Title Investigating the effectiveness of mineral admixtures in

Language features
high strength concrete

Introduction: Background
gives The importance of concrete in civil engineering is The present tense is
background to unquestionable. Major cities around the world are mostly used in this
the field & dominated by concrete structures, from roads to bridges to type of writing. The
research topic; commercial and residential structures. There is a particular style is formal.
briefly states and growing need for high strength concrete in the
the context of construction of high rise buildings (multi-storey structures
the problem
between 35-100 metres tall, or a building with between 12-
that the
39 floors ref) in cities such as Jakarta, which has very high
research
question is population densities and limited land available. There is an
trying to solve. associated need to ensure that these buildings can withstand
extreme weather events, which are expected to increase in
severity and frequency with global climate change. High
Strength Concrete (HSC) therefore needs to be both durable Make sure to
and flexible while maintain its core feature of strength. explain all
Jakarta is among the top three most vulnerable regions for abbreviations
climate change in South East Asia (van Holten 2015);
extreme weather events such as storm surges, flooding and
drought are expected to increase significantly in this region.
Research
question: can Research question
be a My research question is: the investigation of the It is acceptable to
statement. effectiveness of mineral admixtures such as silica in high use some 1st person
Includes the strength concrete. By investigating this question, I intend to references as it is
relevance or determine the degree to which silica is an effective your research
importance of admixture to high-strength concrete for use in predicted question.
answering this extreme weather conditions in Jakarta The development of a
question. reliable high-strength concrete using silica could enhance Tentative language
here (could, might,
resistance to the impacts of flooding and storm surges and
may) because it is
thus alleviate concerns about building collapses during these
not certain if this
events. It would also avoid the cost of replacing fallen can be achieved.
structures.
Related work
One of the factors of greater strength in high strength
Related concrete is due to the pozzolanic reaction of mineral
research in admixtures. The reactive mineral admixture reacts with
this area: Calcium hydroxide liberated from the PC paste and forms
about the Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H) over time. The additional C-
concrete &
S-H increases the ultimate strength over time. Durability of
about the
the concrete is also increased due to the excess calcium
context of the
research hydroxide in the system being consumed and also by less
problem (e.g. porosity due to the SCMs filling more voids within the matrix Note the
specific region (Mala, Mullick, Jain & Singh 2013). referencing –
& climatic Mineral admixtures also lower the temperature during information
considerations hydration. This is due to the delayed reaction of the cement prominent, which
hydration occurring. The lower temperature during the focuses on what
fresh/plastic state helps with minimising thermal cracking. was said rather than
Several laboratory experiments have shown the relationship who said it.
where added mineral admixtures, in this case silica fume,

Rosalie Goldsmith for the ALL team, IML, UTS. 42908 annotated essay research question
 reduce the hydration heat per kg of binder (Langan, Weng &
Ward 2002).
Analysis
environmental context and impacts Present perfect
tense here to
However, these admixtures have not yet been tested in the
indicate actions that
Considerations
conditions that are expected to prevail in Jakarta and similar have not been
of possible regions, where increased temperatures and rising sea levels completed; also the
challenges in are expected to combine with storm surges (van Holten use of tentative
conducting 2015) to put high-rise buildings under significant stress… language to convey
the research The environmental impacts of using silica as a mineral that some
admixture in high strength concrete in Jakarta could be… information is not
Technical context and impacts yet known.
The technical context of this research is…
The technical impact of this research could be…
Discussion
One of the unknown aspects of this research is the cost
relative to the development of this as an alternative to other
Considerations mineral admixtures in high strength concrete…
of unknown Another uncertainty is the durability of this type of concrete
factors, or in sustained climatic extremes. Although modelling can help
factors that with some predictions, the impact of extreme weather
might be a conditions over ten or more years is much more difficult to
problem ascertain…
A third consideration is the ready supply of silica…
Conclusion
As previously discussed, mineral admixtures such as silica to
high strength concretes possess certain advantages over
Conclusion Conventional Concrete (CC). This allows for an increase in
summarises the performance of a structure, as well as providing
the research potential economic advantages, and may provide some
question, protection against impacts of climate change on high rise
restates its structures in South-East Asia. The proposed research should
importance or demonstrate the usefulness of developing this type of
relevance and concrete for use in the region of Jakarta to withstand some
looks towards
of the predicted severe weather events as a consequence of
the research
proposal
climate change.
You should References Use the UTS library
have between Langan, B.W., Weng, K. & Ward, M.A. 2002, ‘Effect of silica Harvard referencing
5-10 fume and fly ash on heat of hydration of Portland cement’, guide
references Cement and Concrete Research vol. 32, no. 7, pp. 1045-1051.
Mala, K. Mullick, A.K., Jain, K.K & Singh, P.K. 2013, ‘Effect of
relative levels of mineral admixtures on strength of concrete
with ternary cement blend’, International Journal of
Concrete Structures and Materials, vol. 7, no. 3, pp 239–249.
Van Holten, Y. 2015, The impacts of global climate change in
Indonesia: Jakarta as a case study, viewed 02 April 2019,
http://iamproworld.com/2017/05/11/the-impacts-of-global-
climate-change-in-indonesia-jakarta-as-a-case-study/

Rosalie Goldsmith for the ALL team, IML, UTS. 42908 annotated essay research question