Portland cement mixtures with calcium aluminate

Ghosh et al. [129] proposed to add the calcium aluminate cement to Portland cement, together with calcium chloride and anhydrite. This mixture has the properties of expansive cement with setting time of about 15 min and strength 20 MPa after 2 h, 40 MPa after 7 h and 70 MPa after 1 day. Further strength increase is shght. 

Mixtures of calcium aluminate and Portland cements, sometimes also with slaked lime (CH) or additional gypsum, can be used to make rapid setting mixtures for grouting and similar applications. The strengths obtainable (e.g. 25 MPa at 5 h) (G73) are relatively high for cements of this type. 

Mineral additions may be broadly categorized as pozzolanic materials or latent hydraulic cements. Neither type reacts significantly with water at ordinary temperatures in the absence of other substances. Pozzolanic materials are high in Si02 and often also in AI2O3, and low in CaO they are sufficiently reactive that mixtures of them with water and CaO produce C-S-H at ordinary temperatures and thereby act as hydraulic cements. If they contain AI2O3, calcium aluminate or aluminate silicate hydrates are also formed. Because they are low in CaO, this component must be supplied in stoichiometric quantity. In a composite cement, it is provided by the Portland cement through decreased formation of CH and decreased Ca/Si... 

Mixtures with calcite, slag, gypsum or Portland cement Cussino and Negro (C54) reported that loss of strength in calcium aluminate... 

Various methods have been used to obtain cements that set and harden rapidly. They include the use of Portland cement with admixtures and of mixtures containing both Portland and calcium aluminate cements, described in Sections 11.5 and lO.I.IO, respectively. Another approach has been the manufacture of clinkers containing either CuAy CaF, or C 4A, S. both of which hydrate rapidly under appropriate conditions with the formation of ettringite. 

Portland cement before treatment with water consists of a mixture of calcium silicates, mainly Ca2Si04 and CagSiO, and calcium alumi-nate, Ca3Al20. . When treated with water the calcium aluminate hydrolyzes, forming calcium hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide, and these substances react further with the calcium silicates to produce calcium aluminosilicates, in the form of intermeshed crystals. 

Portland cement, a complex mixture of calcium silicates, aluminates, and ferrates, is one of the world s most important construction materials, with annual worldwide production in excess of lO kg. When mixed with water and sand, it changes by slow hydration to concrete. Water and hydroxide link the other components into larger crystals with great strength. 

Portland cement is typically composed of about 25% P-dicalcium silicate (lamite), and 50% tricalcium silicate with the balance made up of various calcium aluminates and calcium iron aluminate (brownmillerite). Setting occurs when the cement is hydrated all the components show varying degrees of reactivity with water, but the most significant hydraulic activity is associated with the tricalcium silicate, which forms a cohesive mixture of calcium hydroxide and calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H)... 

Fig. 9.27 Effect of calcium aluminate cement content in the mixture with Portland cement containing less than 1 % CaOj curve I) and 2.7% CaO curve 2) on setting P initial setting time, K final setting time, (according to [1])...

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