Constitutive modeling of the aging viscoelastic properties of portland cement paste

Analytical approaches for modeling aging viscoelastic behavior of concrete include the time–shift approach (analogous to time-temperature superposition), the solidification theory, and the dissolution–precipitation approach. The aging viscoelastic properties of concrete are generally attributed solely to the cement paste phase since the aggregates are typically linear elastic. In this study, the aging viscoelastic behavior of four different cement pastes has been measured and modeled according to both the time–shift approach and the solidification theory. The inability of each individual model to fully characterize the aging viscoelastic response of the materials provides insight into the mechanisms for aging of the viscoelastic properties of cement paste and concrete. A model that considers aging due to solidification in combination with inherent aging of the cement paste gel (modeled using the time–shift approach) more accurately predicted the aging viscoelastic behavior of portland cement paste than either the solidification or time–shift approaches independently. The results provide evidence that solidification and other intrinsic gel aging mechanisms are concurrently active in the aging process of cementitious materials.