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Mechanism Of Tricalcium Silicate Hydration In The Presence Of Polycarboxylate Polymers, Rachel Cook, Hongyan Ma, Aditya Kumar
Mechanism Of Tricalcium Silicate Hydration In The Presence Of Polycarboxylate Polymers, Rachel Cook, Hongyan Ma, Aditya Kumar
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works
Abstract: The early-age hydration of cement is inhibited in the presence of comb-shaped polycarboxylate ether (PCE) polymer -- a dispersant commonly added to control rheological properties of fresh cement paste. This study employs a series of microcalorimetry experiments and phase boundary nucleation and growth simulations to elucidate the effects of dosage and molecular architecture of PCE on hydration of tricalcium silicate (Ca3SiO5 or C3S in cement notation), the dominant phase in cement. Results show that PCE -- regardless of its molecular architecture -- suppresses early-age hydration of C3S. PCE-induced retardation becomes increasingly more …