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Article

Synergistic Improvement in Setting and Hardening Performance of OPC-CSA Binary Blended Cement: Combined Effect of Nano Calcium Carbonate and Aluminum Sulfate

by
Huanhuan Li
,
Zhiwei Liu
,
Mohammad Mahadi Hasan
,
Liheng Zhang
,
Qiang Ren
,
Zichen Lu
* and
Zhenping Sun
*
Key Laboratory of Advanced Civil Engineering Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(5), 2062; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14052062
Submission received: 3 February 2024 / Revised: 23 February 2024 / Accepted: 26 February 2024 / Published: 1 March 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances of Low-Carbon Cement)
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Abstract

:
The combined effect and corresponding mechanism of nano calcium carbonate (NC) and aluminum sulfate (AS) on the setting and hardening performance of binary blended cement (ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and calcium sulfoaluminate cement (CSA)) were evaluated through multiple experiments, including setting time, calorimetry, compressive strength, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The results showed that, as compared to OPC, OPC-CSA binary blended cement exhibited reduced setting time but decreased early strength, which could be caused by the depressed silicate phase hydration due to the fast supply of aluminate ions during the hydration of aluminate-contained phases contained in CSA. However, through the combined addition of NC and AS, the depressed silicate phase hydration was greatly promoted by NC due to its nucleation effect, and the reduced early strength was significantly improved. Further analysis indicates that the combined addition of NC and AS can promote the formation of C-S-H gel and decrease the porosity of the hardened OPC-CSA binary paste. In this way, one promising repair material with rapid setting and hardening properties was prepared by OPC-CSA binary blended cement with the combined addition of NC and AS.

