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Study of Hydraulic Binders: From Mixing to Setting
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Study of Hydraulic Binders: From Mixing to Setting

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction and Building Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 July 2022) | Viewed by 13062

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Maurizio Bellotto

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Polytechnic University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Interdepartmental Center for the Study of Hydraulic Binders (CIRCe) University of Padova, Italy
Interests: cements and alkali-activated materials; hydration solid-liquid equilibria kinetics and microstructural development; structural heterogeneity in solid suspensions and paste-like materials; circular economy and industrial symbiosis, by-product valorization and reuse
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydraulic binders are complex systems, where chemical equilibria and dissolution/precipitation reactions interplay with multiscale heterogeneity and surface interactions mediated by the interstitial pore solution. From mixing to the onset of setting the binder paste is very much a soft matter, the behavior of which is driven by the self-assembly of the precipitating hydrates and the hydrating particles. This complexity is ever more evident now with the flourishing of studies on new binder systems that attempt to reduce the environmental footprint of the building industry

This Special Issue illustrates the present status of comprehension of cement chemistry as well as of the different alkali-activated materials and binding systems that are being proposed. The goal is to highlight the differences and, above all, to find commonalities, in order to reconduct this highly specialized area into the mainframe of physical chemistry.

Prof. Maurizio Bellotto
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Cement hydration
  • alkali-activated materials
  • innovative binders
  • hydration reactions
  • rheological behavior
  • microstructural heterogeneity
  • strength development

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4323 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study of Slag Changes during the Very Early Stages of Its Alkaline Activation
by Vlastimil Bílek, Jr., Petr Hrubý, Valeriia Iliushchenko, Jan Koplík, Jakub Kříkala, Michal Marko, Jan Hajzler and Lukáš Kalina
Materials 2022, 15(1), 231; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15010231 - 29 Dec 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1584
Abstract
The very early stages of alkaline activation of slag control its rheology and setting, but also affect its hydration, which occurs later. Simultaneously, these parameters are dictated by the nature and dose of the alkaline activator. Therefore, we investigated and compared the changes [...] Read more.
The very early stages of alkaline activation of slag control its rheology and setting, but also affect its hydration, which occurs later. Simultaneously, these parameters are dictated by the nature and dose of the alkaline activator. Therefore, we investigated and compared the changes in slag particles (SEM, BET, laser diffraction), as well as in the pore solution composition (ICP–OES), pH, and conductivity, of alkali-activated slag (AAS) pastes containing the three most common sodium activators (waterglass, hydroxide, and carbonate) and water during the first 24 h of its activation. To ensure the best possible comparability of the pastes, a fairly nontraditional mixture design was adopted, based on the same concentration of Na+ (4 mol/dm3) and the same volume fraction of slag in the paste (0.50). The results were correlated with the pastes’ hydration kinetics (isothermal calorimetry), structural build-up (oscillatory rheology), and setting times (Vicat). Great differences were observed in most of these properties, in the formation of hydration products, and in the composition of the pore solution for each activator. The results emphasize the role of the anionic groups in the activators and of the pH, which help predict the sample’s behavior based on its calorimetric curve, and offer data for further comparisons and for the modelling of AAS hydration for specific activators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Study of Hydraulic Binders: From Mixing to Setting)
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18 pages, 3868 KiB  
Article
A Fresh View on Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) Pastes
by Hassan Ez-zaki, Joseph Mwiti Marangu, Maurizio Bellotto, Maria Chiara Dalconi, Gilberto Artioli and Luca Valentini
Materials 2021, 14(11), 3037; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14113037 - 3 Jun 2021
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4730
Abstract
In this work, the factors controlling the fresh state properties of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) are assessed and compared to Portland and binary cements, extending the scope of previous research by combining rheological measurements with setting time determination and the [...] Read more.
In this work, the factors controlling the fresh state properties of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) are assessed and compared to Portland and binary cements, extending the scope of previous research by combining rheological measurements with setting time determination and the evaluation of plastic shrinkage by a novel method. Yield stress and elastic modulus are considered indicators for the structural build-up/breakdown process when stress is applied to the system. On the other hand, plastic shrinkage occurs from the mixing to the setting of fresh paste and plays an important role in governing microstructural changes due to settlement and evaporation. Evaluation of the rheological properties with time was appropriate to give an overview of the influence and behavior of different added materials. The elastic modulus of all binders (clinker, LC3, clinker–limestone, and clinker–calcined clay) was increased from mixing to 60 min of curing as follows: 5.27 × 103 to 9.50 × 105 Pa, 5.94 × 103 to 9.87 × 105 Pa, 6.89 × 103 to 5.62 × 105 Pa and 7.85 × 103 to 1.27 × 106 Pa, respectively. Moreover, during the first three hours of curing, LC3 exhibited a reduction of plastic shrinkage by more than a factor of 2 compared to clinker cement. The use of calcined clay with clinker increases the elastic modulus of the system due to the flocculation effect and increased water absorption, while a dilution effect is contributed due to deflocculation and a free-water increase in the system when a high fraction of limestone is present in the binary cement. The combination of limestone and calcined clay with clinker can induce additional chemical reactions, which control the early age properties, such as plastic shrinkage. The obtained results can contribute to optimizing the fresh state properties of ternary blends of OPC, calcined clay, and limestone through a knowledge-based approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Study of Hydraulic Binders: From Mixing to Setting)
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15 pages, 2955 KiB  
Article
Mechanisms of Phase Transformation and Creating Mechanical Strength in a Sustainable Calcium Carbonate Cement
by Jesús Rodríguez-Sánchez, Teresa Liberto, Catherine Barentin and Dag Kristian Dysthe
Materials 2020, 13(16), 3582; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13163582 - 13 Aug 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2971
Abstract
Calcium carbonate cements have been synthesized by mixing amorphous calcium carbonate and vaterite powders with water to form a cement paste and study how mechanical strength is created during the setting reaction. In-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to monitor the transformation of [...] Read more.
Calcium carbonate cements have been synthesized by mixing amorphous calcium carbonate and vaterite powders with water to form a cement paste and study how mechanical strength is created during the setting reaction. In-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to monitor the transformation of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) and vaterite phases into calcite and a rotational rheometer was used to monitor the strength evolution. There are two characteristic timescales of the strengthening of the cement paste. The short timescale of the order 1 h is controlled by smoothening of the vaterite grains, allowing closer and therefore adhesive contacts between the grains. The long timescale of the order 10–50 h is controlled by the phase transformation of vaterite into calcite. This transformation is, unlike in previous studies using stirred reactors, found to be mainly controlled by diffusion in the liquid phase. The evolution of shear strength with solid volume fraction is best explained by a fractal model of the paste structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Study of Hydraulic Binders: From Mixing to Setting)
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Graphical abstract

