and the introduction of silicafume and Epsom and Alum salts This battery type canprovide over 1mA through the 10 Ω resistor for 4 days and aquasi steady current of 059mAwith a lifespan of over 21 days

Further development of cement batteries found that sealingthe electrolyte can increase the current output by 50 andthat the capacity can be successfully increased by connectingcells in parallel [38]

5 Conclusion

This paper presented the findings from a study into thedesign of cement-based battery blocksThe study investigatedthe influence of water content anode to cathode surfacearea various additives electrode type electrode spacing andthe addition of carbon black Previous work in this areadeveloped a layered cement-based battery which producedsmall electrical outputs with a very short discharge lifeThe results here present much improved battery designswith higher electrical outputs and lifespan In the cementelectrolyte the use of higher wc ratios carbon black additionwith plasticiser Alum and Epsom salts and silica fume allincreased the voltage current and lifespan A magnesiumanode and a copper cathode proved to be the most effec-tive electrode combination of those studied producing anadequate cathodic protection current for 1m2 of submergedconcrete of for 4 days Testing is ongoing to increase thelifespan and current output through constituent design andsealing methods Initial tests into recharging the batteriesusing photovoltaics have been promising

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by Science Foundation IrelandrsquosTechnology Innovation Development Award (SFI TIDA)

References

[1] T R Kuphaldt Lessons in electric circuits 1 2006[2] Q Meng and D D L Chung ldquoBattery in the form of a cement-

matrix compositerdquoCement andConcrete Composites vol 32 no10 pp 829ndash839 2010

[3] R Ashrafi D K Sahu P Kesharwani M Ganjir and R CAgrawal ldquoAg+-ion conducting Nano-Composite Polymer Elec-trolytes (NCPEs) synthesis characterization and all-solid-battery studiesrdquo Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids vol 391 pp91ndash95 2014

[4] B Sun J Mindemark K Edstrom and D Brandell ldquoPolycar-bonate-based solid polymer electrolytes for Li-ion batteriesrdquoSolid State Ionics vol 262 pp 738ndash742 2014

[5] N U Taib and N H Idris ldquoPlastic crystal-solid biopolymerelectrolytes for rechargeable lithium batteriesrdquo Journal of Mem-brane Science vol 468 pp 149ndash154 2014


[6] B R Shin Y J Nam D Y Oh D H Kim J W Kim and Y SJung ldquoComparative study of TiS2Li-ln all-solid-state lithiumbatteries using glass-ceramic Li3PS4 and Li10 GeP2S12 solidelectrolytesrdquo Electrochimica Acta vol 146 pp 395ndash402 2014

[7] M Tatsumisago R Takano K Tadanaga and A HayashildquoPreparation of Li3BO3ndashLi2SO4 glassndashceramic electrolytes forall-oxide lithium batteriesrdquo Journal of Power Sources vol 270pp 603ndash607 2014

[8] M Tatsumisago and A Hayashi ldquoSuperionic glasses and glassndashceramics in the Li2SndashP2S5 system for all-solid-state lithiumsecondary batteriesrdquo Solid State Ionics vol 225 pp 342ndash3452012

[9] P Stutzmann Hydration and microstructure of portlandcement paste 2014 httpitinorthwesterneducementmono-graphMonograph5 5 1html

[10] S A Ouellette and M D Todd ldquoCement seawater batteryenergy harvester for marine infrastructure monitoringrdquo IEEESensors Journal vol 14 no 3 pp 865ndash872 2014

[11] G S Rampradheep M Sivaraja and K Nivedha ldquoElectricitygeneration from cement matrix incorporated with self-curingagentrdquo in Proceedings of the 1st International Conference onAdvances in Engineering Science and Management ICAESM-2012 pp 377ndash382 India March 2012

[12] G Qiao G Sun H Li and J Ou ldquoHeterogeneous tiny energyan appealing opportunity to power wireless sensor motes ina corrosive environmentrdquo Applied Energy vol 131 pp 87ndash962014

[13] N Holmes A Byrne and B Norton ldquoFirst steps in developingcement-based batteries to power cathodic protection of embed-ded steel in concreterdquo Sustainable Des and Res (SDAR) 2015

