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A new pozzolanic material basically conformed of microsilica with a minimum of silica of 85% in its composition is described, where the silica of the material is conformed mainly of cristobalite and tridimite. Unlike microsilica conformed basically of quartz, the microsilica of the invention exhibits greater pozzolanic indexes and provides improved characteristics of durability to concrete cements and in smaller proportions. Also simple and low consumption energy methods for obtaining the pozzolanic material of the invention are described.
1. A microsilica with pozzolanic activity that comprises silica containing 55 to 90% in weight of cristobalite and tridimite with respect to the total weight of silica, wherein said microsilica has a particle size distribution equal to or less than 40 μm at 98%, wherein said microsilica includes:
2. The microsilica of the
microsilica has a density of 2.33 g/cm3, a mesh fineness of 325 in a 96.7% and a Blaine value of 6,536 g/cm2.
3. A method for the production of a microsilica with pozzolanic activity that contains at least 85% in weight of silica with respect to the total weight of microsilica, wherein the silica contains 55 to 90% in weight of cristobalite and tridimite with respect to the total weight of silica, wherein said microsilica has a particle size distribution equal to or less than 40 μm at 98%, wherein the method includes the steps of:
a) Obtaining siliceous material from a natural deposit,
b) Selecting any parts of the deposit that contain SiO2 in an amount equal to or greater than 85% in weight with respect to the total weight of the material,
c) Selecting any parts with a density lower than 2.4 g/cm3 from the parts selected in step b),
d) Crushing the parts selected in step c) until a particle size lower than �″ is obtained,
e) Calcination of the material resulting from step d) at 590 to 620� C., and
f) Milling the calcined material until a mesh particle size of 325 at 96% minimum is obtained.
4. The method of
5. The method of
6. The method of
7. A method for the production of a microsilica with pozzolanic activity that contains at least 85% in weight of silica with respect to the total weight of microsilica, wherein the silica contains 55 to 90% in weight of cristobalite and tridimite with respect to the total weight of silica, wherein said microsilica has a particle size distribution equal to or less than 40 μm at 98%, wherein the method includes the steps of:
a) Obtaining siliceous material from a natural deposit,
b) Selecting any parts of the deposit that contain SiO2 in an equal or greater amounts than 85% in weight with respect to the total weight of the material,
c) Selecting any parts with a density lower than 2.4 g/cm3 from the parts selected in step b),
d) Crushing the parts selected in step c) until a particle size lower than �″ is obtained, and
e) Milling the material obtained in step d) until a mesh particle size of 325 at 96% minimum is obtained.
8. The method of
9. The method of
This application is a 35 U.S.C. � 371 National Phase Entry Application from PCT/IB2005/002161, filed Jul. 6, 2005, and designating the United States.
1. Field of the Invention
The actual invention is related to the field of the development of pozzolanic materials for construction, specifically to microsilicas that exhibit high pozzolanic indexes and methods for their obtaining.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Portland cement is one of the most important materials in the construction industry due to its multiple applications and its advisable physical and chemical characteristics that present. Nevertheless, the costs associated to their obtaining as well as the high amounts that they must be produced to cover the necessities of cement for construction, have been important factors for the generation of new materials that allow to replace part of the cement used for the manufacture of concrete or products derived from concrete, without causing a decrement in their mechanical properties and resistance.
In this sense the pozzolanic materials have taken great relevance due to their capacity to interact with the cement components and to improve its properties.
The pozzolans are siliceous or silico-aluminous materials that in themselves have little or no cementitious value but, in finely divided form and in the presence of moisture, chemically react with calcium hydroxide at ordinary temperature to generate compounds possessing cementitious properties.
The application of the pozzolans in concrete allows to increase its durability in function of the increase in its diverse properties, such as impermeability, resistance to sulphate attack, handling, mechanical resistance in advanced ages and reduction in the alkali aggregate reactivity among others; these generates minor cement consumptions and the obtaining of construction materials with better mechanical properties and durability. With the application of such pozzolanic materials the consumption of energy for the manufacture of concrete and cement with improved properties is diminished.
The synthetic pozzolans, generated like byproducts from diverse industrial processes, have quickly become the primary source of artificial pozzolans used at the moment. The electrical power stations using rice husks or coal as fuel, and metallurgical furnaces producing iron, silicon and ferrosilicon alloys are the main source of artificial pozzolans like fly ashes, rice husk ash, blast furnace slag, silica fume, etc.
The silica fume, well-known like volatilized silica or condensed silica fume, is manufactured by electric arc furnaces as a byproduct of the production of metallic silicon or ferrosilicon alloys. In the transformation of quartz to silicon at temperatures of around 2,000� C., the gaseous SiO oxidizes to SiO2 and condenses in the form of special fine particles consisting of amorphous silica. The silica fume is removed by filtration of salient gases in filter devices.
The pozzolanic activity of the silica fume, based on its chemical reactivity with the calcium hydroxide of the cement, occurs substantially by the non-crystalline character of the silica and by its great specific superficial area (10 to 30 m2/g), that it depends on its particle size (lower than 1 μm). Nevertheless, the silica fume has a relatively low bulk density, so that the costs for their shipment and storage are relatively high. On the other hand, the silica fume form a great amount of dust and is difficult to make it flow; also it cannot be transferred into storage silos by pneumatic lines, bucket elevator or screen conveyor as easily as the cement can be.
On the other hand, the natural pozzolans are crude or calcined natural materials that have pozzolanic characteristics. Some natural pozzolans include volcanic ashes, pumicites, opaline cherts and shales, tufts and some diatomaceous earths.
The characteristics of natural pozzolans vary considerably, depending on their origin. This is caused by variable proportions of the active materials and their mineralogical and physical characteristics. Most of the natural pozzolans contain important amounts of silica, alumina, iron oxide and alkaline agents, which also react with calcium hydroxide and alkalis (sodium and potassium) to form more complex compounds.
The molecular structure as well as the amount of silica present in pozzolans is also very important. Generally, the amorphous silica reacts more quickly with calcium hydroxide and alkalis than does silica in the crystalline form (quartz, for example).
When a mixture of Portland cement and a pozzolan reacts, the reaction progresses like an acid-base reaction of lime and alkalis with oxides (SiO2+Al2O3+Fe2O3) of the pozzolan. This generates a gradual decrease in the amount of free calcium hydroxide by the formation of calcium silicates that will add force to the cement, and an increase in the CSH formation and calcium aluminate silicates that are similar to the products of hydratation of Portland cement. Has been found that the partial replacement of Portland cement by pozzolan works to increase the resistance of the concrete to sulphate and seawater attack, which is in part attributable to the removal of free calcium hydroxide formed in the hydratation of Portland cement by its combination with the pozzolan. The final result will be that the concrete mixture will contain less calcium hydroxide and more CSH and other products of low porosity.
The shape, fineness, particle size distribution, density, and composition of natural pozzolan particles, influence in the characteristics of freshly mixed and hardened concrete, and the strength development of hardened concrete.
There are several advantages when combining pozzolans with concrete. Concrete that contains a pozzolan typically has lower permeability; also the pozzolans have been used in low cement content concrete to reduce the temperature increase of the concrete, in comparison with concrete mixtures that contain Portland cement like the only cementitious material. The slower index of heat development with pozzolans allows more economic removal of heat in comparison with concrete that do not contain them.
On the other hand, almost any pozzolan when it is used in sufficient quantity is capable of preventing the excessive expansion resulting from the alkali-silica reaction. This reaction implies the interaction of hydroxyl ions associated with alkalis in Portland cement with certain siliceous components of the aggregates in concrete. The reaction products can cause excessive expansion, cracking, and the general deterioration of the concrete. It has been observed that the natural pozzolans are generally more effective than fly ashes to controlling the alkali-silica reaction.
The use of natural pozzolans with Portland cement for the concrete obtaining generally increases its resistance to aggressive attack by seawater, to sulphate solutions from soil, and to natural acid waters. The relative improvement is greater for concrete with low cement content.
