I have learned more about how tough chemical research is. I thought I would just have to find a few chemicals and then look for closely related ones on the wikipedia page. Unfortunately, I couldn't find many chemicals in this way and had to be much more creative. I am quite glad that I was able to find all 15 chemicals and didn't have to resort to choosing random things that I am sure won't work. Although I haven't had any setbacks, I still need to find places to buy some of the chemicals. The next step is to buy all of the stuff and start with my experiment.
Here are the rest of the chemicals I will be using (the first 5 are here):
6. Seawater (or water with high salt concentration)
Causes efflorescence or corrosion
7. Oil and then light on fire (not sure whether this will work and I might not actually do this)
Maybe the fire will do something?
8. Vinegart
Weak acid; I doubt it will do much
9. Ammonia
Base; I doubt it will do much
10. Hydrochloric acid
Generally strong acid
11. Nitric acid
Strong acid and oxidizing agent
12. Dry Ice (I will dump it in the bucket underneath so CO2 goes up)
The carbon dioxide may cause carbonatation
13. Liquid Chlorine Bleach
Might have some effect on the concrete
14. Hydrogen Peroxide
Strong oxidizing agent
15. Nothing
This is the control to see how much water naturally leaks through
Monday, March 28, 2016
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Finding Chemicals to Test
Over the past couple weeks, I have been able to identify 5 substances that may cause porosity in concrete. I also found some concrete pavers and spray bottles on homedepot.com that are quite cheap but seem of good quality. I still have 9 substances to identify, which I expect to be completed by Monday (3/21). After that, I will get the entire set up prepared and start experimenting on the following Friday.
While researching the potential liquids, I realized how much searching and digging it takes to find substances that have a chance of changing the concrete. I learned that I like these kinds of research projects, but I get sidetracked easily. For example, I was looking at what effects carbonated water could have on the concrete, and within a few moments, I found myself on the Wikipedia page about FritoLay.
Concrete Pavers
http://www.homedepot.com/p/12-in-x-12-in-Pewter-Concrete-Step-Stone-71200/100333077
Spray Bottles
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Continental-24-oz-Sprayer-and-Bottle-3-per-Pack-CMC9223SP/205907081
1. Sakrete Concrete and Mortar Dissolver
Meant to remove concrete from surfaces, looking to apply it for creating porosity
2. Sulfuric Acid
Generally strong acid that should dissolve some of the concrete
3. Carbonated Water
The carbon dioxide may cause carbonatation
4. Calcium Chloride
Removes calcium hydroxide, an important component of concrete
5. Gypsum dissolved in water
Causes cracking and loss of "stickiness" in the concrete
While researching the potential liquids, I realized how much searching and digging it takes to find substances that have a chance of changing the concrete. I learned that I like these kinds of research projects, but I get sidetracked easily. For example, I was looking at what effects carbonated water could have on the concrete, and within a few moments, I found myself on the Wikipedia page about FritoLay.
Concrete Pavers
http://www.homedepot.com/p/12-in-x-12-in-Pewter-Concrete-Step-Stone-71200/100333077
Spray Bottles
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Continental-24-oz-Sprayer-and-Bottle-3-per-Pack-CMC9223SP/205907081
1. Sakrete Concrete and Mortar Dissolver
Meant to remove concrete from surfaces, looking to apply it for creating porosity
2. Sulfuric Acid
Generally strong acid that should dissolve some of the concrete
3. Carbonated Water
The carbon dioxide may cause carbonatation
4. Calcium Chloride
Removes calcium hydroxide, an important component of concrete
5. Gypsum dissolved in water
Causes cracking and loss of "stickiness" in the concrete
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
What is 20% Time? What is pervious concrete? Why do you want to create it?
Twenty Time is a project idea that has been used by huge companies like Google as well as schools like Saratoga High. The basic idea is that students (or employees) are given 20% of their time in school (or at work) to do something they are passionate about. In our Biology class, everyone is doing a 20% Time project related to the sciences because the project needs to be relevant to what we are learning in some way.
In California, we have a huge drought problem. Even when it rains extremely hard, the water just floods and flows into the ocean rather than entering underground water deposits, known as "aquifers". The main reason for this runoff is that concrete covers virtually every square inch of ground in Saratoga. Pervious concrete, which was originally used due to it's lower cost, allows water to pass through it. Water is able to pass from the surface of the concrete to the soil beneath due to the absence of fine aggregates (small particles) in the concrete. The only problem is that most surfaces are paved with regular concrete rather than porous. And removing this regular concrete to put down porous concrete is a big hassle.
