Title: Controlled Cement Hydration: Its Effect on Durability of Concrete

Author(s): Ephraim Senbetta and Mark A. Bury

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 131

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 179-194

Keywords: abrasion; absorption; compressive strength; corrosion; durability; cracking (fracturing); freeze-thaw durability; hydration; stabilization; Materials Research

DOI: 10.14359/1208

Date: 3/1/1992

Abstract:
Recent developments in admixture technology have made possible significantly greater control of the hydration of cement. This control has enabled concrete producers and users to stop cement hydration at any time between the initial mixing of the concrete and just prior to initial set, and has enabled restarting it at any time, allowing the concrete to set normally. This means that one can make concrete today and use it tomorrow, the next day, or some other time in the near future. When one interferes with cement hydration in the manner just mentioned, it is natural to wonder how the properties of the concrete are affected. A large number of evaluations have shown that the properties of concrete treated with a chemical system having such an impact on cement hydration are equal to or better than those of plain concrete. There have been a few publications to this effect, and they have focused on strength and some other basic material properties. Paper deals with the effect of cement hydration control on the durability of concrete. To this end, both basic material properties of concrete related to durability and the actual performance (durability) test results are provided. The data in this paper clearly indicate that none of the durability-related parameters examined were adversely affected by the use of the hydration control chemical system. On the contrary, compressive strength, corrosion of steel, and the susceptibility of concrete to cracking parameters were improved.