The addition to the cement of a low quantity of pozzolanic siliceous material finely ground, generates insoluble salts that add cementitious value to the mixture; nevertheless, the calcination of the siliceous material is very important, since no reaction will happen between this material and the free lime unless the product has been treated later at high temperature, that is to say, treated under hydrotermic conditions.
There are multiple modifications to the pozzolanic materials, nevertheless, the particle size is one of the most important; by this way those materials with very reduced particle sizes are distinguished, which are called microsilicas. In this group are distinguished the synthetic silicas, the silica fume and natural silicas being these the most common in the market.
These products characterize by a high content of silica and particle sizes from 10 to 100 times smaller than the cement, which makes its application successful to make the concrete mixtures denser.
The silica fume is recognized like the main ingredient for high performance concrete, nevertheless, presents some disadvantages, such as:
a) The actual production is limited by smelting of silica,
b) The price by ton is high, and
c) It requires be used along with reducing water additives of high spectrum due to its lower particle size.
Unlike the silica fume, the suitably processed natural microsilicas, compete in quality with the silica fume at lower costs.
Like the pozzolanic materials, the microsilica allows to improve the cement characteristics, contributing to the improvement of a greater abrasion resistance, greater resistance to the chemical attack and a very low diffusion of chlorine ions. This allows that the resulting cements can properly be used in adverse environments, such as soils with high humidity or high sulphate contents, or marine environments.
Until now, multiple options have been generated with respect to siliceous materials, with natural or synthetic origin that allow increasing the cement durability. In this sense have been obtained silica mixtures with an ample distribution of different particle sizes1,2, hydrophobic silicas obtained from silicone oil precipitation3, silica mixtures with CaCO3 4, colloidal silicas5,6, silicas obtained like reaction products between bauxite and acids7, silica fume humidified dusts to improve their fluidity8, resulting silicas from the magnetic metal separation from rocky wastes9, synthetic microsilicas with high reflectivity10, stable watery dispersions of microsilica mixed with metal oxides11, microsilicas with bulk controlled densities12, microsilica dispersions that do not present thixotropic effect13, spherical silicas with specific diameters14, microsilicas mixed with chelating agents15 or treated with acids16, as well as silicas with tertiary structures from geothermal water17.
However, the mentioned siliceous materials previously are obtained from processes that involve the addition of multiple substances that can provide negative or undesirable effects when making contact with the cement. Also, the processes for their obtaining tend to be complex and to use great amounts of energy and infrastructure, which can increase considerably their costs.
Due to previous, is necessary to count with pozzolanic materials with advisable characteristics that allow to continue improving the mechanical and chemical properties of the concrete or cement, and that allow to be obtained by simplified processes from natural sources.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide natural siliceous pozzolanic materials with increased capacity in its pozzolanic activity.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide siliceous pozzolanic materials composed mainly of cristobalite and tridimite, for example criptocrystaline.
It is another objective of the presented invention to provide natural microsilicas composed mainly of cristobalite and tridimite, and with pozzolanic indexes greater than the microsilicas known until now.
Another one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a simple and low consumption energy method for the obtaining of natural microsilicas composed mainly of cristobalite and tridimite with high pozzolanic indexes, from geologic deposits.
The present invention provides a new pozzolanic material basically conformed of microsilica with a minimum of silica of 85% in its composition, where the silica of the material is conformed mainly of cristobalite and tridimite in a proportion from 55 to 90% in weight with respect to the total weight of silica. The microsilicas of the invention have a pozzolanic activity at least of 40% greater than the microsilicas composed only by quartz, smaller densities, and a particle size of 40 μm at 98%. The pozzolanic index of the materials of the invention reaches greater values than 120% at 28 days in a consistent way and the observed superficial area of the material (BET) is similar than the superficial area of microsilica fume without need to grind the material in excess.
Concretes formed with mixtures of cement and the pozzolanic material of the invention, develop a very advisable impermeability as well as high compressive strengths, comparable to the developed by other high performance pozzolanic materials, for example silica fume. The microsilicas of the invention improve the cement abrasion indexes and allow diminishing in a dramatic way the expansion caused by the sulphate attack. The pozzolanic material described here can be used as substitute of the commercial silica fume as well as other pozzolanic materials in the production of high performance concretes.
The invention is based on the discovery that the best characteristics as pozzolanic material in the microsilica are directly related with the presence of greater percentage of cristobalite and tridimite in the silica (SiO2) of the material, in comparison with those silicas composed mainly by quartz. This allows obtaining microsilicas like improved pozzolanic materials that contains greater amounts of cristobalite and tridimite in the silica.
The cristobalite and tridimite are quartz polymorphs, which means that they are composed of the same chemical elements (SiO2), but they have a different crystalline structure. Within the polymorphic members of the quartz group, the coesite and the stishovite are also included, which appear depending of pressure and temperature conditions of which the quartz is exposed. Table 1 shows the different polymorphic modifications from the quartz.
The cristobalite is only metastable at normal surface temperatures; meaning that, if it were possible, it would slowly convert to the quartz structure. But this is a slow and complicated process taking thousands of years if it happens at all. It is a slow process mostly because the transformation implies the breaking of bonds and the rearrangement of atoms. Although has been demonstrated that microsilicas that they contain above of 85% in weight of silica (SiO2) has advisable pozzolanic activity for construction materials, the microsilicas of the invention contain a greater pozzolanic activity in comparison with the microsilicas known actually. The microsilicas of the invention have a pozzolanic activity at least of 40% greater than the microsilicas composed only by quartz or which those in which the quartz is in an equal or greater percentage of 50% in weight with respect to the total weight of silica. In the microsilicas described here, the joint amount of cristobalite and tridimite are from 55 to 90% in weight with respect to the total weight of silica, preferably from 70 to 90% in weight.
In one of the embodiments of the invention, the crystal size of cristobalite and tridimite can be from 5 to 12 nm, preferably from 6 to 11 nm, with which these elements are criptocrystalline.
Also, the microsilicas of the invention have smaller densities (from 5 to 10%) that those microsilicas composed by high amounts of quartz, which allows to reduce the material weight in similar volumes.
On the other hand, like the rest of the microsilicas, the materials of the invention can increase their pozzolanic activity by calcination means and to react in an advisable way with cementitious materials to increase and to improve the physical characteristics of these.
The microsilicas of the invention have advisable particle sizes to mix themselves with cementitious materials, allowing an intimate interaction with the cementitious material, without need to use high energy milling processes to diminish more the particle size. The microsilicas of the invention generally have a particle size distribution equal or smaller to 40 μm at 98%, similar sizes than the reported for another type of microsilicas. The high percentages of cristobalite and tridimite in the pozzolanic material of the invention, allow increasing the pozzolanic activity of the material without need to reduce even more their particle size.
Also the greater percentages of cristobalite and tridimite in the microsilicas of the invention, do not alter their physical properties like pozzolanic material to be used in cementitious materials, as well do not alter either the typical properties of the cementitious material with which they can be combined.
The high percentages of cristobalite and tridimite allow improving in a surprising way the pozzolanic characteristics of the microsilicas, without need to put the material under posterior chemical transformation processes or calcination at high temperatures.
The pozzolanic index of the materials of the invention reaches greater values than 120% with respect to cement control at 28 days in a consistent way, similar values than the values reached by highly processed microsilicas.
The microsilica 600, an extracted product from a natural deposit of white geosilica found in New Zealand, contains an average percentage of SiO2 of 87.9%, a pozzolanic index of 119% and a particle size of 20 μm at 97.9%. Also, the physical and chemical characteristics of the material, turn it in a high reactivity pozzolanic material, which allows improving many of the cement characteristics. Nevertheless, for its obtaining, it is necessary to watch continuously the material milling process to obtain the mentioned particle sizes18. Unlike the mentioned above, the pozzolanic material of the present invention have pozzolanic indexes greater than 120% with a particle size of 40 μm at 98%, a greater particle size value than the mentioned previously. As it is demonstrated in the present invention, the pozzolanic indexes developed by the pozzolanic material depend of the crystalline composition of the silica. Due to this it is evident that when diminishing the particle size of material of the invention at levels of the microsilica 600, the pozzolanic properties of the material are even increased more due to the increase in the superficial exposed area of the material; this allows to a greater interaction and reactivity with the components of the cement.
