Civil engineering, architecture, and archaeology

Find out how our solutions can advance your civil engineering, architecture, and archaeology knowledge

Interested in how our analysis methods can benefit your civil engineering, architecture, or archaeology research? Whether you’re a student, a researcher, or a professor, we’ve put together some links to the most relevant application examples.

The materials researched and analytical equipment used in civil engineering and architecture often overlap with Chemistry and Applied Chemistry, and Materials Science and Engineering – so feel free to check out those pages for more information! Method abbreviations are explained at the bottom of this page.

Archaeological materials

The study of archaeological materials typically includes:

  • Mineral chemistry for glasses, pottery, and pigments
  • Metallurgy for coins and metallic artifacts
  • Knowledge of all types of building materials


Here’s a selection of application notes and articles related to the study of Archaeological materials. Check them out to discover more!

Archaeological Materials      

Method

Sample

Application Note Title (Link)

Coins - metal composition

XRF

Archeological coin

Practical small spot mapping. Analysis of an archeological coin using SumXcore technology

Mortar - composition

UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR

Mortar in walls of Ruins of Pompeii, Italy

Portable Analysis of Ancient Walls in Pompeii, Italy

Paints - Identification

UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR

Medieval and Renaissance illuminated manuscripts (10th-16th century)
 in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, UK

Report on the Use of a FieldSpec 4 Spectroradiometer for the Non-Invasive Identification of Artists' Materials on Illuminated Manuscripts

Paints - mineral compositions

XRD

Chemical and mineralogical changes to a wall painting in the St George fresco, Prague, Czech Republic
cerussite, plattnerite, lead magnesium carbonate, calcite, hydrocerussite

X-ray micro-diffraction in wall painting research

Paints – mineral compositions

XRD

Study of pigments in a medieval parchment leaf using microdiffraction

Non-destructive, small-scale analysis of cultural heritage objects with Empyrean

Building materials

In order to demonstrate compliance with building regulations and materials standards, both civil engineers and architects must have a strong understanding of their building materials, including:

  • Materials science
  • Mechanical properties
  • Chemistry
  • Processing requirements


Understanding of pre-manufacturing processes is also an important element in the drive to create building materials with a lower CO2 footprint. 

Take a look at the application notes below for examples of how our solutions can help with this!

Building Materials

Method

Sample

Application Note Title (Link)

Adhesives - resin loading in wood

UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR

Resin loading in wood, wood adhesives, resin, wax, and moisture in OSB chips

Wood Adhesives Presentation

Architectural marble fillers - particle size

LD

Marble Fillers/ calcium carbonate

Automated marble milling - better product quality, lower energy costs

Asphalt emulsions - particle size, Zeta potential

LD / DLS / ELS

Asphalt emulsions (asphalt cement, water, emulsifier, additives)

Determining the quality of asphalt emulsions using particle size and zeta potential analysis

Cement - accurate elemental analysis

XRF

Cement (SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, SO3, K2O, Na2O, TiO2, P2O2, ZnO, Mn2O3)

Zetium - Cement analysis using CEMOXI standards

Cement - accurate elemental analysis

XRF

Cement (SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, SO3, K2O, Na2O, TiO2, P2O2, ZnO, Mn2O3)

Analysis of major and minor elements in cement pressed powders

Cement - elemental analysis compliance with industry norms

XRF

Cement (SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, SO3, K2O, Na2O, TiO2, P2O2, ZnO, Mn2O3)

Zetium - Compliance made easy ASTM C114-13 norm

Cement - elemental analysis compliance with industry norms

XRF

Cement (SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, SO3, K2O, Na2O, TiO2, P2O2, ZnO, Mn2O3)

Compliance made easy and faster - ASTM C114-15 norm with SumXcore at 1 kW

Cement - elemental analysis compliance with industry norms

XRF / SPE

Cement (SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, SO3, K2O, Na2O, TiO2, P2O2, ZnO, Mn2O3)

ASTM C114-15 and ISO 29581-2 compliance for cement fused beads in 10 minutes

Cement - sample preparation and elemental composition

XRF / SPE

SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, SO3, K2O, Na2O, TiO2, P2O5, ZnO and Mn2O3 in cement

ASTM C114-15 and ISO 29581-2 compliance for cement fused beads

Cement - sample preparation for XRF

SPE

Cement powder, lithium borate

Cement XRF application using a universal borate fusion methodology for ASTM C 114 & ISO/DIS 29581-2 qualification

Cement and Clinker Powders - particle shape and size

MDRS

Clinker and cement powders

Component-specific characterization of cements using Morphologi ID

Cement Blending - mineralogical composition

XRD

Blended cement

Quick mineralogical quantification of blended cement

Cement finishing - particle size

LD

Cement finishing

Reducing the cost of cement production through the use of automated process control

Cement manufacture - CO2 reduction by accurate process control

XRD

Clinker and cement

Quick phase quantification of clinker and cement for environmentally friendly cement production

Cement manufacture - on-line particle sizing

LD

Cement grains

On-line particle sizing and control

Cement manufacture - on-line particle sizing

LD

Cement grains

Castles' on-line analysis- article

Chlorine in Cement - Sample Preparation for XRF

SPE

Chlorine in Cement

Analysis of Chlorine in Cement and Cement Related Materials Using Borate Fusion and XRF Analysis

Chlorine in concrete - concentration

UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR

Chlorine in Concrete (raw material and bridge constructions)

Determination of chloride ion concentrations in concrete by means of near-infrared spectrometry

Chromium in cement - crystalline phase analysis

XRD

Chromium phases in cement

Measurement of fast reactions. Chromium in cement - measuring the kinetics of lamellar calcium aluminate chromate hydrates

