Patents by Inventor Carolyn E. Schaefer

Carolyn E. Schaefer has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10947158
    Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods of the present disclosure are generally directed to building material including particles of a polymer in an irradiated form, a cement including calcium oxide, and at least one additive including silicon dioxide. In cement paste formed from a mixture of these components, the polymer in the irradiated form may decrease porosity as compared to porosity of cement paste formed without the polymer, and a combination of the silicon dioxide and the calcium oxide may form high-density phases in the cement paste. With these characteristics, such cement paste may exhibit at least the same compressive strength as cement paste formed from the cement by itself. Thus, in certain instances, the particles of the polymer may displace a portion of the cement in a manner that maintains compressive strength while facilitating reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with cement paste formation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Oral Buyukozturk, Michael Philip Short, Carolyn E. Schaefer, Michael Ortega, Anne E. White, Kunal Kupwade-Patil
  • Publication number: 20190382309
    Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods of the present disclosure are generally directed to building material including particles of a polymer in an irradiated form, a cement including calcium oxide, and at least one additive including silicon dioxide. In cement paste formed from a mixture of these components, the polymer in the irradiated form may decrease porosity as compared to porosity of cement paste formed without the polymer, and a combination of the silicon dioxide and the calcium oxide may form high-density phases in the cement paste. With these characteristics, such cement paste may exhibit at least the same compressive strength as cement paste formed from the cement by itself. Thus, in certain instances, the particles of the polymer may displace a portion of the cement in a manner that maintains compressive strength while facilitating reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with cement paste formation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2018
    Publication date: December 19, 2019
    Inventors: Oral Buyukozturk, Michael Philip Short, Carolyn E. Schaefer, Michael Ortega, Anne E. White, Kunal Kupwade-Patil