Like other natural microsilicas, the microsilica of the invention can be obtained from materials with high silica, like for example from ignimbrite.
For the aims of the present invention, the pozzolanic material described here is obtained in a general way by means of the following process:
a) Obtaining the siliceous material from natural deposits, preferably from ignimbrite deposits,
b) Selecting those parts of the deposit that contain SiO2 in an equal or greater amounts than 85% in weight with respect to the total weight of the material,
c) From the parts obtained in b), to select those that have a density smaller than 2.4 g/cm3,
d) Crushing the parts obtained in c) until obtaining a particle size smaller than �″,
e) Calcination of the obtained material previously, at 590 to 620� C., and
f) Milling the calcined material until obtaining a mesh particle size of 325 at 96% like minimum.
The method of the invention allows obtaining pozzolanic materials with a pozzolanic index equal or greater to 120%; nevertheless, eliminating calcination step of the process previously described, the obtained material develops pozzolanic indexes from 110 to 120%, which also can be used for certain applications than the pozzolanic material with a greater pozzolanic index. In this sense it is known that the pozzolanic activity of materials with high silica content can recover with a heat treatment at temperatures of 500 to 750� C. and later milling of the material during a time of 30 to 60 minutes19.
The process of the invention allows obtaining pozzolanic materials with high silica content and greater proportions of cristobalite and tridimita in the silica of the material, in comparison with other pozzolanic materials. As the present invention demonstrates it, the obtained pozzolanic material exhibits pozzolanic indexes at least of 40% greater than those pozzolanic materials that contain predominantly quartz in the silica, independently of the percentage of silica that contains the pozzolanic material.
Also and in a surprising way, when the proportion of cristobalite and tridimite increase in the crystalline composition of the silica of the pozzolanic material of the invention, then the pozzolanic index of the material increases in a considerable way.
Although the crystal size of cristobalite and tridimite seems not to be determining in the pozzolanic activity of the microsilica of the invention, a lower crystal size along with a high percentage of such in the silica of the material, is associate with a greater performance of the microsilica (see table 9).
On the other hand, the existence of a greater proportion of cristobalite and tridimite in the pozzolanic material of the invention, does not affect negatively the behavior of the material in common tests of resistance and durability of concrete and mortars, developing similar physical and chemical properties or inclusive better properties than the observed for other similar pozzolanic materials.
Because the pozzolanic material of the invention can be obtained from the calcination and milling of raw materials such as the ignimbrite, this can be process with the same procedures and equipment used for the ordinary cement production (rotatory furnace and mill with separator, for example), allowing to use the common infrastructure that can be found in industrial plants for producing and processing cement.
Although the pozzolanic material of the invention can be obtained with the common procedures to obtain cement, is desirable that the material is ground to obtaining a particle size smaller to 20 microns to increase even more the pozzolanic activity of the material of the invention. Nevertheless, although the particle size of the microsilica described here is greater than the observed for the silica fume or microsilica 600, the observed superficial area of the material (BET) is similar than the superficial area of microsilica fume (see table 10); this characteristic was obtained in the microsilica of the invention without need to grind the material in excess.
Unlike the invention, Eriksson describes the obtaining of a fine active aggregate like pozzolanic material that consists of a mixture of an inactive dry component like quartz or lime and a substance that contain abundant amorphous silicon oxide. This mixture is ground with the purpose of activating the inactive material so that this it reacts in an advisable way with the lime of the cement20. Nevertheless, this material involves the addition of elements that increase their costs of obtaining and which they can react in an undesirable way with other elements of the cement.
In the literature have been reported diverse compositions that include cristobalite and tridimite to improve the characteristics of diverse materials, however, all of them include other active substances, responsible to react mainly with the cement elements.
For the obtaining of cristobalite and tridimite crystals for mortar improvements, has been reported the silica thermal conversion (1,450� C.), altogether with the use of plastic agents (cellulose, molases or maltodextrine) and different compounds such as sodium silicate, boron oxide or lime. These compositions are useful to avoid disparities in the different levels of expansion that can appear in mortars for brick union at high temperatures that are composed basically by quartz; with it the formation of fissures in these materials is avoided21.
There have been obtained improved bricks with base on silica under heat treatment with the purpose to generating uniform crystalline phases of tridimite and cristobalite in the brick, and later mixture with not preheated siliceous material. To such mixtures it is added minerals such as sodium chloride, potassium or sodium carbonate to accelerate the crystalline transformation of quartz, warming up later the resulting mixtures until quartz conversion to tridimite and cristobalite22.
In general, have been reported multiple methods for the obtaining of cristobalite from quartz or siliceous materials, nevertheless, the great majority of them uses heating processes of these materials at high temperatures (1,000 to 1,600� C.), adding catalytic substances that allow the obtaining of this crystalline phase in part of the obtaining process, such as oxides of alkaline or alkaline earth metals23, carbonates or bases of alkaline metals24 or alkaline phosphates or fluorides25.
On the other hand cement additives that use siliceous materials to increase the cement chemical resistance are known. The cement additive described by Vsevolod24, constituted by a mixture of finely divided quartz with a surface area from 1,000 to 5,000 cm2/g in a proportion in weight from 30 to 80%, and cristobalite and/or tridimite in a proportion in weight from 20 to 70%, allows to increase the cement water resistance in comparison with additives conformed solely by quartz. The process described for the obtaining of this additive, involves the mixture of siliceous material with different catalysts, such as NaOH, KOH, NaCO3, KCO3 or mixtures of such, with a subsequent heat treatment at very high temperature (1,000 to 1,550� C.). Nevertheless, the mentioned additive does not increase in a consistent manner the cement compressive strength in all cases and not all of the mixture material conserve a homogenous particle size, since only the cristobalite and/or tridimite crystals have a particle size smaller to 1 mm, which can cause problems in its interaction with cement particles. On the other hand, the cristobalite and/or tridimite crystals contain in their surface important amounts of sodium or potassium oxides, characteristic that results of vital importance to observed the improvement effect in the cement; these important amounts of oxides can be negative for a better chemical interaction between the siliceous material and the cement components.
Unlike the additive described by Vsevolod24, the pozzolanic material of the invention not contains a significant amount of sodium and potassium oxides, the particle size is smaller to 1 mm in an homogenous way (crystals smaller to 20 nm) and, in addition, in all the cases increases the cement compressive strength at 28 days. On the other hand, the pozzolanic effect of the material of the invention is not associated to the alkaline metal oxide presence, but to the own characteristics of the material, mainly to cristobalite and tridimite content. On the other hand, the process of obtaining of the present invention, allows using much lower temperatures to process the pozzolanic material, and without need to use additional siliceous materials previously treated.
As it is demonstrated in the present invention, it is important to select the raw material derived from the silica deposit to process itself for the obtaining of the pozzolanic material, since diverse extracted samples from different parts of the same deposit develop different pozzolanic indexes, even after being treated according to the method of the invention (see
Like other microsilicas, the microsilica of the invention does not have cementitious properties of union by itself. Nevertheless, it can react with the lime of the cement at room temperature in the presence of water, when it gets to form mixtures with the cement that is tried to improve.
The concretes formed from cement mixtures and the pozzolanic material of the invention, develop a very advisable impermeability as well as high compressive strengths, comparable to the developed by other pozzolanic materials, as for example silica fume.
Also the material of the invention improves the cement abrasion indexes from 10 to 70% with respect to cements that use silica fume in the same proportions, and allows to diminish in a dramatic way the expansion caused by the sulphate attack in a 2,800% at 28 weeks.
With the microsilica of the invention, significant improvements in all cement properties can be obtained using low proportions of this material in the cementitious mixtures, generally using at least 5% in weight of the material.
