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C-S-H gel densification: the impact of the nanoscale on self desiccation and sorption isotherms by Masoero, Enrico; Cusatis, Gianluca; Di Luzio, Giovanni is a scholarly article available to read on EtoBox.

What is C-S-H gel densification: the impact of the nanoscale on self desiccation and sorption isotherms about?

The relationship between humidity and water content in a hydrating cement paste is largely controlled by the nanostructure of the C-S-H gel. Current hydration models do not describe this nanostructure, thus sorption isotherms and self-desiccation are given as constitutive inputs instead of being predicted from microstructural evolution. To address this limitation, this work combines a C-S-H gel description from nanoscale simulations with evolving capillary pore size distributions from a simple hydration model. Results show that a progressive densification of the C-S-H gel must be considered in order to explain the self-desiccation of low-alkali pastes. The impact of C-S-H densification on the evolution of microstructure and sorption isotherms is then discussed, including the effect of water-to-cement ratio, cement powder fineness, and curing temperature. Overall, this work identifies an area where nanoscale simulations can integrate larger-scale models of cement hydration and poromechanics.

Author

Masoero, Enrico; Cusatis, Gianluca; Di Luzio, Giovanni

Published

2018

Language

EN