1. Introduction

Over the past years, the demand for rapid-repair cementitious materials has increased dramatically due to the extensive construction of pavements since 1990 [1]. Cement concrete is widely used in road pavements with the advantage of high strength and long durability. However, one obstacle that hinders the fast development of cement concrete in pavements is the high difficulty and large economic cost of repairing the damaged road [1,2]. In addition, considering the large traffic in a metropolis, such as Shanghai in China, a tiny, prolonged repair time can cause huge traffic jams [3]. Hence, it is very urgent to develop fast-setting and hardening cementitious materials used in the rapid repair of pavement [4]. The accelerator is one commonly used admixture in modern concrete to shorten the setting time and promote early strength [5,6]. The alkali-free accelerator is widely used in civil engineering due to its advantages in maintaining long-term strength and durability [7]. Aluminum sulfate, as the most important component in the alkali-free accelerator, has attracted intensified attention due to its capability to reach the fast-setting and rapid strength development of concrete [8]. With the addition of AS, a substantial amount of Ettringite (AFt) will be formed within a quite short time; thereby, the setting time of the concrete can be significantly reduced. Apart from the rapid setting, both early and late mechanical strength can be promoted due to the fast consumption of calcium ions and accelerated cement hydration [9].
At present, most of the used repair cementitious materials are mainly prepared based on ordinary Portland cement. Considering the massive CO2 emissions during the production of OPC, more low-carbon cement should be used as a rapid repair cementitious material [10]. Recently, using CSA to partially substitute OPC has become a promising method to decrease the carbon footprint of rapid-repair cementitious materials. It is estimated that the production of CSA can reduce ~30% of CO2 emissions compared to that of OPC [11]. Meanwhile, with the addition of CSA, the OPC-CSA binary blended cement exhibits the characteristics of rapid setting [12], adjustable rheological properties [13], and high sulfate resistance [14], which make them suitable to be used as rapid repair cementitious materials. However, the unsynchronized setting and hardening performance of the OPC-CSA binary blend have been found in many reports. It means that the strength development of the OPC-CSA binary blended cement was prohibited, even though the setting time can be greatly shortened [15]. Such an undesirable phenomenon restricts the widespread use of the OPC-CSA binary blend as a rapid-repair cementitious material.
Hou et al. reported that the slow development of strength can be mainly attributed to the depressed silicate phase hydration and the loose microstructure formed along with hydration [14]. Nowadays, the inclusion of nano-C-S-H, nano-Al2O3, nano-TiO2, nano-Fe2O3, nano-SiO2, nano-CaCO3, and other nanoparticles in cementitious materials has become an effective method to promote the strength development of hardened cementitious materials, which can be attributed to the following reasons: Firstly, the silicate phase reaction can be greatly promoted through the addition of nanoparticles, which can act as the nucleation site during the hydration process of cement [16]. Moreover, the nanoparticles may react with the hydration products due to their high reactivity, which can also promote the hydration process and densify the microstructure of the hardened cement paste [17]. Besides, the incorporation of nanoparticles can exert the filler effect and reduce the porosity of the hardened cement paste [18].
Among those mentioned nanoparticles, NC attracts high attention due to its low price and good capacity to enhance the early strength of hardened cement paste (HCP) [19]. Hence, the influence of NC on cement hydration has been studied extensively. It is found that the addition of NC can accelerate cement hydration by shortening the induction period and promoting the occurrence of the main hydration peak [20]. Besides, NC can adsorb calcium ions in the pore solution and reduce the concentration of calcium ions around cement particles, thereby promoting the dissolution of cement particles and increasing the formation of hydration products [21,22]. In addition, NC can react with aluminate-contained phases to form hydrated calcium carboaluminate, which can improve the early strength of the cement paste [23,24]. Poudyal [25] investigated the effect of NC on the setting behavior of OPC concrete. With the addition of NC, a decrease in setting time was found. However, the setting time was increased along with the increased NC dosage, which may be attributed to the insufficient dispersion of NC and the formation of NC agglomeration. In addition, the improved mechanical strength of HCP by the nucleation effect of NC has also been reported by many researchers [26,27,28]. However, most of the researchers conducted the studies in the OPC system, and little attention was paid to the impact of NC on the setting and hardening performance of OPC-CSA binary blended cement.
Based on the considerations above, in order to produce a new type of fast repair material with the synergistic properties of fast setting and high strength development, NC was employed as the nanomaterial to promote early strength, and AS was used to shorten the setting time of the OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement in this study. Subsequently, the impact of NC and AS on the setting and hardening performance of OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement was investigated first. Moreover, the underlying mechanism was thoroughly explored by the combined analysis of the hydration process, hydration products, and microstructure of HCP. This study, on the one hand, provides us with a reliable basis for the preparation of low-carbon cementitious material used for the fast repair of pavement. On the other hand, it can deepen our understanding of the synergistic impact of NC and AS on the setting and hardening performance of cement paste from a scientific viewpoint.

2. Materials and Experiments

2.1. Materials

Ordinary Portland cement P·I 42.5 (OPC) and CSA used in this study meet the Chinese standards GB8076-2008 [29] and GB/T 37125-2018 [30], respectively. The chemical and mineralogical compositions of OPC and CSA were analyzed by XRF and QXRD, and the results are listed in Table 1. The specific surface areas of OPC and CSA were 1.57 m2/g and 1.85 m2/g, respectively, as determined by the nitrogen adsorption method (Belsorp-max II, MicrotracBEL, Osaka, Japan). NC was provided by Rhawn Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China) with a mean particle size of 50 nm. The particle size distributions of OPC and CSA were measured by the laser scattering technique, and the results are shown in Figure 1. Aluminum sulfate octadecahydrate with analytical purity was obtained from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). Deionized water was used in this study.

2.2. Preparation of Cement Paste

The OPC-CSA binary blended cement was prepared by replacing 20% (by mass) of OPC with CSA and then mixed in an overhead shaker (PT-06, Changzhou Putian Instrument Co., Ltd., Changzhou, China) at 60 rpm for 1 d. A fixed water-to-cement ratio (w/c) of 0.4 was used in both OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement. The dosage of NC was 0%, 1.5%, and 3% of the total weight of OPC and CSA. The dosage of AS was 2% of the weight of cement. AS was first dissolved in deionized water to prepare the AS solution with a mass fraction of 25%. The composition to prepare the cement paste with 100 g binder is shown in Table 2. The prepared AS solution or deionized water was added to the OPC or OPC-CSA binary blended cement and then mixed according to GB/T 35159-2017 [31]. The specimens were sealed in molds and cured under a standard curing condition of 20 ± 2 °C and a relative humidity of 95% for 8 h. After this, specimens were de-molded and then cured under standard curing conditions until each test time.

