Effect of the water/binder ratio on the hydration process of Portland cement pastes with silica fume and metakaolin

abstract: The microstructure of cement pastes is important to understand the effect of some parameters in the hydration process. In this context, this study had as objective to evaluate the effect of different water/binder (w/b) ratios in the hydration process of cementitious pastes produced with and without incorporation of silica fume and metakaolin. The pastes were obtained with water/binder ratios of 0.3, 0.4 e 0.5, with replacement, by weight, of Portland cement for silica fume and metakaolin, in the contents of 10% and 20%, respectively. It was performed the X-ray diffraction test of the pastes in the ages of 1, 3, 7, and 28 days, to evaluate the hydration evolution of the cementitious materials. According to the results obtained, it was observed that the cementitious pastes presented similar mineralogical phases, except for the pastes containing metakaolin due to the formation of new aluminate phases. With the increase of the water/binder ratio, the pozzolanic reactions and hydration occurred in greater proportion, standing out the metakaolin with greater reactivity.

Influence of Potassium-Based Alkaline Electrolyzed Water on Hydration Process and the Properties of Cement-Based Materials with Fly Ash

Alkaline electrolyzed water, a kind of clean green water with excellent characteristics such as high activity, strong alkalinity, high ion penetrating ability, electrical charge, and good molecule adsorption, was significant to the resource utilization of industrial fly ash waste. This paper studies highly active potassium-based alkaline electrolyzed water′s impact, compared with ordinary water, on the cement hydration process using microstructural methods such as a hydration heat test, differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern, and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image analysis. Fly ash cement-based materials were first prepared with alkaline electrolyzed water as the mixing water. The alkaline electrolyzed water’s influence on fly ash paste workability and the mechanical properties of fly ash mortar for varying fly ash proportions were ratified. Then alkaline electrolyzed water with the best pH value was selected to prepare fly ash concrete, and its durability was studied. The test results showed that it is feasible to increase the utilization rate of fly ash by using alkaline electrolyzed water. Furthermore, it promoted the process of cement hydration, increased the rate of the hydration reaction, and the promotion effect increased with the increase in pH value of the alkaline electrolyzed water, and also promoted the effective decomposition of the vitreous shell of fly ash to stimulate its early activity. Concurrent tests with ordinary water paste showed that the water requirement for normal consistency and setting time with alkaline electrolyzed water paste were significantly less. Alkaline electrolyzed water also solved the problem related to the low early strength of fly ash mortar. Furthermore, using alkaline electrolyzed water with an optimum pH value of 11.5 to prepare fly ash concrete effectively reduced concrete′s carbonation depth and carbonation rate and lessened the chloride ion migration coefficient.