ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Influence of superplasticizers on the course of Portland cement hydration

Pavel Šiler, Iva Kolářová, Josef Krátký, Jaromír Havlica, and Jiří Brandštetr

Centrum for Materials Research, Faculty of Chemistry, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 118, 621 00, Brno, Czech Republic

E-mail: siler@fch.vutbr.cz

Abstract: A multicell isoperibolic — semiadiabatic calorimeter was used for the measurement of temperature and the determination of the hydration heat evolution at earlier period of cement pastes setting and hardening. The measurements were aimed at the determination of the effect of superplasticizers (SPs) on the course of the Portland cement hydration. Commercial polycarboxylate SP was added to the mixtures and the heat effect was measured. With the increasing content of SP, the hydration temperature increased up to a certain value and then decreased. In case of a sufficient amount of water in the mixture to achieve complete hydration of cement, samples with the highest values of the maximum hydration temperature reached the highest values of the released total heat. If there is not a sufficient amount of water to achieve complete hydration, the samples with the highest values of the maximum hydration temperature reach the lowest values of the released total heat.

Keywords: calorimetry – cement – superplasticizer – hydration – temperature development – total heat development

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.2478/s11696-013-0413-x

Chemical Papers 68 (1) 90–97 (2014)