CEMENT PASTE & ITS STRENGTH

CEMENT PASTE:
The cement clinker is manufactured by firing mixtures of limestone and clay, which contain aluminate and ferrite impurities.When the cement is mixed with water, hydration reactions occur which ultimately convert the water-cement suspension into a rigid porous material, which serves as the matrix phase for mortar and concrete.

STRENGTH OF CEMENT PASTE:

The most important property of a Portland Cement paste is its strength development characteristics. It depends on several factors including the mix proportions, temperature, humidity conditions, size and shape of the test specimen. The time chosen before testing is usually 1,2,3,7 and 28 days. EARLY STRENGTH: The early strength is dominated by C3S and C3A while, C2S and C4AF contribute to the late strength development. Uncombined CaO in clinker will not have any influence in the strength, but high content will have lower C3S, which may reduce the strength.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE STRENGTH OF CEMENT PASTE:

Hydration : Soon after the aggregates, water, and the cement are combined, the mixture starts to harden. All portland cements are hydraulic cements that set and harden through a chemical reaction with water. During this reaction, called hydration, a node forms on the surface of each cement particle. The node grows and expands until it links up with nodes from other cement particles or adheres to adjacent aggregates. The building up process results in progressive stiffening, hardening, and strength development POROSITY: A hardened Portland cement is a porous material with an open, continuous pore system. In water saturated pastes the volume of the pores is identical with the volume of free water and depends also how this term is defined. Generally, the porosity increases with an increasing initial water/cement ratio and declines with progressing hydration, as an increasing fraction of the total water becomes bound within the formed phases. Prepared by: Sana Adnan CE-107

Soundness: Soundness in cement means excessive expansion during hydration of pastes, mortar and concrete. Such expansion cause cracks and consequently reduces strength and durability. The chemical reactions involved with expansion in cement pastes are: - The formation of ettringite from C3A and SO3 - The hydration of hard-burned free CaO

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH: For any particular cement, the compressive strength of specimen stored at constant temperature and humidity increases with age and decreasing water /cement ratio. Water-cement ratio: Strength continues to increase at water/cement ratio below 0.38. DRYING SHRINKAGE: .3. By research concerning mechanism and some causes of the drying shrinkage of hardened cement paste, the following relations are obtained. a) Drying shrinkage is proportional to the strength of capillary tension. b) Drying shrinkage is proportional to the amount of evaporable water held at equilibrium in unit volume of hardened cement paste. c) Drying shrinkage is inversely proportional to the dynamic Young's modulus. 4. The shrinkage of hardened cement paste due to the escape of interlayer water in its gelatinous material is probably caused by very low relative humidity. QUANTITY OF AGGREGATE: The fracture process of cement paste and mortar becomes stabilized as the air or aggregate content increases The aggregate plays the following two conflicting roles for the strength of mortar, i. e., the role as a defect which deteriorates the strength and the role as a crackarrestor which improves the strength The scale effect of the strength of mortar is more significant as the aggregate content becomes lower. Prepared by: Sana Adnan CE-107

SIZE OF SPECIMEN: The larger the size of specimen is, cement paste and mortar show the more stable or ductile fracture process in the range of small size, but their fracture process transforms from ductile mode to brittle mode as the size of specimen becomes larger than a specific size. AIR CONTENT: (4) The mean strength decreases with the increase of air content, and the rate of decrease of compressive strength is more significant than that of flexural strength. PLASTICIZER: Plasticizers, also called workability aids increases the fluidity or workability of the cement paste or concrete due to their plasticizer action.. the addition of rubber particles improves the toughness and reduces the porosity of the specimens ACCELERATOR: An accelerator is used to inceases the rate of hardening of the cement paste, thus enhancing the early strength. CaCl 2 has historically been very famous as it is readily effective. WATER: Higher water contents dilute the cement paste (the glue of concrete). Here are some advantages of reducing water content:

Increased compressive and flexural strength Lower permeability, thus increased watertightness and lower absorption Increased resistance to weathering Better bond between concrete and reinforcement Less volume change from wetting and drying Reduced shrinkage and cracking

Prepared by: Sana Adnan CE-107