To get past this problem of having to remove and repave, my 20% Time Project asks the question "Can you convert regular concrete into pervious concrete by using chemicals? Can it be done while retaining the concrete's compressive strength? Can it be done using environmentally friendly chemicals?".
To answer this question, I will purchase regular concrete slabs and test their porosity. I will first place each concrete slab in a tub to spray it with a chemical and let it sit for 24 hours. I will then place the slab above a bucket and spray water onto the concrete slab. The amount of water that passes through and enters the bucket in 30 minutes after pouring will be measured. I will rate the concrete's porosity on a scale from 0 to 100 based on what percentage of water that I poured passed through the slab. My control will be conducting the porosity test on an untreated slab of concrete. I will execute the test on multiple concrete slabs that are each treated with a single chemical. I doubt I will find a "perfect" chemical by the end of this project that causes complete permeability, does not remove structural strength, and is environmentally safe.
By Saturday, March 19th, I aim to have completed my research on what 14 chemicals I will test. By the Saturday after that (3/26), I aim to have 15 18" x 18" concrete slabs as well as the chemicals that I will either find at home, order online, or get from a local science store. Each Friday evening starting April 1st, I will spray 3 chemicals onto 3 concrete slabs and let it sit for 24 hours. Then on Saturday evening, I will pour water on all three at the same time and watch them for 30 minutes while taking notes. At the end, I will measure any water that has entered the bucket. The following Monday I will write a blog post in class summarizing my observations. Because I will be out of town for 1 week in April, I should be done testing all 15 concrete slabs on May 6th.
If any of these tests give considerable results (porosity of more than 30 on my scale), I will check whether the chemical is environmentally friendly. If it isn't, I will find similar chemicals that are. This will all be done while another batch of 15 slabs is on the way. After determining 6 eco-friendly chemicals to test, I will spray all 6 slabs on Friday (maybe 5/27) and test them the next day. If any of these have the same effect as the prior ones that worked, I will name it the winner and consider my 20 Time project very, very, very successful.
However, I doubt I will ever get to this point and find an environmentally friendly chemical that converts regular concrete into porous concrete. But if I do, I may continue into summer break and find a chemical that not only increases porosity and is eco-friendly, but also preserves the structural integrity of the concrete.
In California, we have a huge drought problem. Even when it rains extremely hard, the water just floods and flows into the ocean rather than entering underground water deposits, known as "aquifers". The main reason for this runoff is that concrete covers virtually every square inch of ground in Saratoga. Pervious concrete, which was originally used due to it's lower cost, allows water to pass through it. Water is able to pass from the surface of the concrete to the soil beneath due to the absence of fine aggregates (small particles) in the concrete. The only problem is that most surfaces are paved with regular concrete rather than porous. And removing this regular concrete to put down porous concrete is a big hassle.
To get past this problem of having to remove and repave, my 20% Time Project asks the question "Can you convert regular concrete into pervious concrete by using chemicals? Can it be done while retaining the concrete's compressive strength? Can it be done using environmentally friendly chemicals?".
To answer this question, I will purchase regular concrete slabs and test their porosity. I will first place each concrete slab in a tub to spray it with a chemical and let it sit for 24 hours. I will then place the slab above a bucket and spray water onto the concrete slab. The amount of water that passes through and enters the bucket in 30 minutes after pouring will be measured. I will rate the concrete's porosity on a scale from 0 to 100 based on what percentage of water that I poured passed through the slab. My control will be conducting the porosity test on an untreated slab of concrete. I will execute the test on multiple concrete slabs that are each treated with a single chemical. I doubt I will find a "perfect" chemical by the end of this project that causes complete permeability, does not remove structural strength, and is environmentally safe.
By Saturday, March 19th, I aim to have completed my research on what 14 chemicals I will test. By the Saturday after that (3/26), I aim to have 15 18" x 18" concrete slabs as well as the chemicals that I will either find at home, order online, or get from a local science store. Each Friday evening starting April 1st, I will spray 3 chemicals onto 3 concrete slabs and let it sit for 24 hours. Then on Saturday evening, I will pour water on all three at the same time and watch them for 30 minutes while taking notes. At the end, I will measure any water that has entered the bucket. The following Monday I will write a blog post in class summarizing my observations. Because I will be out of town for 1 week in April, I should be done testing all 15 concrete slabs on May 6th.
However, I doubt I will ever get to this point and find an environmentally friendly chemical that converts regular concrete into porous concrete. But if I do, I may continue into summer break and find a chemical that not only increases porosity and is eco-friendly, but also preserves the structural integrity of the concrete.
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