The use of the material of the invention provides an important economic advantage in the generation of cement with improved properties, since it allows reductions in the used amount of Portland cement in the generated mixtures.
Due to the mentioned above, the pozzolanic material of the invention can be used as substitute of the commercial silica fume as well as other pozzolanic materials in the production of high performance concretes.
Like a way to illustrate the present invention, the following examples appear, without it limits the reach of the same one.
From a natural ignimbrite deposit located in the north of Mexico, diverse samples of rocky material were obtained; later, the material was put under chemical analysis to determine its composition. As it can be observed in table 2, the average content of silica in the rocky material was 92.14%, superior value that found in microsilica 600 and commercial silica fume and within the specifications according to ASTM C-1240.
Diverse representative samples were taken later from the ignimbrite deposit, which were investigated individually in their chemical composition by means of chemical analysis by x-rays fluorescence. As it can be observed in table 3, all the obtained samples presented a silica percentage superior to 88% with nongreater differences of 2% among them.
The material samples obtained in example 1 were transported from quarry to a cement processing plant. The samples were crushed later separately in a crushing jaw machine until obtaining a size smaller to �″ and later they were put under calcination at 590 to 620� C. in a rotatory furnace during 1 hr. Later, the resulting materials along with a milling additive as for example Darex or triethanolamine, were worn out separately in a ball mill with separator during 30 minutes until obtaining a mesh particle size of 325 at 96% as minimum. The treated materials were placed in containers or plastic bags until their use.
The density of the samples obtained in example 2 was determined using an Accupyc picnometer model 1330. The obtained results were compared with the density of the same samples but without calcination (crude samples). As it is observed in table 4 and in
The treated samples from pozzolanic material obtained in example 2, were evaluated in their pozzolanic index according to ASTM C-311 and compared their developed compressive strengths in cements with these materials and silica fume. This method establishes in a general way, that the pozzolanic material must be mixed with Portland cement in a relation in weight of 20:80 respectively and make compressive strength tests according to ASTM C-109 to this mixture, comparing the obtained results with the compressive strength of the Portland cement used as a control; the pozzolanic index of the proven material, turns out to divide the compressive strength mixture of this material by the compressive strength of the cement control and to multiply it by 100.
Diverse microsilica samples of the invention were mixed with Portland cement to measure the resulting compressive strength in buckets according to ASTM C-109, for which 20% in weight of Portland cement were replaced by the pozzolanic material under test.
As it can be observed in table 5 and
On the other hand, the obtained pozzolanic indexes for the materials of the invention are show in table 5 and
The samples of pozzolanic material of example 2 were analyzed by x-ray diffraction. As it can be observed in
Comparing the x-ray diffraction spectrum data from samples with densities smaller to 2.4 g/cm3 with the pozzolanic indexes of the calcined material of the invention (see
On the other hand, by Rietveld method, the amount of cristobalite, tridimite and quartz was determined in 3 representative samples of the material extracted from the deposit, after obtaining the mentioned results previously, as well the crystallite size for each one of these crystalline phases.
As it can be observed in table 6 and
The sample with a density greater to 2.4 g/cm3 exhibited a percentage in weight much greater of quartz than cristobalite and tridimite in the silica.
The table 6 also shows some of the differences in the performance like pozzolanic material of these materials; as it can be observed, the samples with a percentage in weight greater or equal to 56% of cristobalite and tridimite in the silica of the material present the best performance.
The pozzolanic material with a density smaller to 2.4 g/cm3 was analyzed in its particle size and its chemical composition using conventional methods, after being processed at industrial level as it indicates the example 1. The obtained pozzolanic material has a particle size of 40 μm at 98% (see table 7), a percentage of silica near to 90% and a density of 2.33 g/cm3 (see table 8). Also, the pozzolanic index of the material is greater to 120% (see table 9).
All necessary concretes to evaluate the characteristics of the pozzolanic material of the invention according to examples 8 to 14, were elaborated with coating of 10+/−1 cm and with a water-cement relation from 0.50 to 0.55. Also the average air content in the concrete was 5%, obtained with the additive MBVR; finally was used the reducing water additive Rheobuild 1000, both additives from the Masters Builders Technology Company.
The pozzolanic material of example 6 was mixed with Portland cement in different proportions and compared with similar mixtures but with silica fume like comparison material according to ASTM C-192. As it can be observed in
The pozzolanic material of the invention was mixed with sand and Portland cement in diverse proportions to obtain concrete mortar mixtures according to ASTM C-192 The mixtures containing the pozzolanic material, developed greater values of flexion resistance at 28 days in comparison with mixtures containing silica fume in the same proportions, as well as with a control (see
Diverse mixtures of concrete were obtained according to ASTM C-192 altogether with different proportions of pozzolanic material. As it is observed in
Like the examples 8 to 10, a concrete mixture containing the pozzolanic material of the invention was prepared according to ASTM C-1202, in comparison with Portland cement and a mixture elaborated with silica fume. At the end of the test, the tried samples developed the electrical charge values observed in
Mortar mixtures with the pozzolanic material were tried according to ASTM C-1012. The samples containing the pozzolanic material exhibited a very low expansion percentage during the test, even until at 28 weeks, independently of the used percentage of pozzolanic material (see
Mortar mixtures with pozzolanic material were tried under conditions according to ASTM C-227. As it can be observed in
Diverse samples were prepared containing diverse pozzolanic materials, as well as the material of the invention according to ASTM 1260. The mixtures containing the pozzolanic material of the invention in a percentage from 15 to 20%, reached values near or smaller to the 0.1%, which were similar to reached by the mixture containing 25% of flying ashes type-F. In all cases, the pozzolanic material of the invention provided to the mixtures under test, percentages of expansion 60% lower compared with the obtained percentages for low alkali Portland cement (see
Like for the microsilica described here, samples of high performance silica fume and microsilica 600 were put under analytical determinations of some of its physical parameters under the same experimental conditions. As it is observed in table 10, the microsilica of the invention exhibits similar characteristics of performance to the high performance silica fume, but with superior pozzolanic indexes to this one. Also, the pozzolanic indexes of the material of the invention are superior to the observed for microsilica 600.
1. Greenwood, Peter. 2003. Mixture of silica sols. U.S. Pat. No. 6,596,250.
2. VassOy, BjOrn. 1990. Procedure for the admixture of silicon oxide to a hydraulic cement slurry. PCT/NO90/00063.
3. Reddy, Baireddy R. 2002. Early-enhanced strength cement compositions and methods. U.S. Pat. No. 6,478,868
4. De Marco, Tiziana. 2002. Inorganic cohesion agent for self-compacting cement pastes. Pat. EP1176124.
5. Bergqvist, Hans. 1998. A method for preparation of a hardening composition. PCT/SE97/01350.
6. Newell, W. J. 1964. Cement plaster. U.S. Pat. No. 3,135,617.
7. Jaques, Stephen B. 1996. Processed silica as a natural pozzolan for use as a cementitious component in concrete and concrete products. U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,352.
8. Biagini, Stefano. 1998. Pozzolanic compositions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,701.
9. Berardi, Roberto. 2002. Method of making cement from tailing or rock fines containing silicate or siliceous compounds. USPat2002/0033120.
10. Dastol, Magne. 2002. Method for production of white microsilica. USPat 2002/0025287.
11. Gutierrez, Ricardo. 2004. A stable aqueous dispersion of microsilica. PCT/US2003/021407.
12. Yamamoto, Kunio. 2000. Microsilica with a closely controlled bulk density, method and apparatus for production thereof. PCT/NO00/00058.
13. Lane, Donald R. 1991. Aqueous dispersion of microsilica having a delayed thixotropic reaction. U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,267.
14. Kinose, Yutaka. 2002. Fine spherical silica and liquid sealing resin composition containing same. U.S. Pat. No. 6,395,807.
15. Scheiner, Paul C. 1987. Microsilica slurries and method of preparation. Pat. EP0246181.
16. Bainton, John W. 1976. Addition of acidulated pozzolan to concrete and concrete products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,953,222.
