Hydration of dibarium silicate II. rate of hydration

The rate of hydration of dibarium silicate (Ba²SiO₄) in paste form at room temperature was investigated. The uncombined barium hydroxide produced in the reaction, determined by a modified Franke method, was used as a measure of the extent of hydration. The linear relationship obtained between the uncombined barium hydroxide and the chemically combined water confirms that similar hydration products are formed at all stages of hydration, and either may be used as a measure of the degree of hydration. The rate of hydration of dibarium silicate was found to be lower than that of tricalcium aluminate, but higher than those of alite, tricalcium silicate and β-dicalcium silicate. The effect of water/solid ratio on the rate of hydration was also investigated. Dibarium silicate was completely hydrated after 30 days when it was mixed with a water/solid weight ratio > 0.7:1.     

Alkali binding in hydrated Portland cement paste

The alkali-binding capacity of C-S-H in hydrated Portland cement pastes is addressed in this study. The amount of bound alkalis in C-S-H is computed based on the alkali partition theories firstly proposed by Taylor (1987) and later further developed by Brouwers and Van Eijk (2003). Experimental data reported in literatures concerning thirteen different recipes are analyzed and used as references. A three-dimensional computer-based cement hydration model (CEMHYD3D) is used to simulate the hydration of Portland cement pastes. These model predictions are used as inputs for deriving the alkali-binding capacity of the hydration product C-S-H in hydrated Portland cement pastes. It is found that the relation of Na⁺ between the moles bound in C-S-H and its concentration in the pore solution is linear, while the binding of K⁺ in C-S-H complies with the Freundlich isotherm. New models are proposed for determining the alkali-binding capacities of C-S-H in hydrated Portland cement paste. An updated method for predicting the alkali concentrations in the pore solution of hydrated Portland cement pastes is developed. It is also used to investigate the effects of various factors (such as the water to cement ratio, clinker composition and alkali types) on the alkali concentrations.     

Decalcification shrinkage of cement paste

Decalcification of cement paste in concrete is associated with several modes of chemical degradation including leaching, carbonation and sulfate attack. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of decalcification under saturated conditions on the dimensional stability of cement paste. Thin (0.8 mm) specimens of tricalcium silicate (C₃S) paste, white portland cement (WPC) paste, and WPC paste blended with 30% silica fume (WPC/30% SF) were decalcified by leaching in concentrated solutions of ammonium nitrate, a method that efficiently removes calcium from the solid while largely preserving silicate and other ions. All pastes were found to shrink significantly and irreversibly as a result of decalcification, particularly when the Ca/Si ratio of the C-S-H gel was reduced below ∼ 1.2. Since this composition coincides with the onset of structural changes in C-S-H such as an increase in silicate polymerization and a local densification into sheet-like morphologies, it is proposed that the observed shrinkage, here called decalcification shrinkage, is due initially to these structural changes in C-S-H at Ca/Si ∼ 1.2 and eventually to the decomposition of C-S-H into silica gel. In agreement with this reasoning, the blended cement paste exhibited greater decalcification shrinkage than the pure cement pastes due to its lower initial Ca/Si ratio for C-S-H gel. The similarities in the mechanisms of decalcification shrinkage and carbonation shrinkage are also discussed.     

New insights into tricalcium silicate hydration in paste

The knowledge of the aqueous phase composition during the hydration of tricalcium silicate (C₃S) is a key issue for the understanding of cement hydration. A new in situ method of computing calcium ion concentration from the measurement of the electrical conductivity on paste was coupled to isothermal calorimetry and BET measurements to get new insights on the early hydration of C₃S. Ion concentrations of the aqueous phase are mainly dependent on the degree of hydration and the water to C₃S ratio. In the case of C₃S paste, the calcium and silicon concentrations determined at low degrees of hydration can be related to the equilibrium curve of C-S-H having C/S = 1.27 and named C_1.27SH_y. It is expected that C_1.27SH_y thermodynamically controls the aqueous phase composition at this early stage. Indeed, the formation of C_1.27SH_y is quasi-immediate when C₃S is in contact with water inducing a very rapid increase of the specific surface area that remains constant during the induction period. At higher degrees of hydration, the aqueous phase composition departs from the C_1.27SH_y equilibrium curve. C_1.27SH_y appears to be a metastable C-S-H that could be related to an intermediate phase previously reported. The quasi-immediate precipitation of C_1.27SH_y on C₃S surface explains why calcium and silicon concentrations remain low during early hydration even though C₃S is strongly undersaturated. This also agrees with the control of the end of the induction period by the nucleation and growth of more stable C-S-H.     