[14] G T Burstein and E I P Speckert ldquoDeveloping a battery usingset concrete as electrolyterdquo in Proceedings of the MetalAir andMetalWater Batteries - 210th ECS Meeting pp 13ndash20 MexicoNovember 2006

[15] M Orazem Underground Pipeline Corrosion Elsevier Science2014

[16] British Standards Institution BS EN 197-1 Cement composi-tion specifications and conformity criteria for common cementsLondon 2000

[17] R B Polder ldquoCathodic protection of reinforced concretestructures in the Netherlands - experience and developmentsCathodic protection of concrete - 10 years experiencerdquo Heronvol 43 no 1 pp 3ndash14 1998

[18] R Polder J Leggedoor G Schuten S Sajna and A KranjcGuideline for smart cathodic protection of steel in concreteAssessment and Rehabilitation of Central European HighwayStructures 2009

[19] NORSOK Standardisation Work Group ldquoCommon Require-ments for Cathodic Protectionrdquo 1994

[20] P M Chess and J P Broomfield Cathodic Protection of Steel inConcrete Taylor and Francis 2003

[21] A M Neville Properties of concrete Prentice Hall 2011[22] W J McCarter T M Chrisp G Starrs et al ldquoDevelopments

in performance monitoring of concrete exposed to extremeenvironmentsrdquo Journal of Infrastructure Systems vol 18 no 3pp 167ndash175 2012

[23] P Keil D Lutzenkirchen-Hecht and R Frahm ldquoInvestigationof room temperature oxidation of Cu in air by Yoneda-XAFSrdquoin Proceedings of the X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure - XAFS1313th International Conference pp 490ndash492 USA July 2006

[24] Presearch Department Carbon blackmagic turning electricallyconductive plastics into products P Group 2013

[25] Q Meng Y Kenayeti and D D L Chung ldquoBattery in the formof a soil-matrix compositerdquo Journal of Energy Engineering vol141 no 3 Article ID 04014013 2015

[26] Z Liu Y Zhang and Q Jiang ldquoContinuous tracking of therelationship between resistivity and pore structure of cementpastesrdquo Construction and Building Materials vol 53 pp 26ndash312014

[27] J C Maso Interfaces in Cementitious Composites Taylor andFrancis 2004

[28] S A A El-Enein M F Kotkata G B Hanna M Saad and MM A El Razek ldquoElectrical conductivity of concrete containingsilica fumerdquo Cement and Concrete Research vol 25 no 8 pp1615ndash1620 1995

[29] D D L Chung ldquoElectrical conduction behavior of cement-matrix compositesrdquo Journal of Materials Engineering and Per-formance vol 11 no 2 pp 194ndash204 2002

[30] S Wen and D D L Chung ldquoSeebeck effect in carbon fiber-reinforced cementrdquo Cement and Concrete Research vol 29 no12 pp 1989ndash1993 1999

[31] C Shi ldquoStrength pore structure and permeability of alkali-activated slag mortarsrdquo Cement and Concrete Research vol 26no 12 pp 1789ndash1799 1996

[32] W E Martinsen ldquoSelected properties of sodium silicate glassesand their structural significance Digital Repository at IowaState University 1969rdquo

[33] D Pantea H Darmstadt S Kaliaguine and C Roy ldquoElectricalconductivity of conductive carbon blacks influence of surfacechemistry and topologyrdquo Applied Surface Science vol 217 no1ndash4 pp 181ndash193 2003

[34] R Alcantara J M Jimenez-Mateos P Lavela and J L TiradoldquoCarbon black A promising electrode material for sodium-ionbatteriesrdquo Electrochemistry Communications vol 3 no 11 pp639ndash642 2001

[35] J A Shetzline and S E Creager ldquoQuantifying electronicand ionic conductivity contributions in carbonpolyelectrolytecomposite thin filmsrdquo Journal of the Electrochemical Society vol161 no 14 pp H917ndashH923 2014