17. Johnston, James Howard. 1994. Amorphous silica, its preparation and uses. PCT/NZ94/00004.
18. Microsilica 600 Guide. Shotcrete. A natural pozzolan for high performance concrete. 2004.
19. Dingsoyr, Eldar. 1997. Method for treatment of silicon dioxide containing material. PCT/NO97/00088.
20. Eriksson, Bo-Erik. 1991. Process for producing an active fine aggregate for the preparation of concrete. PCT/FI90/00250.
21. Morsanyu, Anna Victoria. 1971. Improvements in or relating to high temperature mortars. Pat. GB1225629.
22. Jones, William David. 1952. Improvements in or relating to silica bricks. Pat GB 674240.
23. Prosilis. 1953. Method of manufacture of cristobalite. Pat. GB686876.
24. Vsevolod P. Kirilishin. 1980. Binder for chemically resistant concrete and process for producing this binder. U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,347.
25. Darlogeanu, Constantin. 1989. Procede d' obtention des briques silica a teneur reduite de quartz residuel. Pat. RO96824.
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From the Archives
Do Not Show Partiality to the Poor
If you hang around here a lot, you're probably familiar with verses like these:
"He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." – Proverbs 14:31 (NIV)
Or one of my personal favorites:
"'He defended the cause of the poor…
From the Archives
Tomorrow is Independence Day in the U.S., and we've got just the post in our archives for you to read. Consider it the ketchup on your hot dog, the perfect accompaniment for any Fourth of July BBQ.
A Child in the Midst
What if a child had been in the room during the penning of the Declaration…
From The Archives
Last week, we published a short post about a recent sponsor tour to India. It was written by our India communications manager for the India country office's internal newsletter, and it reminded us about this old post on sponsor tours:
A Field Perspective on Sponsor Tours
This e-mail from Samuel Llanes, our field communication specialist in…
Two More From the Archives
Arpita's Miracle
Last summer, heavy rains poured into the village where 12-year-old Arpita lives. The ground, already saturated from previous rains, left nowhere else for the waters to go … so the entire village flooded. Muddy water, one foot deep, filled Arpita's home.
When you live in extreme poverty, access to clean water is hard to…
From the Archives
For those of you who are new here, we've hand-selected a few of the older posts from our archives for you to read, respond to, chew on, digest, enjoy, etc.
Are You for Real?
It's after work and I'm in my business casual, walking through the mall having just bought a not-so-scrumptious dinner of Sbarro's pizza…

subset: commoncrawl


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8756 G-Sync No Longer Works!
I am posting here because no one from nvidia ever seems to look in the workstation area - sorry.
I have three machines with FX4500 cards connected to G-Sync boards. After installing the 8756 driver and setting things up again our OpenGL apps stopped synchronizing. The nvidia-settings setup works fine (as before) and it shows that the machines are sync'd. However when we run any application that uses the GLX_NV_swap_group extensions to activate things the join functions fail! The query function shows 1 swap group and 1 swap barrier. But the attempt to join fails.
HELP nVidia! Guess we will have to downgrade...
Re: 8756 G-Sync No Longer Works!
Specifically which applications are you using?
Please generate and provide an nvidia-bug-report.log.
Re: 8756 G-Sync No Longer Works!
1 Attachment(s)
First, I can confirm that downgrading the driver to 8178 works as expected.
I have attached a zip file with two little test programs that illustrate what we are doing. glxb.C works without actually opening a window but tries to join the swap group and barrier using glx. The second program glxbarrier.C is started on the slaves as 'glxbarrier s' first. 'glxbarrier m f' is started on the master.
Will follow up with a debug report shortly.
Re: 8756 G-Sync No Longer Works!
I've reproduced this problem, and opened bug 224540.
Re: 8756 G-Sync No Longer Works!
1 Attachment(s)
Well, that was quick. Here are log files from the master machine using both version of the driver for comparison.
Re: 8756 G-Sync No Longer Works!
What is the possibility of this getting fixed in the near term?
It kind of makes a G-Sync setup problematic as we were looking to take advantage of some of the 8756 features.
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text: Bookmarks Muscle achesPrint-Friendly Muscle pain; Myalgia; Pain - musclesPrevious imageEnlargeCloseNext image / Previous imageEnlargeCloseNext image / NavigatorMuscle aches and pains are common and can involve more than one muscle. Muscle pain also can involve ligaments, tendons, and fascia, the soft tissues that connect muscles, bones, and organs.See also:Muscle cramps Muscle crampsMuscle cramps are when a muscle gets tight (contracts) without you trying to do so. The muscle gets tight and does not relax. Cramps may involve al...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article Joint painJoint painJoint pain can affect one or more joints.ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article I Would Like to Learn About:Expand All Collapse All Considerations Muscle pain is most frequently related to tension, overuse, or muscle injury from exercise or physically-demanding work. In these situations, the pain tends to involve specific muscles and starts during or just after the activity. It is usually obvious which activity is causing the pain.Muscle pain also can be a sign of conditions affecting your whole body, like some infections (including the flu) and disorders that affect connective tissues throughout the body (such as lupus).The fluThe flu is an infection of the nose, throat, and lungs. It spreads easily. This article discusses influenza types A and B. Another type of the flu ...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article LupusSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. It can affect the s...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article One common cause of muscle aches and pain is fibromyalgia, a condition that includes tenderness in your muscles and surrounding soft tissue, sleep difficulties, fatigue, and headaches.FibromyalgiaFibromyalgia is a common syndrome in which a person has long-term pain, spread throughout the body. The pain is most often linked to fatigue, sleep ...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article Causes The most common causes are:Injury or trauma including sprains and strains SprainsA sprain is an injury to the ligaments around a joint. Ligaments are strong, flexible fibers that hold bones together. When a ligament is stretched...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article Overuse: using a muscle too much, too soon, too often Tension or stressMuscle pain may also be due to:Certain drugs, including ACE inhibitors for lowering blood pressure, cocaine, and statins for lowering cholesterol Dermatomyositis DermatomyositisDermatomyositis is a muscle disease that involves inflammation and a skin rash. It is a type of inflammatory myopathy.ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article Electrolyte imbalances like too little potassium or calcium ElectrolyteElectrolytes are minerals in your blood and other body fluids that carry an electric charge. Electrolytes affect the amount of water in your body, th...Read Article Now Book Mark Article Fibromyalgia Infections, including influenza (the flu), Lyme disease, malaria, muscle abscess, polio, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, trichinosis (roundworm) Lyme diseaseLyme disease is a bacterial infection that is spread through the bite of one of several types of ticks.ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article MalariaMalaria is a parasitic disease that involves high fevers, shaking chills, flu-like symptoms, and anemia.ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article AbscessAn abscess is a collection of pus in any part of the body that, in most cases, causes swelling and inflammation around it.Read Article Now Book Mark Article PolioPoliomyelitis is a viral disease that can affect nerves and can lead to partial or full paralysis.ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article TrichinosisTrichinosis is an infection with the roundworm Trichinella spiralis.ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article Lupus Polymyalgia rheumatica Polymyalgia rheumaticaPolymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is an inflammatory disorder. It involves pain and stiffness in the shoulder and often the hip.Read Article Now Book Mark Article Polymyositis PolymyositisPolymyositis is a rare inflammatory disease that leads to muscle weakness, swelling tenderness, and tissue damage. It is part of a larger group of d...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article RhabdomyolysisRhabdomyolysisRhabdomyolysis is the breakdown of muscle tissue that leads to the release of muscle fiber contents into the blood. These substances are harmful to ...