Composition, morphology and nanostructure of C-S-H in 70% white Portland cement-30% fly ash blends hydrated at 55 °C.

Outer product C-S-H had a mixture of fibrillar and foil-like morphology in a 28-day-old water-activated paste, and foil- or lath-like morphology in an alkali-activated paste. It was not possible to determine the chemical composition of C-S-H using SEM-EDX because of fine-scale intermixing with other phases; TEM-EDX was necessary. The C-S-H formed in the alkali-activated paste had a lower mean Ca/(Al + Si) ratio than that formed with water. The mean length of the aluminosilicate anions in the C-S-H was similar in both systems and increased with age; those in the Op C-S-H were likely to be shorter than those present in the Ip C-S-H with water activation, but longer (and more protonated) with alkali. The potassium in the alkali-activated paste was present either within the C-S-H structure charge balancing the substitution of Al³⁺ for Si⁴⁺, or adsorbed on the C-S-H charge balancing sulfate ions.     

Structure and mechanical properties of aluminosilicate geopolymer composites with Portland cement and its constituent minerals

The compressive strengths and structures of composites of aluminosilicate geopolymer with the synthetic cement minerals C₃S, β-C₂S, C₃A and commercial OPC were investigated. All the composites showed lower strengths than the geopolymer and OPC paste alone. X-ray diffraction, ²⁹Si and ²⁷Al MAS NMR and SEM/EDS observations indicate that hydration of the cement minerals and OPC is hindered in the presence of geopolymer, even though sufficient water was present in the mix for hydration to occur. In the absence of SEM evidence for the formation of an impervious layer around the cement mineral grains, the poor strength development is suggested to be due to the retarded development of C-S-H because of the preferential removal from the system of available Si because geopolymer formation is more rapid than the hydration of the cement minerals. This possibility is supported by experiments in which the rate of geopolymer formation is retarded by the substitution of potassium for sodium, by the reduction of the alkali content of the geopolymer paste or by the addition of borate. In all these cases the strength of the OPC-geopolymer composite was increased, particularly by the combination of the borate additive with the potassium geopolymer, producing an OPC-geopolymer composite stronger than hydrated OPC paste alone.     

Influence of activator type on hydration kinetics, hydrate assemblage and microstructural development of alkali activated blast-furnace slags

The hydration of two slags with different Al₂O₃ contents activated with sodium hydroxide and hydrous sodium metasilicate (commonly named water glass) is studied using a multi-method approach. In all systems, C-S-H incorporating aluminium and a hydrotalcite-like phase with Mg/Al ratio ~ 2 are the main hydration products. The C-S-H gels present in NaOH activated pastes are more crystalline and contain less water; a calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and a sodium rich C-N-S-H with a similar Ca content are observed at longer hydration times. The activation using NaOH results in high early strength, but strength at 7 days and longer is lower than for the sodium metasilicate systems. The drastic difference in C-S-H structure leads to a coarser capillary porosity and to lower compressive strength for the NaOH activated than for the sodium metasilicate activated slags at the same degree of slag reaction.     

Initial hydration of tricalcium silicate as studied by secondary neutrals mass spectrometry: II. Results and discussion

The hydration of tricalcium silicate (C₃S) was studied by secondary neutrals mass spectrometry (SNMS), a method that enables determination of the Ca/Si ratio of the formed calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) phase with an extremely low information depth. It was found that the magnitude of this parameter within the hydrate layer formed at the surface of the nonhydrated C₃S is not constant and increases with increasing distance from the liquid-solid interface. It was also found that, at a constant distance from the surface, the Ca/Si ratio declines with hydration time. The kinetics of the hydration process is characterized by a very fast initial reaction, followed by a dormant period and a subsequent period of renewed hydration. The rate of hydration becomes distinctly accelerated by elevated temperature and retarded by the presence of sucrose, while NaCl affects the initial hydration kinetics only to a small degree.     