[36] Y S Ye H Wang S G Bi et al ldquoEnhanced ion transport inpolymer-ionic liquid electrolytes containing ionic liquid-func-tionalized nanostructured carbon materialsrdquo Carbon vol 86article no 9640 pp 86ndash97 2015

[37] CM Forman and EA Verchot ldquoPractical galvanic seriesrdquo USArmy Missile Command pp 67-11 1997

[38] A Byrne N Holmes and B Norton ldquoCement based batteriesand their potential for use in low power operationsrdquo in Proceed-ings of the 2nd International Conference on InnovativeMaterialsStructures and Technologies IMST 2015 lva October 2015

Submit your manuscripts athttpswwwhindawicom

ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

CorrosionInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Polymer ScienceInternational Journal of



CeramicsJournal of


CompositesJournal of

NanoparticlesJournal of



International Journal of

Biomaterials


NanoscienceJournal of

TextilesHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

NanotechnologyHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

CrystallographyJournal of


The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014


CoatingsJournal of

Advances in

Materials Science and EngineeringHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Smart Materials Research



MetallurgyJournal of


BioMed Research International

MaterialsJournal of



Zinc

Cop

per

Anode (zinc)

Cathode (copper)

Electrolyte(NaCl solution)

Oxidation Reduction

Ｆminus

Ｆminus

+

+

H2

Ｈ(s) + 2Ｆminus ZnCl2(aq) + 2eminus

eminus

Ｆ(s) Na+(aq) + Clminus(aq)H2O

CuH2O + 2eminus rArr

rArr

rArr1

2H2 + OHminus

Figure 1 Example of basic battery chemical behaviour

Pores

Hydrated particles

Outer product

Figure 2 Backscattered SEM image of a mature cement pasteshowing the main microstructural features [9]

its potential as a good electrolyte for novel cement batterydesigns

Meng and Chung [2] provided the initial proof of conceptthat cement-based batteries could indeed be designed toprovide a voltage and current output In their design cementand water are the common constituents of all layers as shownin Figure 3 with the cathode also containing manganesedioxide particles and the anode layer zinc particles Carbonblack and a water reducing agent were added to bothelectrode layers The proposed advantage of this design overthe noncement-based electrode probes (Figure 1) is thatthe active phase is present in all layers (pore solution inthe cement paste) and not just at the electrodeelectrolyteinterface Manganese dioxide (MnO2) is one of the mostcommon cathodic battery materials as it is inexpensive andreadily available Zinc has a wide variety of applications asa negative electrode material in batteries for example inalkaline zinc-manganese dioxide silver-zinc nickel-zinc andzinc-air batteries [10] The carbon was added to increase theconductivity of interface between zinc and cement and toincrease its overall electronic conductivity The output fromthis battery design was very low with open-circuit voltages of

Cement-based anodeCement-based electrolyte

Cement-based cathode

Figure 3 Proof of concept layered battery using cement as thecontinuous constituent throughout the layers [2]

072V with peak currents of 120120583A and only operated whencompletely saturated

Examples of the successful development of cement bat-teries tend to follow the Meng and Chung [2] design ofelectrode cement layers with active additives separated bya basic cement electrolyte Rampradheep et al [11] useda similar design adding a self-curing agent to produce amaximum voltage of 06V and an undisclosed current valueQiao et al [12] produced batteries based on the Meng andChung design [2] and adding carbon fibres and nanotubes inthe electrolyte layers which achieved maximum voltages andcurrent densities of approximately 07 V and 3521 120583Acm2Holmes et al [13] compared batteries similar to Meng andChung [2] which were cured in either a deionised watersolution or a 05M Epsom salt solution and found that thelatter caused a decrease in output with faster drying timeand a shorter lifespan Maintaining a high water content isessential to the life of the layered cement battery

Examples of electrode-probe type batteries similar tothe design of Figure 1 but using cement in the electrolytetend to focus on corrosion energy harvesting Burstein andSpeckert [14] developed a battery with a steel cathode andan aluminium anode set into a concrete electrolyte thatcould provide a small current density Ouellette and Todd[10] developed a seawater battery energy harvester withmagnesium and carbon probe electrodes where cement wasincluded in the electrolyte to passively limit the amountof consumable oxygen in deeper water Holmes et al[13] showed that limiting cement to the electrolyte greatly







