UCL Discovery Stage
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery Stage

Effect of the interactions between crystal and gel hydration products on the volume change of cementitious materials

Zhang, Depeng; Li, Hui; Pi, Zhenyu; Xu, Mingfeng; Zhou, Jian; Zhang, Mingzhong; (2024) Effect of the interactions between crystal and gel hydration products on the volume change of cementitious materials. Cement and Concrete Composites , Article 105764. 10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2024.105764. (In press).

[thumbnail of Accepted Version.pdf] Text
Accepted Version.pdf - Accepted Version
Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 19 September 2025.

Download (5MB)

Abstract

The volume change of cementitious materials is often studied based on the properties of the individual hydration product, either from the gel products causing shrinkage or the crystal products causing expansion. Previous studies of the team have theoretically revealed that the interactions between crystal and gel products produce the “micro self-stressing”, which affects the volume change of cementitious materials. This work presents theoretical and experimental studies into the impact of the interactions between crystal and gel products on the volume change of cementitious materials. Firstly, a theoretical model for the volume change of cementitious materials was proposed. Secondly, in the followed experiment, the crystallization pressure, which affects the interactions between crystal and gel products, was tailored by immersing specimens in different exchange solvents or solutions to change the solubility product. Water, isopropyl alcohol, ethanol, calcium hydroxide and calcium acetate were selected as the exchange solvents or solutions. Subsequently, cement pastes were vacuum dried. Volume changes of cement pastes were tested during the whole process. Inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry and ion chromatography were utilized to test the ion concentrations and calculate the crystallization pressure. Finally, the experimental results were compared with the calculated results to validate the model. Results indicated that cement pastes immersed in different solvents or solutions exhibited different volume changes. An increase in crystallization pressure by 45.3% resulted in a 46.1% increase in the expansion of cement paste. Moreover, the reduction in the interactions should be one of the factors contributing to the drying shrinkage of cement paste.

Type: Article
Title: Effect of the interactions between crystal and gel hydration products on the volume change of cementitious materials
DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2024.105764
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2024.105764
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Cementitious materials, Expansion, Shrinkage, Crystallization pressure, Hydration products
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Civil, Environ and Geomatic Eng
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10197538
Downloads since deposit
11Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item