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The Meso-Scale Texture of Cement Hydrate Gels: Out-of-Equilibrium Evolution and Thermodynamic Driving

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Enrico Masoero

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Abstract

By the end of cement hydration calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) gels extends over tens and hundreds of nanometers. Their complex texture affects directly, and to a large extent, the macroscopic hygrothermal and mechanical behavior of cement. Here we review a statistical physics approach recently developed, which allows us to investigate the gel formation under the out-of-equilibrium conditions typical of cement hydration and the role of the nano-scale structure in C-S-H mechanics upon hardening. Our investigations have unveiled the role, in the C-S-H gels, of nano-scale structural and mechanical heterogeneities that develop due to the the far-from-equilibrium physico-chemical environment in which the material forms. A subtle interplay between the out-of-equilibrium evolution and the effective interactions emerging between the nano-scale units of the gels at different stages of the hydration process ultimately determines the mesoscale texture of cement hydrates and their material properties.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Del Gado E, Ioannidou K, Masoero E, Pellenq RJM, Ulm FJ, Yip S

Publication type: Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)

Publication status: Published

Conference Name: 10th International Conference on Mechanics and Physics of Creep, Shrinkage, and Durability of Concrete and Concrete Structures (CONCREEP 10)

Year of Conference: 2015

Pages: 34-38

Online publication date: 21/09/2015

Acceptance date: 01/01/1900

Publisher: ASCE

URL: https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784479346.005

DOI: 10.1061/9780784479346.005

Library holdings: Search Newcastle University Library for this item

ISBN: 9780784479346


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