U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

PUBLICATIONS

On the Relation of Setting and Early-Age Strength Development to Porosity and Hydration in Cement-Based Materials

Published

Author(s)

Didier Lootens, Dale P. Bentz

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated a linear relationship between compressive strength (mortar cubes and concrete cylinders) and cumulative heat release normalized per unit volume of (mixing) water for a wide variety of cement-based mixtures at ages of 1 d and beyond. This paper utilizes concurrent ultrasonic reflection and calorimetry measurements to further explore this relationship from the time of specimen casting to 3 d. The ultrasonic measurements permit a continuous evaluation of thickening, setting, and strength development during this time period for comparison with the ongoing chemical reactions, as characterized by isothermal calorimetry measurements. Initially, the ultrasonic strength-heat release relation depends strongly on water-to-cement ratio, as well as admixture additions, with no universal behavior. Still, each individual strength-heat release curve is consistent with a percolation-based view of the cement setting process. However, beyond about 8 h for the systems investigated in the present study, the various strength-heat release curves merge towards a single relationship that broadly characterizes the development of strength as a function of heat released (fractional space filled), demonstrating that mortar and/or concrete strength at early ages can be effectively monitored using either ultrasonic or calorimetry measurements on small paste or mortar specimens.
Citation
Cement and Concrete Composites
Pub Type
Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2016.02.010
Local Download

Keywords

Calorimetry, hydration, percolation, porosity, setting, strength, ultrasonic reflection.
Concrete / cement and Building materials

Citation

Lootens, D. and Bentz, D. (2016), On the Relation of Setting and Early-Age Strength Development to Porosity and Hydration in Cement-Based Materials, Cement and Concrete Composites, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2016.02.010, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=918070 (Accessed April 18, 2024)

Created February 9, 2016, Updated October 12, 2021