2 Concept








Electronic current

Ionic current

Anode Cathode

Concrete


1


rarr




Ano

dicrarr

minus2363

Aluminium minus1662

Zinc minus0763

Iron minus0440

Nickel

larrCa

thod

ic minus0250

Copper +0345

Platinum +1200

Gold +1498





3 Methodology











Electrolyte







AnodeCathode




LabVIEW program

10Ω









Ref CEM I(g)



























0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Curr

ent (

mA

)

WC 1WC 2

WC 3WC 4

Lifespan

WC 2WC 1 WC 3 WC 40

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)






0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Al4

4 C

u

Al1

4 C

u

Al3

1Cu

Al2

1 C

u

Al1

1 C

u

Al1

2 C

u

Al1

3 C

u

Al4

1 C

u



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

10 100 1000 10000




Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

(base)

Curr

ent (

mA

)













0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Add

5(b

ase)

Soln

1

Soln

2

Soln

3

Crys

1

Crys

2

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)




Lifespan

SS 1Add 5(base)

SS 2 SS 30

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)



Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Sp 5 (80 mm)Sp 4 (60 mm)

Sp 3 (30 mm)Sp 2 (10 mm)Sp 1 (5 mm)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Curr

ent (

mA

)

CB 4 (75 g)CB 3 (6 g)

CB 2 (45 g)CB 1 (3 g)

CB 1 CB 2 CB 3 CB 4

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



















CEM I(g)

Water(g)

Carbon black(g)

Plasticiser(g)

Silica fume(g)

Epsom salt(g)

Alum salt(g)

Magnesium anode(mm)

Copper cathode(mm)


0

1

2

3

4

5

Curr

ent (

mA

)







5 Conclusion




Acknowledgments


References















































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of








2 Concept








Electronic current

Ionic current

Anode Cathode

Concrete


1


rarr




Ano

dicrarr

minus2363

Aluminium minus1662

Zinc minus0763

Iron minus0440

Nickel

larrCa

thod

ic minus0250

Copper +0345

Platinum +1200

Gold +1498





3 Methodology











Electrolyte







AnodeCathode




LabVIEW program

10Ω









Ref CEM I(g)



























0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Curr

ent (

mA

)

WC 1WC 2

WC 3WC 4

Lifespan

WC 2WC 1 WC 3 WC 40

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)






0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Al4

4 C

u

Al1

4 C

u

Al3

1Cu

Al2

1 C

u

Al1

1 C

u

Al1

2 C

u

Al1

3 C

u

Al4

1 C

u



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

10 100 1000 10000




Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

(base)

Curr

ent (

mA

)













0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Add

5(b

ase)

Soln

1

Soln

2

Soln

3

Crys

1

Crys

2

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)




Lifespan

SS 1Add 5(base)

SS 2 SS 30

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)



Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Sp 5 (80 mm)Sp 4 (60 mm)

Sp 3 (30 mm)Sp 2 (10 mm)Sp 1 (5 mm)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Curr

ent (

mA

)

CB 4 (75 g)CB 3 (6 g)

CB 2 (45 g)CB 1 (3 g)

CB 1 CB 2 CB 3 CB 4

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



















CEM I(g)

Water(g)

Carbon black(g)

Plasticiser(g)

Silica fume(g)

Epsom salt(g)

Alum salt(g)

Magnesium anode(mm)

Copper cathode(mm)


0

1

2

3

4

5

Curr

ent (

mA

)







5 Conclusion




Acknowledgments


References















































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of



Electronic current

Ionic current

Anode Cathode

Concrete


1


rarr




Ano

dicrarr

minus2363

Aluminium minus1662

Zinc minus0763

Iron minus0440

Nickel

larrCa

thod

ic minus0250

Copper +0345

Platinum +1200

Gold +1498





3 Methodology











Electrolyte







AnodeCathode




LabVIEW program

10Ω









Ref CEM I(g)



























0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Curr

ent (

mA

)

WC 1WC 2

WC 3WC 4

Lifespan

WC 2WC 1 WC 3 WC 40

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)