Characterization by solid-state NMR and selective dissolution techniques of anhydrous and hydrated CEM V cement pastes

The long term behaviour of cement based materials is strongly dependent on the paste microstructure and also on the internal chemistry. A CEM V blended cement containing pulverised fly ash (PFA) and blastfurnace slag (BFS) has been studied in order to understand hydration processes which influence the paste microstructure. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy with complementary X-ray diffraction analysis and selective dissolution techniques have been used for the characterization of the various phases (C₃S, C₂S, C₃A and C₄AF) of the clinker and additives and then for estimation of the degree of hydration of these same phases. Their quantification after simulation of experimental ²⁹Si and ²⁷Al MAS NMR spectra has allowed us to follow the hydration of recent (28 days) and old (10 years) samples that constitutes a basis of experimental data for the prediction of hydration model.     

A soft X-ray microscope investigation into the effects of calcium chloride on tricalcium silicate hydration

Calcium chloride (CaCl₂) is one of the most recognized and effective accelerators of hydration, setting, and early strength development in portland cement and tricalcium silicate (C₃S) pastes. The mechanisms responsible for this acceleration, as well as the microstructural consequences, are poorly understood. Soft X-ray transmission microscopy has recently been applied to the study of cementitious materials and allows the observation of hydration in situ over time. This technique was applied to the examination of tricalcium silicates hydrating in a solution containing CaCl₂. It appears that CaCl₂ accelerates the formation of “inner product” calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) with a low-density microstructure.     

Experimental study of Si-Al substitution in calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) prepared under equilibrium conditions

C-A-S-H of varying Al/Si and Ca/(Al + Si) ratios have been prepared introducing C-S-H (Ca/Si = 0.66 and 0.95) at different weight concentrations in a solution coming from the hydration of tricalcium aluminate (Ca₃Al₂O₆) in water. XRD and EDX (TEM) analyses show that using this typical synthesise procedure, pure C-A-S-H is obtained only for calcium hydroxide concentrations below 4.5 mmol L^− 1. Otherwise, calcium carboaluminate or strätlingite is also present beside C-A-S-H. The tobermorite-like structure is maintained for C-A-S-H. A kinetic study has shown that the formation of C-A-S-H is a fast reaction, typically less than a few hours. The Ca/(Al + Si) ratio of C-A-S-H matches the Ca/Si ratio of the initial C-S-H, in the ionic concentration range studied i.e., less than 4.5 and 3 mmol L^− 1 of calcium hydroxide and aluminium hydroxide respectively. The Al/Si ratio increases with the aluminium concentration in the solution and reaches a maximum value of 0.19.     

Microwave Dielectric Study of Water Structure in the Hydration Process of Cement Paste

Microwave dielectric relaxation measurements, via the time-domain reflectometry method, were performed on portland cement paste for the first time, and the water structure during the hydration process was observed. The relaxation process due to the orientation of free water, which is independent of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), was observed at ∼10 GHz. The relaxation strength, in proportion to the amount of free water, decreased rapidly as the curing time increased for the first three days. This change is in good agreement with that of a chemical reaction that was reported by measurements of the heat that is evolved during hydration. The free water is taken into C-S-H and is transformed to hydrated water by the hydration process. When hydration proceeds, the relaxation processes due to the orientation of the hydrated water in C-S-H occur at ∼100 MHz and 1 MHz.     