2.3. Experiments

2.3.1. Performance Evaluation

The setting times (initial and final) and compressive strength of OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement with only NC or the combination of NC and AS were measured based on Chinese standards GB/T 35159-2017 [31] and GB17671-2021 [32]. The setting time was tested by the Vicat method. The compressive strength of cubic samples with a side length of 40 mm after curing for 8 h, 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, and 28 d was measured using a 300 kN servo-hydraulic testing machine. For each curing age, 3 samples were measured, and the average value was calculated to represent the mechanical strength.

2.3.2. Calorimetry

The hydration of OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement with only NC or the combination of NC and AS was measured by an isothermal calorimeter (TAM Air, TA Instruments, New Castle, DE, USA) at 25 ± 0.02 °C. 10 g cement and a corresponding amount of NC, deionized water, and AS solution according to the composition shown in Table 2 were injected into the ampoule, then mixed for 1 min by using a vortex mixer (MX-S, DLAB, Beijing, China). Subsequently, the glass ampoule was sealed and placed into the device. The hydration process of cement pastes was monitored for 3 d. The heat flow was normalized based on the total amount of cement (including OPC and CSA). The cumulative heat was calculated based on the data of heat flow after the first hour due to the used external mixing method.

2.3.3. XRD

The phase composition of hydrated cement pastes was analyzed by a Rigaku SmartLab high-resolution X-ray diffractometer with a CuKa source. A scanning 2θ in the range of 5–40° and a scanning speed of 2° per minute were applied for the measurement. The cement pastes were prepared as described in Section 2.2. After curing for 3 d and 28 d, the hardened samples were broken into small blocks and immersed in isopropanol for 1 d. Then the samples were filtered and vacuum dried at 40 °C for 1 d. Finally, all the dried samples were ground in an agate grinder until the particle size was less than 75 μm.

2.3.4. MIP

The porosity and pore size distribution of the HCP at the curing age of 3 d were also evaluated by MIP (AutoPore V 9600, 200 Micromeritics Instruments, Norcross, GA, USA). Dried samples with the soybean-sized blocks were prepared as described in Section 2.3.3. The maximum pressure for the measurement was 200 MPa. The contact angle and mercury surface tension used for the calculation of porosity were 130° and 0.48 N/m, respectively.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Setting Time

The setting time of OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement was evaluated under the effects of NC and AS, as shown in Figure 2. Regarding the single OPC system, without the addition of AS, the setting time was decreased with the increased dosage of NC, which could be caused by the accelerated hydration process through the nucleation effect of NC. Moreover, with the combined addition of NC and AS, the setting time was significantly reduced. Regarding the OPC-CSA binary blended cement, an obvious reduction in setting time was found, which was attributed to the rapid setting property of CSA. Similar to the condition found in OPC, a decreased setting time was observed with the increased dosage of NC. Moreover, a significantly reduced setting time was found in OPC-CSA binary blended cement with the combined addition of NC and AS. The setting time of the binary blended cement can be controlled under 1 h.

