Synergistic Effect of Tricalcium Aluminate and Calcium Carbonate on Early Mechanical Strength and Setting Time of Portland Cement

Abstract

Abstract: In this paper, the synergistic effect of tricalcium aluminate (C₃A) and calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) on the early hydration and hardening properties of Portland cement was studied. Then a series of methods including X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were adopted to analyze the hydrates and microstructures. Results indicate that the simultaneous addition of C₃A and CaCO₃ effectively boosts the mechanical strength of the Portland cement mortar and the content of C₃A and CaCO₃ are 15% (mass fraction, the same below) and 5.6% respectively presented the best mechanical performance. Compared to the reference mortar, this combination increases the compressive strength by 28.8%, 55.7%, 26.8% at 3 d, 7 d and 14 d, respectively. It is inferred that the simultaneous addition of C₃A and CaCO₃ stimulates the formation of calcium carboaluminate, which benefits the early mechanical strength development.

Key words: setting time, mechanical property, tricalcium aluminate, calcium carbonate, synergistic effect, calcium carboaluminate

CLC Number:

TU528

YAN Ziwei, LIU Li, SUN Jinfeng, LU Bao, ZU Qinghe, ZANG Jun, LI Debiao, HOU Guihua. Synergistic Effect of Tricalcium Aluminate and Calcium Carbonate on Early Mechanical Strength and Setting Time of Portland Cement[J]. BULLETIN OF THE CHINESE CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2021, 40(5): 1470-1476.

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