0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Al4

4 C

u

Al1

4 C

u

Al3

1Cu

Al2

1 C

u

Al1

1 C

u

Al1

2 C

u

Al1

3 C

u

Al4

1 C

u



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

10 100 1000 10000




Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

(base)

Curr

ent (

mA

)













0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Add

5(b

ase)

Soln

1

Soln

2

Soln

3

Crys

1

Crys

2

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)




Lifespan

SS 1Add 5(base)

SS 2 SS 30

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)



Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Sp 5 (80 mm)Sp 4 (60 mm)

Sp 3 (30 mm)Sp 2 (10 mm)Sp 1 (5 mm)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Curr

ent (

mA

)

CB 4 (75 g)CB 3 (6 g)

CB 2 (45 g)CB 1 (3 g)

CB 1 CB 2 CB 3 CB 4

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



















CEM I(g)

Water(g)

Carbon black(g)

Plasticiser(g)

Silica fume(g)

Epsom salt(g)

Alum salt(g)

Magnesium anode(mm)

Copper cathode(mm)


0

1

2

3

4

5

Curr

ent (

mA

)







5 Conclusion




Acknowledgments


References















































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of





Electrolyte







AnodeCathode




LabVIEW program

10Ω









Ref CEM I(g)



























0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Curr

ent (

mA

)

WC 1WC 2

WC 3WC 4

Lifespan

WC 2WC 1 WC 3 WC 40

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)






0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Al4

4 C

u

Al1

4 C

u

Al3

1Cu

Al2

1 C

u

Al1

1 C

u

Al1

2 C

u

Al1

3 C

u

Al4

1 C

u



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

10 100 1000 10000




Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

(base)

Curr

ent (

mA

)













0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Add

5(b

ase)

Soln

1

Soln

2

Soln

3

Crys

1

Crys

2

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)




Lifespan

SS 1Add 5(base)

SS 2 SS 30

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)



Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Sp 5 (80 mm)Sp 4 (60 mm)

Sp 3 (30 mm)Sp 2 (10 mm)Sp 1 (5 mm)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Curr

ent (

mA

)

CB 4 (75 g)CB 3 (6 g)

CB 2 (45 g)CB 1 (3 g)

CB 1 CB 2 CB 3 CB 4

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



















CEM I(g)

Water(g)

Carbon black(g)

Plasticiser(g)

Silica fume(g)

Epsom salt(g)

Alum salt(g)

Magnesium anode(mm)

Copper cathode(mm)


0

1

2

3

4

5

Curr

ent (

mA

)







5 Conclusion




Acknowledgments


References















































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of




Ref CEM I(g)



























0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Curr

ent (

mA

)

WC 1WC 2

WC 3WC 4

Lifespan

WC 2WC 1 WC 3 WC 40

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)






0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Al4

4 C

u

Al1

4 C

u

Al3

1Cu

Al2

1 C

u

Al1

1 C

u

Al1

2 C

u

Al1

3 C

u

Al4

1 C

u



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

10 100 1000 10000




Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

(base)

Curr

ent (

mA

)













0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Add

5(b

ase)

Soln

1

Soln

2

Soln

3

Crys

1

Crys

2

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)




Lifespan

SS 1Add 5(base)

SS 2 SS 30

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)



Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Sp 5 (80 mm)Sp 4 (60 mm)

Sp 3 (30 mm)Sp 2 (10 mm)Sp 1 (5 mm)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Curr

ent (

mA

)

CB 4 (75 g)CB 3 (6 g)

CB 2 (45 g)CB 1 (3 g)

CB 1 CB 2 CB 3 CB 4

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



















CEM I(g)

Water(g)

Carbon black(g)

Plasticiser(g)

Silica fume(g)

Epsom salt(g)

Alum salt(g)

Magnesium anode(mm)

Copper cathode(mm)


0

1

2

3

4

5

Curr

ent (

mA

)







5 Conclusion




Acknowledgments


References















































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


















0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Curr

ent (

mA

)

WC 1WC 2

WC 3WC 4

Lifespan

WC 2WC 1 WC 3 WC 40

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)