3.2. Compressive Strength

Figure 3 shows the compressive strength of the single OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement under the effects of NC and AS. It can be seen that the addition of NC slightly decreased the compressive strength of hardened OPC paste at the NC dosages of 1.5% and 3.0% (Figure 3a), which may be related to the ineffective dispersion and increased agglomeration of NC. It is reported that the reactivity and workability of nanoparticles strongly depend on their dispersion state [25]. Moreover, the insufficient nanoparticles could agglomerate and reduce their capacity to act as nucleation sites. Besides, the increased agglomeration could be a defect inside HCP and then decrease the strength [20]. When both NC and AS were added (Figure 3b), enhanced strength was found at an early age (till 3 d) compared to that with only AS. Although the sample with 3% NC and 2% AS still shows a lower strength compared to that without NC at 28 d, the incorporation of AS obviously minimized this gap from 20.1% to 9.2%.
Regarding the OPC-CSA binary blended cement, an obvious reduction in strength was observed at 1 d and 3 d compared to OPC (Figure 3c), which indicates that the addition of CSA has a strongly negative effect on the development of early strength. It could be caused by the fast hydration of aluminate-contained phases in CSA (for example, ye’elimite), which hinders the normal hydration of the silicate phase [12]. Therefore, the strength development was restricted. Only after the extended curing age of 7 d was a comparable strength found to OPC and OPC-CSA. Moreover, different from the condition with only OPC, the addition of 1.5% NC significantly increased the strength at 7 d and 28 d compared to that without NC. With the combined addition of NC and AS (Figure 3d), the strength was significantly improved after 8 h of hydration, and the OPC-CSA exhibited higher strength compared to that of the OPC at a later age. It indicated the passivation on the silicate phase reaction was eliminated through the addition of NC. The accelerated silicate phase hydration in the presence of NC has also been reported by many researchers [20,33,34]. The main underlying mechanism is that the presence of NC can provide more adsorption sites for Ca2+ and rapidly adsorb Ca2+ in the pore solution. Thereby, the concentration of Ca2+ around the silicate phases was reduced, and then the hydration of the silicate phases was further accelerated. In addition, the corresponding setting time in Figure 2 was also significantly shortened compared to that of OPC, which confirms the effectiveness of NC in improving the early strength of OPC-CSA binary blended cement and the possibility of achieving rapid setting and hardening paste with the combination of NC and AS.

3.3. Hydration Process

The hydration process of the single OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement with only NC or with NC and AS together is shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5. It was found that for OPC without the addition of AS (Figure 4a), a reduced induction time and slightly promoted occurrence of the main hydration peak were found with the addition of NC. Besides, the height of the peak was also increased, which indicates that the addition of NC can accelerate the hydration process by promoting the nucleation process at the initial stage of cement hydration. Compared to the sample without the presence of NC, the addition of NC also resulted in an obvious decrease in the released heat after hydration for 72 h (Figure 5a), which matches well with the measured strength shown in Figure 3. Regarding the condition with the addition of NC and AS (Figure 4b), a promoted hydration process with a shortened induction period and an increased height of the main hydration peak was found with the increased dosages of NC. Moreover, compared to the samples with only NC, the addition of AS enhanced the reaction of the aluminate-contained phase as the height of the secondary peak significantly increased. Besides, the synergistic addition of NC and AS increased the total heat released after hydration of 72 h (Figure 5b).
Regarding the OPC-CSA binary blended cement, the partial replacement of OPC by CSA significantly altered the original hydration process. The height of the main hydration peak was significantly reduced. It indicates the hydration of silicate phases was severely suppressed, which could be caused by the poison of C-S-H nuclei by aluminate ions [35] or the formation of Si-O-Al bonds at the C3S surface [36]. Consistent with the OPC system, the addition of NC can also promote the hydration process of the OPC-CSA binary blended cement (Figure 4c). With the combined addition of NC and AS (Figure 4d), a strongly retarded occurrence of the main hydration peak was observed. Furthermore, the aluminate-contained phases in OPC-CSA binary blended cement reacted massively, as indicated by the high amount of heat released at the beginning. Moreover, an increased NC dosage resulted in improved cumulative heat and a left-moving main hydration peak, which again indicates the acceleration effect of NC on the OPC-CSA binary blended cement.

