Immediate and delayed thermal expansion of hardened cement paste

Experiments are reported in which the thermal deformations were measured of thin tubular specimens of hcp conditioned to various relative humidities between 0 and 100%. Attention was concentrated on the first cycle of heating and cooling and on a second heating; the level of temperature was also an experimental variable. It was found that the thermal movement could be considered as the sum of two deformations, the immediate (taking place during the temperature change) and the delayed (taking place after temperature equilibrium was reached). The immediate deformation was approximately the same for all three temperature changes, was approximately linear with temperature, and exhibited a maximum value at an intermediate conditioning humidity towards 100%. The delayed deformation had a smaller reversible component, and a larger irreversible component which was associated only with the first heating. With only a few exceptions all the measurements of delayed deformation were of the same sense as the preceding immediate deformation. Measurements were made of two distinct types of evaporable water. There were no significant changes in the quantities of either as a result of temperature cycling.