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

Karen Scrivener, Paul Bowen, 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, Franco Alberto Zunino Sommariva, Shashank Bishnoi, 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