Hydration and Microstructure of Nano Modified Cement Paste

Hydration of cement systems modified by nano additives requires the understanding of its mechanisms. The present research is focused on the investigation of hydration processes in cement pastes modified by multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) suspension. The ultrasonication method was used for homogenization of MWCNTs in the volume of an aqueous suspension. The hydration of cement pastes was assessed by the calorimetry test. The prolongation of cement hydration in case of modification by MWCNT suspension was observed. The microstructure observation by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed for identification of MWCNT's dispergation in hardened cement pastes and for the observation of cement hydration products. The compressive and flexural strength were tested to evaluate the effect of MWCNT on mechanical properties of hardened cement paste.

Phosphate Cements Based on Calcined Dolomite: Influence of Calcination Temperature and Silica Addition

The aim of this study is to assess the possibility of obtaining phosphate cements based on dolomite calcined at various temperatures with/without quartz sand addition. A lower calcination temperature of dolomite (1200 °C) determines a high increase in the system temperature when calcined dolomite is mixed with KH2PO4 (MKP) solution and also a rapid expansion of the paste. The increase in calcination temperature up to 1400 °C reduces the oxides reactivity; however, for lower dosages of MKP, the expansion phenomenon is still recorded. The increase in MKP dosage increases the compressive strength due to the formation of K-struvite. The mixing of dolomite with sand, followed by thermal treatment at 1200 °C, modifies its composition and reactivity; the compressive strength of phosphate cements obtained by mixing this solid precursor with MKP increases up to 28 days of curing. We assessed the nature of hydrates formed in the phosphate systems studied by X-ray diffraction in order to explain the hardening processes and the mechanical properties of these systems. The microstructure and elemental composition of hardened cement pastes were assessed by scanning electronic microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The phosphate cements based on calcined magnesite or dolomite were used to immobilize an industrial hazardous waste with high chromium content. The partial substitution of calcined magnesite/dolomite with this waste determines an important decrease in compressive strengths. Nevertheless, the leaching tests confirm an adequate immobilization of chromium in some of the matrices studied (for a waste dosage corresponding to 0.5 wt % Cr).

Hydration Modification of Cement in the Presence of Diethanol-Isopropanolamine

In this investigation, calorimetry, quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis and the scanning electron microscopy were applied to explore the mechanism of hydration modification of cement with diethanol-isopropanolamine (DEIPA). It showed that the addition of DEIPA favoured the strength development on 3 and 28 days, but was undesirable for the 1d strength. The reason for this was that the dissolution of intermediate phase being promoted by DEIPA participated in the aluminate reaction interrupting the normal hydration of C3S. Appropriate adjustment on SO3 content in the cement was able to slow down the rate of aluminate reaction allowing C3S to react in a right fashion, which gave an optimum strength enhancement at early ages. The addition of DEIPA also impacted the formation of hydrates. Significant differences can be recognized in quantities, chemical compositions and the morphologies of hydrates in blank sample and the DEIPA-dosing ones. With the help of SO3 adjustment in cement with DEIPA, a great number of hydro-sulfoaluminates precipitated at the early stage of hydration to decrease the porosity of hardened cement pastes, which contributed to the strength gain of cement.

Effect of Mineral Composition and w/c Ratios to the Growth of AFt during Cement Hydration by In-Situ Powder X-ray Diffraction Analysis

AFt is one of the major products at the early stage of cement hydration. It is an important product that influences the performance of the fresh and hardened cement pastes such as the setting time. However, there is a lack of detailed investigation on the growth of AFt in the cement pastes with a long-time scale. In this work, we reported a detailed analysis by using in-situ powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) on the growth of AFt in the cement pastes during hydration. Samples of the hydrated ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and another locally produced Portland cement with very high tricalcium silicate (C3S) content with different water–cement (w/c) ratios were investigated continually till they were hydrated for about 270 days by powder XRD. The work shows that during Portland cement hydration, the AFt reaches its maximum content with very high speed within about 24 h, which is influenced by the content of C3S in the raw cement samples and the w/c ratios of the cement pastes. Once the maximum content of AFt was reached, it decreases very fast within the following couple of days, and then decreases slowly and finally reaches a stable level at the late stage of hydration. The results also present that a lower w/c ratio is beneficial to the formation of AFt and the conversion of AFt to AFm as well. While higher w/c ratios are favorable for the AFt to remain stable in the hardened cement pastes.

Permeabilities and Mechanical Properties of Hardened Cement Pastes Modified with Sodium Laurate and Nano Silica

In this work, a method of imparting hydrophobicity and high strength to hardened cement paste (HCP) is proposed. Sodium laurate (SL) was used as a hydrophobic modifier and nano silica (NS) as a pozzolan. The HCP was modified by SL and NS simultaneously. HCP modified with different contents of SL and NS was prepared. Surface wettability, micro-structures, chemical composition, and organic structure were systematically studied using contact angle (CA) measurement, scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), respectively. The surface CA of the sample is 138.5° and has high hydrophobicity. Compared with the reference sample, the water absorption of the modified sample reduced by 96.55%, while the compressive strength only reduced by 6.91%. Therefore, using hydrophobic modifier and reinforcing agent as cement admixture is an effective method to endow concrete with hydrophobicity and high strength at the same time.