3.4. XRD

To further analyze the effects of NC and AS on the hydration products of the hardened single OPC and OPC-CSA, XRD was applied to reveal the consumption of cement clinkers and the precipitation of hydration products after 3 d and 28 d hydration, as shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7. It should be noted that, because each XRD measurement was operated with the same detecting parameters, the intensities of characteristic XRD reflexes can be compared to semi-qualitatively reflect the amount of crystalline hydration products [37].
Regarding the OPC system after 3 d of hydration, no obvious peaks corresponding to the aluminate-contained phase (mainly C3A and C4AF) were observed due to its fast hydration speed compared to the silicate phases (mainly C2S and C3S). Besides, a slightly decreased peak height of C2S and an enhanced CH peak height were observed with the addition of NC. However, an obvious increase in the peak height of AFt was found with the addition of AS, which is attributed to the massive hydration of the aluminate-contained phase accelerated by AS (Figure 4). Obvious AFt peaks and even an AFm peak were found in OPC-CSA binary blended cement (Figure 6b). However, the peak height of silicate phases remains quite high, which proves the depressed silicate phases hydration by the rapid reaction of aluminate-contained phases. With the extended curing age to 28 d, a higher reduction in the peak height of silicate phases was found. Consistent with the 3 d hydration, samples with the addition of NC still showed a slightly decreased height of the C2S peaks, while the incorporation of CSA and AS increased the AFt peak height.
When we compared the intensity originating from the formation of CH and AFt after 3 d of hydration, the addition of NC showed a negligible effect on the intensity of CH and AFt for the OPC without the addition of AS. While in the presence of AS, the addition of NC caused an obvious reduction in the intensity of CH, which may be due to the accelerated reaction between NC and CH by AS [38,39]. However, the addition of NC has a limited effect on the intensity of AFt.
Compared to the OPC system, a lower CH intensity was observed in OPC-CSA binary blended cement, regardless of the addition of AS or not, which may be attributed to the depressed silicate phase hydration shown in Figure 4. In addition, compared to that without AS, it is worth noting that the presence of AS can always lead to a very low intensity of CH, which may be attributed to the following two mechanisms: On the one hand, in the OPC-CSA sample with only the addition of AS, the low intensity of CH may be caused by the seriously depressed silicate phase hydration (Figure 4), in which the formation of CH is rare. On the other hand, in the OPC-CSA sample with the combined addition of NC and AS, the addition of NC promoted silicate phase hydration (Figure 4), while the formed CH was then consumed by the accelerated reaction between NC and CH by AS. Meanwhile, the addition of AS to OPC-CSA binary blended cement can enhance the intensity of AFt due to the strongly accelerated aluminate-contained phase hydration (Figure 4). Along with the extended curing age to 28 d, the same phenomenon was found in the intensities of CH and AFt. In addition, the OPC-CSA sample with the combined addition of NC and AS exhibited a reduced CH intensity compared to the sample with the only addition of AS, which proves that AS can accelerate the reaction between NC and CH.

3.5. MIP

MIP has been widely used to quantitatively characterize the pore structures in HCP, which can obtain the porosity and the pore size distribution of HCP in the measurement range of 0.01 μm~1000 μm. According to the previous research [40], the pores in HCP can be classified into gel pores (<0.01 μm), medium capillary pores (0.01–0.05 μm), and large capillary pores (0.05–10 μm) based on the pore size. The gel pores have no negative effect on the mechanical performance of HCP, and an improved hydration degree is expected with the increased proportion of gel pores in HCP. Regarding the capillary pores, the medium capillary pore strongly affects the volume stability of HCP [41,42], while the large capillary pores are closely related to the mechanical strength and impermeability of HCP [43,44]. As the hydration products of OPC and OPC-CSA blended cement under the effect of NC and AS after 3 d hydration were observed to be significantly different, only the pore structures of the hardened OPC and OPC-CSA cement pastes after curing for 3 d were measured by MIP, and the results are shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9.
Regarding the OPC system, it is found that, along with the hydration to 3 d, the addition of NC in OPC slightly refined the pore structure by shifting the peak leftward. Besides, an obvious increase in the cumulative pore volumes was found. In the sample with the combined addition of NC and AS, a similar pore size distribution and cumulative pore volume were found in both samples, regardless of the addition of NC or not. It indicates the addition of NC has limited capability to densify the microstructure of OPC. Besides, the presence of AS can, in some way, relieve the negative effect of NC on the pore structures of HCP.
Regarding the OPC-CSA binary blended cement, an obvious rightward shifted peak was found compared to the OPC system, which indicates that the partial substitution of OPC by CSA resulted in enlarged pore structures in HCP, especially the massively generated large capillary pores. It could be attributed to the hindered silicate phase hydration, as observed in Figure 6. The rapid aluminate-contained phase hydration depressed the silicate phase hydration, thereby reducing the formation of C-S-H gel and resulting in enlarged pore structures [45]. Besides, the addition of NC slightly refined the pore structure (by shifting the peak leftward) and increased the cumulative pore volume, which complies with the findings in the OPC system (Figure 8). Through the combined addition of NC and AS, however, a greatly refined pore structure and decreased cumulative pore volumes of the HCP were observed, on account of the accelerated hydration of silicate phases (Figure 6) and increased formation of C-S-H gel. It indicates that, for the binary blended cement with OPC and CSA, the addition of NC and AS is beneficial to refine the microstructure, which in turn leads to an increase in compressive strength.