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article Home Care For muscle pain from overuse or injury, rest that body part and take acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Apply ice for the first 24 - 72 hours of an injury to reduce pain and inflammation. After that, heat often feels more soothing.Muscle aches from overuse and fibromyalgia often respond well to massage. Gentle stretching exercises after a long rest period are also helpful.Regular exercise can help restore proper muscle tone. Walking, cycling, and swimming are good aerobic activities to try. A physical therapist can teach you stretching, toning, and aerobic exercises to feel better and stay pain-free. Begin slowly and increase workouts gradually. Avoid high-impact aerobic activities and weight lifting when injured or while in pain.Be sure to get plenty of sleep and try to reduce stress. Yoga and meditation are excellent ways to help you sleep and relax.If home measures aren't working, your health care provider may prescribe medication or physical therapy, or refer you to a specialized pain clinic.If your muscle aches are due to a specific disease, follow the instructions of your health care provider to treat the primary illness. When to Contact a Medical Professional Call your health care provider if:Your muscle pain persists beyond 3 days You have severe, unexplained pain You have any sign of infection, like swelling or redness around the tender muscle You have poor circulation in the area where you have muscles aches (for example, in your legs) You have a tick bite or a rash Your muscle pain has been associated with starting or changing doses of a medicine, such as a statinCall 911 if:You have sudden weight gain, water retention, or you are urinating less than usual You are short of breath or have difficulty swallowing You have muscle weakness or cannot move any part of your body You have vomiting, a very stiff neck, or high fever What to Expect at Your Office Visit Your health care provider will perform a physical examination and ask questions about your muscle pain, such as:When did it start? How long did it last? Where is it exactly? Is it all over or only in a specific area? Is it always in the same location? What makes it better or worse? Do other symptoms occur at the same time, like joint pain, fever, vomiting, weakness, malaise, or difficulty using the affected muscle? FeverFever is the temporary increase in the body's temperature in response to a disease or illness. A child has a fever when the temperature is at or abov...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article WeaknessWeakness is reduced strength in one or more muscles.Read Article Now Book Mark Article MalaiseMalaise is a generalized feeling of discomfort, illness, or lack of well-being.Read Article Now Book Mark Article Is there a pattern to the muscle aches? Have you taken any new medications lately?Tests that may be done include:Complete blood count (CBC) Complete blood countA complete blood count (CBC) test measures the following:The number of red blood cells (RBC count)The number of white blood cells (WBC count)The tota...ImageRead Article Now Book Mark Article Other blood tests to look at muscle enzymes (creatine kinase) and possibly a test for Lyme disease or a connective tissue disorderPhysical therapy may be helpful. Prevention Warm up before exercising and cool down afterward. Stretch before and after exercising. Drink lots of fluids before, during, and after exercise. If you work in the same position most of the day (like sitting at a computer), stretch at least every hour.Related Information Muscle crampsJoint painFluSystemic lupus ery...Fibromyalgia Colds and the flu...Systemic lupus ery...FibromyalgiaOpen ReferencesReferencesBennett RM. Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman's Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 282.Brinker MR, O'Connor DP, Almekinders LC, et al. Physiology of injury to musculoskeletal structures: 1. Muscle and tendon injury. In: DeLee JC, Drez D Jr, Miller MD, eds. DeLee and Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2009:chap 1, section A.BACK TO TOP Review Date: 4/14/2013 Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director and Director of Didactic Curriculum, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington. Also reviewed by A.D.A.M. Health Solutions, Ebix, Inc., Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Bethanne Black, Stephanie Slon, and Nissi Wang. The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997- A.D.A.M. content is best viewed in IE9 or above, Firefox and Google Chrome browser.Content is best viewed in IE9 or above, Firefox and Google Chrome browser.


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February 19, 2014 | UW–Madison | Fluno Center
Featured Speakers: Paulo Sotero, journalist and economics and international affairs commentator; director, Brazil Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.; and the Hon. Paulo Camargo, Consul General, Consulate General of Brazil in Chicago.
As the world's sixth largest economy, with a population of over 200 million, a booming consumer market, and vast mineral wealth, Brazil is a strategically important market for companies with global ambitions. Familiarity with Brazilian business culture, regulations, and market dynamics is essential for doing business in Brazil. The Brazil Business Summit will explore these issues, providing invaluable guidance for companies working in, or wishing to enter, this complex market.
In recent months, media reports about political, economic, and social trends in Brazil have been mixed. Speakers at this event will offer companies practical advice for taking advantage of the opportunities Brazil has to offer while minimizing their risk. Sessions will address key issues that affect business relations in Brazil, including market entry, banking and credit, legal considerations, regulatory concerns, and Brazilian culture as it relates to marketing, human resources, and business interactions. Representatives from companies that have successfully entered the Brazilian market will share their experiences, and the summit will connect organizations with resources to help them navigate this market.
Brazil Business Summit is presented by UW–Madison with the collaboration of:
Office of Corporate Relations – University of Wisconsin–Madison
Center for International Business Education and Research
Wisconsin School of Business – University of Wisconsin–Madison
Brazilian Business Outreach, LLC
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation WEDC
Division of International Studies – University of Wisconsin–Madison
Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies (LACIS) at the University of Wisconsin– Madison
The Brazil Initiative at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
UW-Milwaukee Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Madison International Trade Association
Ferrari & Pedroso Sociedade de Advogado


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Avaya is a global leader in communication systems, applications, and services. Learn about where we've been, where we're headed, and the leaders that are getting us there.
Avaya delivers Intelligent Communications solutions that help companies transform their businesses to achieve marketplace advantage. More than one million businesses worldwide, including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500®, use Avaya solutions for IP Telephony, Unified Communications, Contact Centers and Communications-Enabled Business Processes. Avaya Global Services provides comprehensive service and support for companies, small to large.
Kevin Kennedy (CEO, President)
Huawei Technologies: One of China's leading manufacturers of telecommunications equipment, Huawei makes a range of products and provides… See Company Profile »
Corebridge: Corebridge is an enterprise software publisher that develops and commercialises unified communications applications to enhance and… See Company Profile »
Whaleback Systems: Whaleback Systems is a pioneering managed IP telephony service provider offering the first business phone solution… See Company Profile »
Phonect: Phonect is an exciting and innovative service that develops and delivers VoIP solutions and services through… See Company Profile »
DiVitas Networks: DiVitas Networks has rapidly become the leader in Mobile Unified Communications. DiVitas offers the first solution… See Company Profile »


text:
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Release Date: Sep 13, 2011
- Also On: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
- Developer: Ubisoft
- Genre(s): Modern
- Cheats: On GameFAQs
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
Positive: 0 out of 12
Mixed: 6 out of 12
Negative: 6 out of 12
Sep 9, 2011If Techland would have called this one "Stupid shooter with pathetic characters full of cliché", it would have been less of a disappointment.
Sep 9, 2011The PC version of Call of Juarez: The Cartel is still a game that should be worked on for a couple more months. Some strange and unprofessional gameplay solutions and technical issues can surprise many Techland fans. We got used to the fact that this Polish developer makes some mistakes because they are hard to avoid with more and more complicated games. This does not explain, however, why The Cartel is so mediocre - the entire Call of Juarez franchise suffers from it.
Sep 15, 2011Call of Juarez: The Cartel proves that good ideas mean little when they don't have a solid foundation to support them.
Jul 21, 2011The game is generic at best, broken at worst, and falls short in its attempts to innovate cooperative play.
Sep 16, 2011A poor change of pace for the franchise. Taking the story into modern times seems to have robbed it of its passion and charm, replacing it with asinine characters and more cuss words than an Al Pacino flick.
Aug 5, 2011Although Techland brings some nice ideas into the Call of Juarez universe, the game ultimately fails to deliver because of a way too typical story, dated graphics, loads of bugs and a total misunderstanding of the concept 'Wild West'. The Cartel is a major step back for the franchise and we would have been better off without it.
