A method and sealant to seal microcracks as small as 50 μm by causing methyl methacrylate combined with one or more nanoparticles to flow into the microcrack to be sealed.

Disclosed is a method to produce composite materials, which contain customized mixes of nano- and/or micro-particles with tailored electromagnetic spectral properties, structural elements based thereon, in particular layers, but also bulk materials including inhomogeneous bulk materials. In some embodiments the IR-reflectivity is enhanced predominantly independently of reflectivity for visible wavelength. The enhanced IR-reflectivity is achieved by combining spectral properties from a plurality of nano- and/or micro-particles of distinct size distribution, shape distribution, chemical composition, crystal structure, and crystallinity distribution. This enables to approximate desired target spectra better than know solutions, which comprise only a single type of particles and/or an uncontrolled natural size distribution. Furthermore disclosed are methods of manufacturing such materials, including ceramics, clay, and concrete, as well as applications related to design and construction of buildings or other confined spaces.

A defoamed aqueous composition including 5 to 75 weight-% of at least one anionic polymer, 0.05 to 5 weight-% of at least one water insoluble liquid defoamer and 0.005 to 3 weight-% of at least one polysaccharide, based on 100 weight-% of the composition. The composition gives predictable air content in non-air entrained and air-entrained mortar and concrete.

Drilling fluid compositions and methods of using them are described. The drilling fluid compositions comprise nanocomposites comprising core-shell morphology, wherein the core material comprises a nanoparticle having an average particle size of about 5 nm to 100 nm, and the shell material comprises a crosslinked polymer comprising acrylamide repeat units. The nanocomposites are effective fluid loss control agents when the drilling fluids are employed in mud drilling operations.

A nanoporous carbon-loaded cement composite that conducts electricity. The nanoporous carbon-loaded cement composite can be used in a variety of different fields of use, including, for example, a structural super-capacitor as an energy solution for autonomous housing and other buildings, a heated cement for pavement deicing or house basement insulation against capillary rise, a protection of concrete against freeze-thaw (FT) or alkali silica reaction (ASR) or other crystallization degradation processes, and as a conductive cable, wire or concrete trace.

A method and sealant to seal microcracks as small as 30 μm by causing methyl methacrylate combined with one or more nanoparticles to flow into the microcrack to be sealed.

Disclosed are a multifunctional gypsum-based mortar and a method of making the same, where the gypsum-based mortar includes 30-40 parts by weight of a gypsum; 30-40 parts by weight of a diatomite; 0.5-3.0 parts by weight of nano TiO.sub.2; and 30-40 parts by weight of a fine aggregate. The gypsum-based mortar provided herein can not only has good adsorption to the formaldehyde based on the hydration structure of gypsum-based cementing material and the diatomite structure, but also decompose the formaldehyde adsorbed by the porous structure, ensuring long-term and effective adsorption to formaldehyde.

A method of cementing may include preparing a cement composition comprising: cementitious components comprising: a cement; a supplementary cementitious material; and nanoparticulate boehmite; and water; and introducing the cement composition into a subterranean formation.

A method for forming a flow channel in a MIO structure includes positioning a plurality of sacrificial spheres along a base substrate, heating a region of the plurality of sacrificial spheres above a melting point of the plurality of sacrificial spheres, thereby fusing the plurality of sacrificial spheres together and forming a solid channel, electrodepositing material between the plurality of sacrificial spheres and around the solid channel, removing the plurality of sacrificial spheres to form the MIO structure, and removing the solid channel to form the flow channel extending through the MIO structure.

A sensor having one or more stopbands and method of using the same for detecting damage, cracking and debonding in a cement structure comprising a cementitious material and a plurality of periodic structures located in the cementitious material.