4. Conclusions

The combined effect of NC and AS on the setting and mechanical performance of the OPC-CSA binary blended cement was investigated, and the corresponding mechanism was analyzed in this study. The above results can be summarized as follows: Compared to OPC, OPC-CSA binary blended cement exhibited reduced setting time but decreased early strength, which could be caused by the depressed silicate phase hydration due to the fast supply of aluminate ions during the hydration of aluminate-contained phases contained in CSA. The addition of only NC in OPC-CSA binary blended cement has a limited effect on the improvement of early strength but significantly increases the compressive strength at late age (after 7 d and NC dosage is 1.5%). The combined addition of NC and AS accelerated the hydration process of OPC-CSA binary blended cement through the nucleation effect of NC and resulted in the increased formation of C-S-H gel. Moreover, the addition of AS could accelerate the consumption of hydration products by NC and form a dense microstructure. Thereby, the porosity of the hardened OPC-CSA binary cement paste was decreased. Finally, the early strength can be significantly improved through the combined addition of NC and AS, which leads to the synergistic improvement in the setting and hardening performance of OPC-CSA binary blended cement.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, Z.L. (Zichen Lu) and Z.S.; methodology, H.L., Z.L. (Zhiwei Liu) and M.M.H.; validation, H.L., M.M.H., L.Z. and Q.R.; formal analysis, H.L., Z.L. (Zhiwei Liu) and Q.R.; investigation, H.L., M.M.H. and Q.R.; resources, Z.L. (Zichen Lu), H.L. and Q.R.; data curation, M.M.H.; writing—original draft preparation, H.L. and Z.L. (Zhiwei Liu); writing—review and editing, Z.L. (Zichen Lu); supervision, Z.S.; project administration, Z.L. (Zichen Lu); funding acquisition, Z.L. (Zichen Lu). All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by “Yuncheng City’s unveiling and commanding project—Development of admixtures and auxiliary technologies for high-efficiency shotcrete used in complex and harsh tunnel construction environments” and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52208282).

