Title:
Early-Age Strength and Porosity of Mixtures Incorporating Portland-Limestone Cement and Set Accelerator
Author(s):
Luca Montanari, Michelle Cooper, Payam Hosseini, and Maria Juenger
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
123
Issue:
5
Appears on pages(s):
3-16
Keywords:
accelerator; high early strength (HES); portland-limestone cement (PLC); reactivity; repair materials
DOI:
10.14359/51750729
Date:
9/1/2026
Abstract:
To achieve carbon neutrality, the cement and concrete industries have accelerated the development and adoption of low-embodied-carbon technologies. One such technology is lower-clinker cement. Portland-limestone cement (PLC) is one example of lower-clinker cement, thanks to the limestone content ranging between 5 and 15%. PLC is designed to provide similar 28-day compressive strength to an ordinary portland cement (OPC) produced from the same clinker. However, data on PLC’s ability to meet very-early-age compressive strength relevant in high-early-strength (HES) concrete applications (that is, within 24 hours from initial mixing) are limited. Due to the partial replacement of clinker with limestone in PLC, it is not immediately clear whether early-age reactions can guarantee a similar rate of strength development within the first 24 hours to OPC. This study investigates the early-age compressive strength (less than 24 hours) and porosity development in HES mortar systems containing PLC and compares them to a control OPC system produced from the same clinker. It is observed that PLC can provide early-age compressive strength comparable to an equivalent OPC. Inclusion of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in the system can slow early-age strength development, and their inclusion in HES mixtures with PLC might have to be limited depending on the early-age reactivity of the SCMs. SCM reactivity tests can be used to evaluate which SCMs are better suited for HES applications.
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