Study of Ca3SiO5Tl2CO3H2O system

Effects of various concentrations of thallous carbonate on the hydration of tricalcium silicate have been studied using an isothermal microcalorimeter. The calorimetric results indicate that the hydration reaction is accelerated in the presence of Tl₂CO₃. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the concentration of C₃S decreases rapidly in the presence of Tl₂CO₃. Differential thermal analysis of C₃S hydrated in the presence of Tl₂CO₃ indicates the presence of CaCO₃. Non-evaporable water content and the degree of hydration of C₃S show that the accelerating action of Tl₂CO₃ is more pronounced only during the early period of hydration. Analysis of the liquid phase in contact with the C₃S paste indicates that the concentration of Ca⁺⁺ and OH^? ions are changed considerably in the presence of Tl₂CO₃.     

A new aluminium-hydrate species in hydrated Portland cements characterized by Al and Si MAS NMR spectroscopy

Recent ²⁷Al MAS NMR studies of hydrated Portland cements and calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) phases have shown a resonance from Al in octahedral coordination, which cannot be assigned to the well-known aluminate species in hydrated Portland cements. This resonance, which exhibits the isotropic chemical shift δ_iso = 5.0 ppm and the quadrupole product parameter P_Q = 1.2 MHz, has been characterized in detail by ²⁷Al MAS and ²⁷Al{¹H} CP/MAS NMR for different hydrated white Portland cements and C-S-H phases. These experiments demonstrate that the resonance originates from an amorphous or disordered aluminate hydrate which contains Al(OH)₆³⁻ or O_xAl(OH)_6-x^(3+x)− units. The formation of the new aluminate hydrate is related to the formation of C-S-H at ambient temperatures, however, it decomposes by thermal treatment at temperatures of 70-90 °C. From the experiments in this work it is proposed that the new aluminate hydrate is either an amorphous/disordered aluminate hydroxide or a calcium aluminate hydrate, produced as a separate phase or as a nanostructured surface precipitate on the C-S-H phase. Finally, the possibilities of Al³⁺ for Ca²⁺ substitution in the principal layers and interlayers of the C-S-H structure are discussed.     

Hydration of cement — role of triethanolamine

Following addition of 0.1, 0.25, 0.35, 0.5 and 1.0 per cent triethanolamine, studies have been made of the hydration and hardening characteristics of (a) tricalcium aluminate, (b) tricalcium aluminate + gypsum, (c) tricalcium silicate, (d) dicalcium silicate, and (e) portland cement. Triethanolamine (TEA) accelerated the hydration of 3CaO.Al₂O₃ and 3CaO.Al₂O₃-CaSO₄.2H₂O systems and extended the induction period of the hydration of 3CaO.SiO₂. In portland cement paste TEA decreased the strength at all ages and setting characteristics were drastically altered, especially at higher TEA contents. Evidence was obtained also of the formation of a complex of TEA with the hydrating silicate phase.     

Nanogranular packing of C-S-H at substochiometric conditions

Herein, we present a comprehensive nanoindentation investigation of cement pastes prepared at substoichiometric water-to-cement (w/c) mass ratios between 0.15 and 0.4 with and without heat treatment. Based on a statistical indentation technique, we provide strong evidence of the existence of a statistically significant third hydrated mechanical phase in addition to the already known Low-Density (LD) and High-Density (HD) C-S-H phases. The nanomechanical properties of this third phase are found to follow similar packing density scaling relations as LD C-S-H and HD C-S-H, while being significantly greater. This third phase, whose nano-packing density is measured at 0.83 ± 0.01, is therefore termed Ultra-High-Density (UHD) phase. All three phases are present in concrete materials in different volume proportions: LD dominates cement-based materials prepared at high w/c mass ratios; HD and UHD control the microstructure of low w/c ratio materials. In addition, heat treatment favors the formation of HD and UHD. The insight thus gained into the link between composition, processing and microstructure makes it possible to monitor packing density distributions of the hydration products at the nanoscale.     

On the coordination of Al in ill-crystallized C-S-H phases formed by hydration of tricalcium silicate and by precipitation reactions at ambient temperature

High-resolution solid-state ²⁷Al MAS NMR measurements suggest that Al incorporated into C-S-H phases, prepared by precipitation reactions from sodium silicate and calcium chloride solutions and by hydration of tricalciumsilicate (C₃S), may occur tetrahedrally (Al^[4]) as well as octahedrally coordinated (Al^[6]). The amount of which depends on the composition of the C-S-H phase. With increasing CaO/SiO₂-ratio the portion of Al^[6] increases and that of Al^[4] decreases. The products of paste hydration of C₃S contain about 80 % of the Al as Al^[6] and 20 % as Al^[4].     