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Figure 1. Particle size distributions of OPC and CSA.
Figure 1. Particle size distributions of OPC and CSA.
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Figure 2. Setting time of the single OPC system and OPC-CSA binary blended cement with or without the addition of NC and AS; (a,b) single OPC; (c,d) OPC-CSA.
Figure 2. Setting time of the single OPC system and OPC-CSA binary blended cement with or without the addition of NC and AS; (a,b) single OPC; (c,d) OPC-CSA.
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Figure 3. Compressive strength of the OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement with or without the addition of NC and AS; (a,b) single OPC; (c,d) OPC-CSA.
Figure 3. Compressive strength of the OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement with or without the addition of NC and AS; (a,b) single OPC; (c,d) OPC-CSA.
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Figure 4. Heat flow of the OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement paste with or without the addition of NC and AS; (a,b) single OPC; (c,d) OPC-CSA.
Figure 4. Heat flow of the OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement paste with or without the addition of NC and AS; (a,b) single OPC; (c,d) OPC-CSA.
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Figure 5. Cumulative heat of OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement paste with or without the addition of NC and AS; (a,b) single OPC; (c,d) OPC-CSA.
Figure 5. Cumulative heat of OPC and OPC-CSA binary blended cement paste with or without the addition of NC and AS; (a,b) single OPC; (c,d) OPC-CSA.
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Figure 6. XRD patterns of the hardened OPC (a) and OPC-CSA (b) cement paste with or without the addition of NC and AS after hydration for 3 d.
Figure 6. XRD patterns of the hardened OPC (a) and OPC-CSA (b) cement paste with or without the addition of NC and AS after hydration for 3 d.
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Figure 7. XRD patterns of the hardened OPC (a) and OPC-CSA (b) cement paste with or without the addition of NC and AS after hydration for 28 d.
Figure 7. XRD patterns of the hardened OPC (a) and OPC-CSA (b) cement paste with or without the addition of NC and AS after hydration for 28 d.
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Figure 8. Pore structure of the hardened OPC pastes with or without the addition of NC and AS at 3 d (a) pore size distribution; (b) cumulative pore volume.
Figure 8. Pore structure of the hardened OPC pastes with or without the addition of NC and AS at 3 d (a) pore size distribution; (b) cumulative pore volume.
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Figure 9. Pore structure of the hardened OPC-CSA binary cement paste with or without the addition of NC and AS at 3 d (a) pore size distribution; (b) cumulative pore volume.
Figure 9. Pore structure of the hardened OPC-CSA binary cement paste with or without the addition of NC and AS at 3 d (a) pore size distribution; (b) cumulative pore volume.
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Table 1. Chemical and mineral composition of OPC and CSA in this study (%).
Table 1. Chemical and mineral composition of OPC and CSA in this study (%).
Chemical
Composition		OPCCSAMineralogical
Composition		OPCCSA
CaO62.3834.71C3S66.90-
SiO220.7814.35C2S12.4318.12
Al2O34.5327.14C3A7.42-
Fe2O33.223.09C4AF8.96-
MgO3.292.37Gypsum3.617.01
Na2O0.320.21Anhydrite0.6822.07
K2O0.870.42Ye’elimite-52.80
SO33.9715.88
TiO20.341.02
Other0.300.81
Table 2. Composition of samples with a total binder amount of 100 g (g).
Table 2. Composition of samples with a total binder amount of 100 g (g).
SeriesSampleCementCSAWaterASNC
OPC
0% AS		0.0% NC10004000.0
1.5% NC10004001.5
3.0% NC10004003.0
OPC
2% AS		0.0% NC10004020.0
1.5% NC10004021.5
3.0% NC10004023.0
OPC-CSA
0% AS		0.0% NC80204000.0
1.5% NC80204001.5
3.0% NC80204003.0
OPC-CSA
2% AS		0.0% NC80204020.0
1.5% NC80204021.5
3.0% NC80204023.0
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Li, H.; Liu, Z.; Hasan, M.M.; Zhang, L.; Ren, Q.; Lu, Z.; Sun, Z. Synergistic Improvement in Setting and Hardening Performance of OPC-CSA Binary Blended Cement: Combined Effect of Nano Calcium Carbonate and Aluminum Sulfate. Appl. Sci. 2024, 14, 2062. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14052062

AMA Style

Li H, Liu Z, Hasan MM, Zhang L, Ren Q, Lu Z, Sun Z. Synergistic Improvement in Setting and Hardening Performance of OPC-CSA Binary Blended Cement: Combined Effect of Nano Calcium Carbonate and Aluminum Sulfate. Applied Sciences. 2024; 14(5):2062. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14052062

Chicago/Turabian Style

Li, Huanhuan, Zhiwei Liu, Mohammad Mahadi Hasan, Liheng Zhang, Qiang Ren, Zichen Lu, and Zhenping Sun. 2024. "Synergistic Improvement in Setting and Hardening Performance of OPC-CSA Binary Blended Cement: Combined Effect of Nano Calcium Carbonate and Aluminum Sulfate" Applied Sciences 14, no. 5: 2062. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14052062

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