Nov 9, 2011The Cartel's finest feature is a mess. Everything else is merely bland, repetitive, and dull. [Holiday 2011, p.80]
Score distribution:
Positive: 2 out of 19
Mixed: 2 out of 19
Negative: 15 out of 19
Oct 16, 2013This game ain't that bad. If you can feel the atmosphere in it then it's a beautiful game and you will have a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it.This game ain't that bad. If you can feel the atmosphere in it then it's a beautiful game and you will have a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it. I've been playing almost all first person shooters since Quake 1 (1996) and this is just another one with a great atmosphere. South of U.S. and Mexico in a hot sun and a lot of criminals.… Expand
Oct 3, 2011Maddeningly frustrating. Fundamentally flawed. Idiotic. However for a co-op game its well worth buying if it's on the cheapo. The concept of aMaddeningly frustrating. Fundamentally flawed. Idiotic. However for a co-op game its well worth buying if it's on the cheapo. The concept of a co-op game where people are working against each other is the idiotic. The frustrating is the simple things like picking up your fallen team mates animates you from cover into the line of fire, putting you on the same dirt your friend was just on. As for the fundamentally flawed. Well a game where you have to search around looking for items but on rails so narrow the game resets if you explore too far.... a child could explain the problem with that. That all said, it looks pretty cool. Driving is fun. It all works [had to grenade my team mates a couple of times to reset a stuck room entry] and functionally is almost up to a Valve game. But things like constant in game phone calls, texts and slow cross hair switching, the depth of field focusing far too slowly and usually onto something invisible right in front of you. Oooh it's so infuriating, there's a good game here. Under the stupid. Dig deep tho!… Expand
Oct 25, 2011Game is poor in comparison with the other two games in the series. The plot wasn't too bad and the choice of endings was kind of neat. In myGame is poor in comparison with the other two games in the series. The plot wasn't too bad and the choice of endings was kind of neat. In my view, the downside were as follows: (1) repetitive scenery--how many times do you go through the same building? (2) repetitve comments by the AI characters in the single player mode--how many times can you remind your partner that you are saving his a__? (3) too many chase scenes. These are ok for some, but I found them annoying. Overall, I suggest you save your money for another game.… Expand
Feb 10, 2012This game is not just horribly designed, it is also blatantly racist. Seriously, it is incredible how moronic the contents of this game are.This game is not just horribly designed, it is also blatantly racist. Seriously, it is incredible how moronic the contents of this game are. Don't even consider buying it..… Expand
Oct 19, 2011This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I find it disappointing no one has pointed how utterly inaccurately the story paints the drug war that it comes off cartoonish and racist. The boring wave after wave of black and latino badguys, the achievement for killing 40+ black people in one level, this all has a damaging psychological impact that actually does decensitize it's player to the gory racial, and gender violence that is being committed, and without any honest context.
This is the worst part. When you are chasing down the missing stripper, after strangling TWO OTHER STRIPPERS TO GET INFORMATION (this is so offensive, but it doesn't even matter because of what comes next), they paint the picture that human sex trafficking, one of the most heinous crimes in the world, has the cartel kidnapping American women and selling them in Mexico? Whoah. Whoah. Whoah. That has no basis in reality and is an INSULT to the women and children sold as slaves in the United States. It's Mexican women who are kidnaped and sold in the U.S. and other countries. To even entertain the opposite without recognizing the actual truth of it is so... brainless and I will say it. Misogynistic and Racist. I don't know if the game designers actually are stupid, bigoted and hate women, but they definitely think their audience is. Glad I didn't buy it and just watched some play through. No money should go toward this game. Ever.… Expand
Oct 22, 2011Call of Juarez: The Cartel actually does the gaming community a great service. See, those of us who view games as having the potential to beCall of Juarez: The Cartel actually does the gaming community a great service. See, those of us who view games as having the potential to be just as artistic a medium as movie or books have gotten a bit lazy when dealing with Jack Thompson-like characters: It's always kneejerk reactions about freedom of speech combined with Whack-A-Mole-esque dismissals of insane, completely fabricated claims like we saw with Mass Effect. Anything else, such as acknowledging shortcomings in a game, start to feel like a show of weakness. This does not push the medium forward. Well thankfully we can put those days behind us (As well as laugh at the true blindness of Game-haters who have overlooked this piece of garbage), because fellow gamers here is a game that is genuinely racist, sexist, and de-humanizing, worthy of all the Fox News reports we have seen dragging comparatively responsible games through the muck.
Most other games that deal with excessive violence fall into 3 categories. First is the justified violence camp, where violence is at least arguably the only solution. You are killing things that need killing. Second, you have the over the top, ironic violence that frames itself as parody. You don't take your Serious Sams, Duke Nukems or Postals seriously, because how can you? Then you have your games where evil acts are there to provide a larger, philosophical context. You kill little sisters because that is consistent with the objectivist philosophy underpinning Rapture. You shoot Russian civilians because you believe it is for the greater good, and the player must question if this is right. CoJ manages none of these. By simply plastering the mechanics of a shooter over a topic they may have heard of by reading the title of an article somewhere, they completely neglect to ask themselves what this all means. What you end up with is a game about the evils of Mexicans and other minorities overblown to the point where it deserves a place next to "Birth of a Nation" as racist propaganda. Except it lacks even the historical significance of such propaganda, since it will neither have the emotional impact of such trash, the fun fundementals of even the trashier mindless shooters, nor does it manage to contain even a cursory connection with facts.
If Techland understood even the most rudimentary concepts of design, then frankly, that is terrifying. It means they knowingly have endorsed the viewpoint of a misogynistic Klansman. Frankly I hope that the truth is the more likely scenario, where the creative minds behind this game have no business making games. At least then, we can perhaps hope for an apology. This game degrades the Drug War, the travesties within, minorities, women, the players themselves, and the very idea of games.… Expand
Sep 19, 2011This game is so bad, I don't know where to begin. Terrible controls, graphics, AI, gun-feeling. It's on-rails, has gray pixellated dots forThis game is so bad, I don't know where to begin. Terrible controls, graphics, AI, gun-feeling. It's on-rails, has gray pixellated dots for you to follow (as if you can get lost in the first place, it is completely linear). Stereotypical, boring characters. Just stay away... what a waste of a great franchise.… Expand
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Here's a preview of an upcoming Top Gear magazine feature where James May with the help of The Stig thrashes the F10 M5 thoroughly, while comparing it to its top competition – the E63 AMG sedan. Check out some preview words and some Stig driving footage inside.
Top Gear's online magazine doesn't mince words in its verdict of the 2012 BMW M5, beginning their review by calling the F10 M5 chuffing excellent. So what made it chuffing excellent for Top Gear's reviewer? Take a look inside.


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COLUMBIA CITY — Colorful eggs are set to blanket the fields at Morsches Park for the annual Easter egg hunt, sponsored by the Columbia City Rotary Club.
Youngsters are welcome to bring their baskets to search out the "egg"cellent treats distributed throughout the park.
The hunt will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday.
To read the rest of this story, see the April 12-13 issue of The Post and Mail. Don't have a subscription? Call (260) 244-5153 or subscribe to our e-edition. For breaking news, sports updates and additional coverage, bookmark the homepage and find us on facebook and twitter.


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Grilled: Erin Jackson, San Diego Correspondent
"Grilled" is our series of Q&As of burger-related people. It's been a while since we've done these regularly, but we're starting up again by interviewing our contributors so you can get to know the people behind our site. Today we're grilling Erin Jackson, our San Diego correspondent since last August. She also covers the San Diego pizza scene at Slice. More


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Seattlepi.com's Nick Eaton reports: "Chris Hansen, the Seattle-raised investor who wants to spend millions on a new arena and NBA team for his home town, said Wednesday it is 'somewhat inevitable that we will eventually have a team out here.' The enigmatic hedge-fund manager, in town for a hearing with the city's Arena Review Panel, may live in San Francisco now but clearly left his heart in Seattle. … 'If we can get the deal with the city,' he said, 'then it's a question of when, not if.'" Read more on seattlepi.com.
Seattle PI Sports Blog
Seattle sports news, covering the Seattle Sounders, Washington Huskies, college football, college basketball, NBA and other sports topics. View the Seahawks and Mariners blogs for NFL and MLB news.


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text:
Lets make an emergency candle in case the lights go out for a bit.