0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Al4

4 C

u

Al1

4 C

u

Al3

1Cu

Al2

1 C

u

Al1

1 C

u

Al1

2 C

u

Al1

3 C

u

Al4

1 C

u



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

10 100 1000 10000




Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

(base)

Curr

ent (

mA

)













0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Add

5(b

ase)

Soln

1

Soln

2

Soln

3

Crys

1

Crys

2

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)




Lifespan

SS 1Add 5(base)

SS 2 SS 30

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)



Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Sp 5 (80 mm)Sp 4 (60 mm)

Sp 3 (30 mm)Sp 2 (10 mm)Sp 1 (5 mm)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Curr

ent (

mA

)

CB 4 (75 g)CB 3 (6 g)

CB 2 (45 g)CB 1 (3 g)

CB 1 CB 2 CB 3 CB 4

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



















CEM I(g)

Water(g)

Carbon black(g)

Plasticiser(g)

Silica fume(g)

Epsom salt(g)

Alum salt(g)

Magnesium anode(mm)

Copper cathode(mm)


0

1

2

3

4

5

Curr

ent (

mA

)







5 Conclusion




Acknowledgments


References















































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

10 100 1000 10000




Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

(base)

Curr

ent (

mA

)













0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Add

5(b

ase)

Soln

1

Soln

2

Soln

3

Crys

1

Crys

2

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)




Lifespan

SS 1Add 5(base)

SS 2 SS 30

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)



Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Sp 5 (80 mm)Sp 4 (60 mm)

Sp 3 (30 mm)Sp 2 (10 mm)Sp 1 (5 mm)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Curr

ent (

mA

)

CB 4 (75 g)CB 3 (6 g)

CB 2 (45 g)CB 1 (3 g)

CB 1 CB 2 CB 3 CB 4

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



















CEM I(g)

Water(g)

Carbon black(g)

Plasticiser(g)

Silica fume(g)

Epsom salt(g)

Alum salt(g)

Magnesium anode(mm)

Copper cathode(mm)


0

1

2

3

4

5

Curr

ent (

mA

)







5 Conclusion




Acknowledgments


References















































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of





0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)


Add

5(b

ase)

Soln

1

Soln

2

Soln

3

Crys

1

Crys

2

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Curr

ent (

mA

)




Lifespan

SS 1Add 5(base)

SS 2 SS 30

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)



Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Sp 5 (80 mm)Sp 4 (60 mm)

Sp 3 (30 mm)Sp 2 (10 mm)Sp 1 (5 mm)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Curr

ent (

mA

)

CB 4 (75 g)CB 3 (6 g)

CB 2 (45 g)CB 1 (3 g)

CB 1 CB 2 CB 3 CB 4

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



















CEM I(g)

Water(g)

Carbon black(g)

Plasticiser(g)

Silica fume(g)

Epsom salt(g)

Alum salt(g)

Magnesium anode(mm)

Copper cathode(mm)


0

1

2

3

4

5

Curr

ent (

mA

)







5 Conclusion




Acknowledgments


References















































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Curr

ent (

mA

)



Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)

Sp 5 (80 mm)Sp 4 (60 mm)

Sp 3 (30 mm)Sp 2 (10 mm)Sp 1 (5 mm)



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Curr

ent (

mA

)

CB 4 (75 g)CB 3 (6 g)

CB 2 (45 g)CB 1 (3 g)

CB 1 CB 2 CB 3 CB 4

Lifespan

0

5

10

15

20

25

Life

span

(hrs

)



















CEM I(g)

Water(g)

Carbon black(g)

Plasticiser(g)

Silica fume(g)

Epsom salt(g)

Alum salt(g)

Magnesium anode(mm)

Copper cathode(mm)


0

1

2

3

4

5

Curr

ent (

mA

)







5 Conclusion




Acknowledgments


References















































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of



















CEM I(g)

Water(g)

Carbon black(g)

Plasticiser(g)

Silica fume(g)

Epsom salt(g)

Alum salt(g)

Magnesium anode(mm)

Copper cathode(mm)


0

1

2

3

4

5

Curr

ent (

mA

)







5 Conclusion




Acknowledgments


References















































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of











































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


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