Photo by V. Miller
May 11, 2005
Sulfur for Strengthening Cement
Will Concentrations of Sulfur in Cement Improve Its Strength and Durability?
Daniel James Jakubisin, 14, Fairview Park, Ohio
Travel Channel "Dream Science Trip" Award, Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge, 2004
Project background: Daniel had read that tons of sulfur were discarded each year as a byproduct of oil refining. He had also read about cement shortages. He wondered if sulfur could partially replace cement as a construction material.
Tactics and results: Daniel made three batches of cement with varying amounts of sulfur. A fourth, control batch contained no sulfur. He made nine bricks from each batch and tested how their strength depended on various factors.
In the accelerated stress test, Daniel attached the bricks to a wooden arm and placed them near a rotating piece of metal that repeatedly pounded the bricks. In the shearing test, Daniel clamped the bricks in a vice and added water to a bag hanging from the bricks until the bricks cracked. In the thermal shock test, he quickly moved the bricks from a hot oven to a cold-water bath. He then put the same bricks through the shearing test to check for internal weakness.
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| Photo by V. Miller |
The bricks containing 6-percent and 10-percent sulfur fared best in all the tests.
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