11 pages, 1910 KiB  
Article
Effect of Gypsum on Hydration and Hardening Properties of Alite Modified Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement
by Pei Li, Zhiqiang Ma, Zhong Zhang, Xumin Li, Xiaolei Lu, Pengkun Hou and Peng Du
Materials 2019, 12(19), 3131; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12193131 - 25 Sep 2019
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 2892
Abstract
Calcium sulphoaluminate cement (CSA) has the characteristics of quick hardening, high early strength and high impermeability, however its strength growth persistence in the middle and late stages (after the age of 3 days) is poor. In order to improve this disadvantage, the pilot [...] Read more.
Calcium sulphoaluminate cement (CSA) has the characteristics of quick hardening, high early strength and high impermeability, however its strength growth persistence in the middle and late stages (after the age of 3 days) is poor. In order to improve this disadvantage, the pilot production of alite (C3S) modified CSA (AMCSA) clinker was carried out by liquid phase manipulation and barium ion doping technology. The effects of different dosages of gypsum on the hydration and hardening properties of AMCSA, such as setting time, hydration rate, compressive strength and hydration products, were studied. The results show that the mineral content of ye’elimite, C2S, C3S and iron phase in the calcined AMCSA clinker are 48.5 wt.%, 32.6 wt.%, 11.7 wt.% and 7.2 wt.% respectively, which are close to the designed mineral composition. The stable coexistence of ye’elimite and C3S in the same clinker system is realized. The initial and final setting time of AMCSA are retarded with the increasing gypsum dosage. When the gypsum dosage is 15 wt.% under the experimental conditions in this study, the AMCSA mortar reaches the highest compressive strength at every age. The strength of AMCSA mortar at 28 days is still significantly improved compared with that at 3 days, which indicates that the shortcoming of the low strength growth persistence of CSA in the middle and late stages is improved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Study of Hydraulic Binders: From Mixing to Setting)
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