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Early-Age Properties of Cement-Based Materials: II. Influence of Water-to-Cement Ratio
Published
Author(s)
Dale P. Bentz, Max A. Peltz, John A. Winpigler
Abstract
The influence of water-to-cement mass ratio (w/c) on early-age properties of cement-based materials is investigated using a variety of experimental techniques. Properties that are critical to the early-age performance of these materials are tested, including heat release, semi-adiabatic temperature, setting time, strength development, and autogenous deformation. Measurements of these properties using a single cement are presented for four different w/c, ranging from 0.325 to 0.425. Some of the measured properties are observed to vary widely within this range of w/c ratios. The heat release and setting time behaviors of cement pastes are contrasted. While early-age heat release is relatively independent of w/c, the measured setting times vary by several hours between the four w/c investigated in this study, indicating the fundamental differences between a physical process such as setting and heat release which is purely a quantification of chemical reaction. While decreasing w/c certainly increases compressive strength at equivalent ages, it also significantly increases autogenous shrinkage and semi-adiabatic temperature rise, both of which can increase the propensity for early-age cracking in cement-based materials.
Bentz, D.
, Peltz, M.
and Winpigler, J.
(2009),
Early-Age Properties of Cement-Based Materials: II. Influence of Water-to-Cement Ratio, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=861488
(Accessed October 11, 2025)