You will need a Ball jar plus an extra used lid, short half pint. a Coleman lamp wick, liquid paraffin or mineral oil, a 1/2 wood chisel, and a lamp cover.
Step 1:
Step 2:
Using the chisel knock a slit into the jar top to make a slit just big enough to pass the wick in. Make it a little tight. Too loose and the wick might fall in and oil will leak out if the jar is tipped.
Pass the wick in until only about 1/8 of an inch shows through, that's all the hard part!
Step 3:
When you want to extinguish the flame use a top from an old jar to cover the flame.
When it's cool place the second top lid over the lid with the wick cut into it and you seal the jar for further use!
Then again you have to care for the wick by clipping off the charcoaled part as it makes an uneven flame and leads to a disgusting dark smoky flame. However do NOT cut the wick all fresh : you have to leave the small burnt part of the wick on. It got hardened by the heat thus helping to give a non smoky even flame and saving on the wick. So the shape of the wick should be somewhat oval at its tip with a 2 - 3 mm black color. This is not so important with this lamp, with old paraffin lamps that our great-grandparents used it is almost a must. I love paraffin lamps : they leave such a nice warm feeling. I keep one on my boat an in the small space of the cabin it heats it up too !…
Paraffin is great too, olive (or any other) oil also !…
Butter works well (but the the smell …)


text:
When you get to know us, the complexity of our logistic knowledge will surprise you only at the beginning.
By taking a closer look you will recognise that every storage, transport, loading and positioning problem is rooted back to our "5R": right product, right quality, right quantity, right location and right time.
From the point of system techniques the FAB offer covers 4 elements: These are specialities like automated truck de-/loading systems or air cargo systems and of course everything which gathers under the general expression in conveyor technical and storage technical aspect.
The headword special construction makes our heartbeat rise and also our engineers' pride.
Simply for the reason that challenges are what we love – and what we solve.


text:
Saturday, September 14, 2013
© Copyright 2015 Albany Herald
ALBANY — At 67 and with years of experience in the education and work force development arenas, W. Frank Wilson's been around the block more than a few times.
So you'll have to forgive him if he doesn't try and convince you, like so many have before him, that his latest endeavor — interim director of the Albany Civil Rights Institute — is some massive undertaking whose success will require a superhuman effort on his part.
"It's really pretty simple," Wilson said of his plans to take the often maligned historical museum to heights never before reached. "I'm going to dare to go where folk have never gone before and speak to folk who've never been talked to before. I'm going to go to the Civitan meetings, the Sertoma meetings, the women's garden club meetings, to white churches, to nondenominational churches. I'm going to talk to people, because ultimately this is about people."
And the message Wilson will bring?
"I want to expose the history of the civil rights movement in Albany for what it is: the history of Southwest Georgia," the new new ACRI director said. "It's not just the history of Albany; it's the history of Terrell County and Sumter County and Mitchell County and Lee County. And it's not just the history of black people in Southwest Georgia. It's all of our history.
"I think it's vital that the Albany Civil Rights Institute be viewed as a community institution. We need to tell the whole story, not one painted with a narrow racial brush."
Wilson, a native of Colquitt County, was asked to fill the void left with former ACRI Director Lee Formwalt's move to Indiana more than a year ago.
"I was approached by a member of the board of directors and asked if an opportunity came up for me to serve as director, would I be interested," Wilson said. "I didn't hesitate, told them I'd be honored to serve. As a historian, I saw it as a tremendous opportunity to be involved in something dear to me."
Wilson earned a degree in history at then Fort Valley State College and later upgraded to a master's at Suffield University in Idaho. He taught in Pelham, Moultrie, Randolph County and at the private (Presbyterian) Boggs Academy in Keysville before leaving the education field in 1973 to take a position with the national Urban League in Columbus.
"When I started teaching, Georgia schools were still going through the integration process," Wilson said. "Having attended an all-black high school and an all-black college, my first experience with white students came while I was teaching. But I was stupid enough to believe students were students, and I saw no reason to do anything differently. I was teaching history; there was no reason to cater to any race or gender."
With the Urban League in Columbus, Wilson worked specifically with minorities and women, helping them adjust to their expanded roles in the workplace. He helped implement unique employment and economic development strategies in the growing west Georgia city before spending two years with the Urban League in Albany and five with the national organization's Atlanta branch.
"In Columbus and Albany, I helped shepherd women and minorities into supervisory positions," Wilson said. "The program we developed became the standard by which others throughout the nation were measured. Think about it: You have minorities in a position where they're supervising white employees for the first time. And women, who'd been relegated to domestic, secretarial and other service-type positions in our work force, were asked to put in sweat equity for the first time.
"In Atlanta, the programs we worked on helped open jobs for citizens 55 and over. Our culture had always tended to put people out to pasture once they got into their 50s, but we tapped into that sector of the population. We did some pretty revolutionary things during that time. I laugh about it now, but once someone asked me, 'Why do you work so hard to find jobs for people 55 and over?' I said, 'Because one day I'm going to be 55.' It was about breaking down barriers."
With funding cuts looming, Wilson started looking for work in the private sector and landed a position with the Big Brothers & Sisters of America organization. He was there for eight years, noting with satisfaction the number of lives the organization touched.
"I got a (graduation) invitation this summer from a mother whose son was being awarded an MBA," he said. "(When the graduate became part of the Big Brothers & Sisters program) he was ready to drop out of school. One man spending part of every Saturday with this kid — even when his mother remarried — changed his life."
Wilson "met a young lady" who had a nice business in Albany, so he chose to leave the big city for life a little closer to home and a lot closer to her. He helped "plant seeds" for retail and economic growth in the city's "enterprise community" as the state's first retail developer with the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Commission, which led to a position as the city of Dawson's first-ever director of community development.
Wilson was lured away from his position in Dawson by Albany State University, working for six years as director of grant programs designed to examine work force development opportunities in Southwest Georgia and a teacher education program that provided an opportunity for paraprofessionals working in the Dougherty County School System to earn degrees and teaching certificates.
"There was already an interest in teaching among students in the 'Destination Teaching' program," he said. "We helped them with the issues that kept them from getting their degree: finances, child care, time factors. We customized programs to fit their schedules, and I know of at least 17 (former paras) in the program who went on to earn at least four-year degrees."
Wilson served as director of ASU's Center for the African-American Male and was an academic advisor at the university for five years before retiring in 2010. But retirement didn't exactly take.
"I took a moment to get used to the idea: learned to play a little golf, watched a lot of 'Matlock' and 'In the Heat of the Night' reruns and kept up with my favorite soap opera, 'Days of Our Lives,'" Wilson laughed. "I'm an unabashed fan of that show, been watching it for more than 30 years.
"But I felt I still had plenty to give, and when the opportunity came up at the Civil Rights Institute, I didn't have to even think about it. I immediately said yes."
Wilson said he's already set goals for the attraction, including working with educational institutions in the region to make ACRI a "required field trip" destination and building a membership roster of "no less than 5,000."
"I don't see these as lofty goals," he said. "I think they're very attainable goals. It's just going to take me getting out there and talking to people. I don't see this position as an office job. If I'm spending a lot of time in this office, I'm not doing my job.
"I don't know of anybody out there who's going to knock on our doors and say, 'Here, take this money.' We've got to work for it, take our message to the people who can and want to help us. I've got to be the pied piper here. I don't believe we can say, 'If you build it, they will come.' We've got to give them a reason to come."
The museum is open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Membership or general information is available by calling (229) 432-1698.
More like this story
- Ex-Albany Civil Rights Institute Director Lee Formwalt wins Lillian Smith Book award ( July 25, 2015 )
- Albany Civil Rights Institute Executive Director Frank Wilson proposes a partnership with regional educational institutions ( August 27, 2014 )
- Albany Civil Rights Institute to host major fundraiser ( May 10, 2015 )
- Lee Formwalt's 'Looking Back, Moving Forward' ( September 13, 2014 )
- Combined choruses of six Albany high schools to perform in black history concert ( February 22, 2015 )