Clinker - crystalline phase analysis

XRD

Clinker phases, slag, fly ash, pozzolan

Cluster analysis

Clinker - sample preparation for XRD

XRD

Clinker: Alite, Belite, Free Lime (CaO), Ferrite, Aluminate,

Sample preparation of clinker

Clinker grinding - particle size

LD

Ground Clinker (Portland Cement, Raw Mix, calcium oxide, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, ferric oxide and magnesium oxide, clay, limestone + Calcium Sulphate)

Particle size analysis of cement using the technique of laser diffraction

Clinker hydration kinetics - crystalline phase analysis

XRD

Clinker phases, minor phases - process of carbonization and hydration

Transmission geometry for Cement hydration kinetics

Clinker manufacture - polymorph identification

XRD

M1 and M3 Polymorphs of Alite in Clinker

Quantification of the M1 and M3 polymorphs of alite in OPC clinker

Clinker Manufacture, Raw Mix - elemental composition

XRF

Na2O, MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, SO3, Cl, K2O, CaO, TiO2, and Fe2O3 in raw mix

Fast raw mix analysis in compliance with GB/T19140-2003 and GB/T176-2008

Clinker Manufacture, Raw Mix - elemental composition

XRF

MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, SO3, Cl, K2O, CaO, TiO2, and Fe2O3 in raw mix,

Economical raw mix analysis in 5 minutes

Clinker manufacture, Raw Mix - sample preparation for XRF

SPE

Cement powder, lithium borate

Raw materials XRF application for the cement industry using a universal borate fusion methodology

Concrete - crystalline phase analysis, porosity, density

XRD - CT

Concrete

X-ray analysis of concrete: A multi-dimensional investigation using X-ray diffraction and computed tomography

Concrete - porosity measurement

CT

Porous Concrete

CT measurements with GaliPIX3D

Fly ash - routine elemental analysis

XRF

Coal fly ash, calcium hydroxide (from Lime, or Portland cement)

Zetium - Routine analysis of coal fly ash

Fly ash and slag additives - crystalline phase analysis

XRD

Replacement of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) by partially supplementing Clinker with fly ash and slag

XRD analysis of hydrated cements and cementitious systems

Mortar - elemental composition

XRF

Mortar: Ca, Si, Al, Fe, Na, K, Mg, S, Ti, Sr in Cement Paste

Examine reaction kinetics of mortar about 100 times faster with HiPer small spot mapping

Abbreviations explained

Our products and technologies are described on the Products pages. Below you can find a quick reference to the properties measured by our instruments, together with the measurement name and its abbreviation. Click on each method to find out more about it! 

Abbreviation

Method Name

Instrument(s)

Measured Property

DLS

Dynamic Light Scattering

Zetasizer

Molecular size, hydrodynamic radius RH,  particle size, size distribution, stability, concentration, agglomeration

ELS

Electrophoretic Light Scattering

Zetasizer

Zeta potential, particle charge, suspension stability, protein mobility

ITC

Iso-thermal Titration Calorimetry

MicroCal  ITC

Binding affinity, thermodynamics of molecular reactions in solution

DSC

Differential Scanning Calorimetry

Microcal DSC

Denaturing (unfolding) of large molecules, stability of macromolecules

GCI

Grating-Coupled Interferometry

Creoptix WAVEsystem

Real-time binding kinetics and binding affinity, label free with fluidics

IMG

Automated Image Analysis

Morphologi 4

Imaging of particles, automated shape and size measurement

MDRS

Morphologically-Directed Raman Spectroscopy

Morphologi 4-ID

Imaging of particles, automated shape and size measurement, chemical identification and contaminant detection

LD

Laser Diffraction

Mastersizer

Spraytec

Insitec

Parsum

Particle size, size distribution

NTA

Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis

NanoSight

Particle size, size distribution, and concentration

SEC  or  GPC

Size exclusion chromatography /

Gel permeation chromatography

OMNISEC

Molecular size, molecular weight, oligomeric state, polymer or protein size and molecular structure

SPE

Sample preparation by fusion

Le Neo

LeDoser

Eagon 2

The OxAdvanced

M4

rFusion

Fused Bead Sample preparation for XRF, Peroxide solution preparations for ICP, Flux weighing for beadmaking

UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR

Ultra-violet / visible / near infra-red / short wave infra-red spectrometry

LabSpec

FieldSpec

TerraSpec

QualitySpec

Material identification and analysis, moisture, mineral, carbon content. Ground truthing for airborne and satellite spectroscopic techniques.

PFTNA

Pulsed Fast Thermal Neutron Activation

CNA

In-line elemental analysis

XRD-C

X-ray Diffraction  (crystallography)

Aeris

Empyrean

Molecular crystal structure refinement,

crystalline phase identification and quantification, crystalline to amorphous ratio, crystallite size analysis

XRD-M

X-ray Diffraction  (microstructure)

Empyrean

X’Pert3 MRD(XL)

Residual stress, texture

XRD-CT

X-ray absorption  imaging by computed tomography

Empyrean

3D imaging of solids, porosity, and density

SAXS

Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering

Empyrean

Nanoparticles, size, shape and structure

GISAXS

Glancing Incidence Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering

Empyrean

Nanostructured thin films and surfaces

HR-XRD

High-Resolution X-Ray Diffraction

Empyrean

X’Pert3 MRD(XL)

Thin-films and epitaxial multilayers, composition, strain, thickness, quality

XRR

X-Ray Reflectometry

Empyrean

X’Pert3 MRD(XL)

Thin films and surfaces, film thickness, surface and interface roughness

XRF

X-Ray Fluorescence

Epsilon

Zetium

Axios FAST

2830 ZT

Elemental composition, elemental concentration, trace elements, contaminant detection