The role of Al in C-S-H: NMR, XRD, and compositional results for precipitated samples

X-ray diffraction, compositional analysis, and ²⁹Si and ²⁷Al MAS NMR spectroscopy of Al-substituted tobermorite-type C-S-H made by precipitation from solution provide significant new insight into the structural mechanisms of Al-substitution in this important and complicated phase. Al occurs in 4-, 5-, and 6-coordination (Al[4], Al[5], and Al[6]) and plays multiple structural roles. Al[4] occurs on the bridging tetrahedra of the drierkette Al-silicate chains, and Al[5] and Al[6] occur in the interlayer and perhaps on particle surfaces. Al does not enter either the central Ca-O sheet or the pairing tetrahedra of the tobermorite-type layers. Al[4] occurs on three types of bridging sites, Q³ sites that bridge across the interlayer; Q² sites that are charge balanced by interlayer Ca⁺², Na⁺, or H⁺; and Q² sites that are most likely charge balanced by interlayer or surface Al[5] and Al[6] through Al[4]-O-Al[5,6] linkages. Although the data presented here are for relatively well-crystallized tobermorite-type C-S-H with C/S ratios ≤ 1.2, comparable spectral features for hydrated white cement pastes in previously published papers[30], [31] and [32] [M.D. Andersen, H.J. Jakobsen, J. Skibsted, Incorporation of aluminum in the calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) of hydrated Portland cements: a high-field ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si MAS NMR investigation Inorg. Chem. 42 (2003) 2280-2287; M.D. Andersen, H.J. Jakobsen, J. Skibsted, Characterization of white Portland cement hydration and the C-S-H structure in the presence of sodium aliminate by ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si MAS NMR spectroscopy, Cem. Concr. Res. 43 (2004) 857-868; M.D. Andersen, H. J. Jakobsen, J. Skibsted, A new aluminum-hydrate phase in hydrated Portland cements characterized by ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si MAS NMR spectroscopy, Cem. Concr. Res., submitted for publication.] indicate the presence of similar structural environments in the C-S-H of such pastes, and by implication OPC pastes.     

钢渣水化产物的特性(英文)

用X射线衍射分析、水化热的测量、化学结合水量的测定、孔结构的测定、扫描电镜观察及强度测试研究了钢渣的水化产物的特性。结果表明:钢渣硬化浆体中主要含有水化硅酸钙(C–S–H)凝胶、Ca(OH)2、惰性组分[RO相、铁酸二钙(C2F)和Fe3O4]和未水化的胶凝相[硅酸三钙(C3S)和硅酸二钙(C2S)];总体而言,钢渣的水化过程与水泥的水化过程相似;钢渣早期的水化速率远低于水泥,但钢渣后期,尤其是90d之后的水化速率高于水泥的。钢渣水化产生的C–S–H凝胶不具有良好的胶凝性能,凝胶之间的相互黏结也不牢固,因此钢渣砂浆的强度很低。     

The effect of drying on early-age morphology of C–S–H as observed in environmental SEM

The morphology of early-age C–S–H, often referred to as outer product or low-density C–S–H, is generally accepted to be fibrillar and forms mainly during the early stages of hydration. This paper reports the effect of drying on the microstructure in young tricalcium silicate paste, which provides insight into the mechanism that leads to the fibrillar morphology. During the first few days after C₃S is mixed with water, the morphology of C–S–H is more affected by drying rate than by relative humidity. This sensitivity is most apparent at partial pressures greater than 85%. During this time, the fibrillar C–S–H product can be suppressed by drying C₃S paste samples very slowly prior to imaging. This approach is interpreted as evidence that this fibrillar morphology, which naturally form over time, grow as tiny colloidal particles that rearrange during the early stages of hydration, leading to well-established larger scale morphologies.