Publications by Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

Suitability of Excavated London Clay from Tunnelling Operations as a Supplementary Cementitious Material and Expanded Clay Aggregate

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

London Clay is a marine geological formation that is relatively abundant in the London Basin area in the United Kingdom. It primarily originates from reworked Jurassic shale, greensand and chalk and lateritic Eocene soils with a mineralogy consisting of ka ...

2025

Towards the Design of an Industry-Suitable Technique to Assess Overcalcination of Kaolinitic Clays

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

It is well known that kaolinite dehydroxylate between 600 and 850 °C, and the maximum reactivity is achieved for calcination temperatures of about 800 °C. From an industrial perspective, controlling undercalcination is an easy task, as XRD or TGA could be ...

Springer Science and Business Media B.V.2025

Hydration and phase assemblage of limestone calcined clay cements (LC3) with clinker content below 50 %

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

Limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) is a promising material for producing cement with low CO2 emissions and properties similar to, or superior to, those of Portland cement (PC), but at 50 % clinker content (LC3-50). In many applications, lower strengths t ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2024

Surface properties of clinker phases and clay minerals characterized by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and their link to reactivity

Paul Bowen, Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

This paper presents a preliminary study of the characterization of the surface energy properties of clinker phases (C3S and C3A), kaolin and metakaolin by Inverse Gas Chromatography (IGC). For this, a reliable measurement methodology was developed. By look ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2024

Going Below 50% Clinker Factor in Limestone Calcined Clay Cements (LC3): A Comparison with Pozzolanic Cements from the South American Market

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

Limestone calcined clays are a promising technology as they offer similar performance to OPC from 7 days onwards, while enabling a reduction of the clinker content of 50%. In some regions of the world like South America, pozzolanic cements (i.e., blended c ...

SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG2023

Reactivity of kaolinitic clays calcined in the 650°C-1050°C temperature range: Towards a robust assessment of overcalcination

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

Using calcined clays as supplementary cementitious materials is one of the main solutions available for a substantial and widespread reduction of the clinker factor in cement. Thus, understanding the phenomena governing their production process and reactiv ...

Elsevier Sci Ltd2023

Understanding the negative effects of alkalis on long-term strength of Portland cement

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

It has long been known that alkalis favor an increase in the early strength of cementitious materials but have a negative impact on long-term strengths. The reasons for the negative effect on later strengths are not clear. In this paper we investigated the ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2023

Characterisation and hydration kinetics of beta-C2S synthesised with K2SO4 as dopant

Karen Scrivener, Shashank Bishnoi, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva, Sreejith Krishnan

In this study, a protocol for synthesising beta-C2S using K2SO4 as a dopant has been reported. Quantitative X-Ray diffraction was used to characterise synthesised samples. It was observed that it is possible to synthesise beta-C2S with high purity (>96 wt% ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2023

Oxidation of pyrite (FeS2) and troilite (FeS) impurities in kaolinitic clays after calcination

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

Valorisation of locally available clays for producing blended cements is crucial for a widespread adoption of sustainable binders incorporating these materials. In some places, clays can be intermixed with small amounts of iron sulfides, which could eventu ...

SPRINGER2022

Insights on the role of alumina content and the filler effect on the sulfate requirement of PC and blended cements

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

Understanding the mechanism controlling the sulfate requirement of blended cements is crucial for a successful deployment of these technologies towards a more sustainable industry. Particularly, clarification regarding the role of alumina content on the su ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2022

Structure analysis of beta dicalcium silicate via scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM)

Junying Zhao, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva, Qiao Wang, Chaoqi Shi

Beta-dicalcium silicate (beta-C2S), one of the main phases in Portland cement clinker, offers some promising overviews regarding CO2 and energy savings potential compared to alite. Understanding the crystalline structure and reactive sites on beta-C2S surf ...

ELSEVIER SCI LTD2022

Properties and occurrence of clay resources for use as supplementary cementitious materials: a paper of RILEM TC 282-CCL

Adrian Alujas Diaz, Ruben Anton Snellings, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva, Alastair Thomas Matthew Marsh

The use of clays as resource of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) for a new generation of low-carbon cements and concretes is currently the subject of intense research efforts. To this purpose, a large number of clay resources have been explored, ...

SPRINGER2022

The influence of sulfate addition on hydration kinetics and C-S-H morphology of C3S and C3S/C(3)A systems

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

A comprehensive understanding of hydration kinetics, sulfate requirement and phase assemblage of Portland cement is crucial for further optimization of early-age performance, especially when part of cement is replaced by mineral additions in blended cement ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2022

Paper of RILEM TC 282-CCL: mineralogical characterization methods for clay resources intended for use as supplementary cementitious material

Adrian Alujas Diaz, Ruben Anton Snellings, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva, Alastair Thomas Matthew Marsh

To respond to the rapid introduction and development of calcined clays as supplementary cementitious material (SCM), the toolbox of characterization methods for cementitious materials requires extension to raw clay characterization. Borrowing concepts and ...

SPRINGER2022

Microstructural developments of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) pastes after long-term (3 years) hydration

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

LC3 is one of the most promising alternatives for a high-performance blended cement with a significantly lower clinker content and with potential for worldwide adoption. For this reason, understanding its long-term performance is relevant to ensure service ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2022

The Challenge of Grinding Ternary Blends Containing Calcined Clays and Limestone

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva, Juan Alberto Ribalta Quesada

The inclusion of high specific surface materials such as calcined clays in cementitious systems enhances the hydration of clinker products at very early ages, but it may also increase water demand; thus, the pursuit of a flowing concrete may demand an incr ...

MDPI2022

Hydration and mixture design of calcined clay blended cements: review by the RILEM TC 282-CCL

Mohsen Ben Haha, Karen Scrivener, François Henri Avet, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva, Anuj Parashar, Sreejith Krishnan, Yuvaraj Dhandapani

The RILEM technical committee 282-CCL: Calcined Clays as Supplementary Cementitious Materials, investigates all the aspects related to calcined clays, from clay exploration and characterization to calcination process, hydration reactions and concrete prope ...

SPRINGER2022

Clay calcination technology: state-of-the-art review by the RILEM TC 282-CCL

Mohsen Ben Haha, Karen Scrivener, Shashank Bishnoi, François Henri Avet, Adrian Alujas Diaz, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva, Anuj Parashar, Alastair Thomas Matthew Marsh

The use of calcined clays as supplementary cementitious materials provides the opportunity to significantly reduce the cement industry's carbon burden; however, use at a global scale requires a deep understanding of the extraction and processing of the cla ...

SPRINGER2022

The impact of calcite impurities in clays containing kaolinite on their reactivity in cement after calcination (vol 53, 44, 2020)

Karen Scrivener, Emmanuelle Boehm Courjault, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

SPRINGER2021

Limestone Calcined Clay Cements (LC3)

Karen Scrivener, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva

The climate emergency requires the adoption of strategies and technologies that effectively reduce CO2 emissions in the short to midterm to keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels. Concrete is the substance most consu ...

AMER CONCRETE INST2021