Hydration of Cement | Heat of Hydration |Stages of Hydration of Cement
The hydration of cement is an exothermic reaction that is carried out when cement comes in contact with water. The reaction will result in several by-products that will contribute to the strength of the concrete or mortar formed.
The cement hydration will liberate a considerable amount of heat. This is called Heat of liberation or Heat of Hydration. The mixing of cement with water will result in a rapid evolution of heat that will last for a few minutes. This evolution of heat is probably due to the reaction of a solution of aluminates and sulfates. This rapid heat and reaction are depressed by the addition of gypsum. The Early heat of hydration is due to the hydration of C3S.
The rate of development of heat is greatly influenced by the fineness of the cement. The normal cement generally produces 89-90J/g in 7 days and 100J/g in 28 days.
Hydration of cement is not an instantaneous process. The reaction is faster in the early stages and will decrease with the time period. It is observed that complete hydration is possible only for cement particles that have a particle size smaller than 50 microns. With the increase in the fineness, there is an increase in the rate of hydration. Table 1 below shows the bogues compounds present in cement material that are involved in the hydration process.
This is done by civic mortar from a batch of concrete and weighing it into a bottle which is placed into an insulated container. A thermistor is then impeded into the fresh mortar. The output of the thermistor is recorded by the computer. The result is plotted as a curve of temperature v/s the time. The area under the major peak can be related to the early strength development.
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| Fig.1. Hydration Reaction - Changing Microstructure of Cement |
Hydration of Cement
The chemical reaction that takes place between the cement and water is referred to as the hydration of the cement. It is an exothermic reaction.The cement hydration will liberate a considerable amount of heat. This is called Heat of liberation or Heat of Hydration. The mixing of cement with water will result in a rapid evolution of heat that will last for a few minutes. This evolution of heat is probably due to the reaction of a solution of aluminates and sulfates. This rapid heat and reaction are depressed by the addition of gypsum. The Early heat of hydration is due to the hydration of C3S.
The rate of development of heat is greatly influenced by the fineness of the cement. The normal cement generally produces 89-90J/g in 7 days and 100J/g in 28 days.
Hydration of cement is not an instantaneous process. The reaction is faster in the early stages and will decrease with the time period. It is observed that complete hydration is possible only for cement particles that have a particle size smaller than 50 microns. With the increase in the fineness, there is an increase in the rate of hydration. Table 1 below shows the bogues compounds present in cement material that are involved in the hydration process.
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| Table.1: Bogues Compounds |
Heat of Hydration of Cement
Hydration is an exothermic process, that will liberate heat through chemical reactions. The process of hydration can be easily followed by monitoring the production of heat that accompanies the reaction.This is done by civic mortar from a batch of concrete and weighing it into a bottle which is placed into an insulated container. A thermistor is then impeded into the fresh mortar. The output of the thermistor is recorded by the computer. The result is plotted as a curve of temperature v/s the time. The area under the major peak can be related to the early strength development.
Stages of Hydration of Cement
The five stages involved in the hydration of cement are explained with respect to Figure 2. There are Five stages of cement hydration:- Initial Hydrolysis
- Induction Period or the Dormant Period
- Acceleration
- Deceleration
- Steady State
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| Fig.2.The Heat of Hydration - Calorimetry curve. |
Stage 1: Initial Hydrolysis
The initial dissolution of cement will result in the sort release of heat shown by the first peak in the calorimetry curve.
Stage 2: Induction or Dormant Period
After the initial dissolution process, the hydration products are precipitated on the surface of each cement particle. The layer acts as a protective barrier and temporarily delays the dissolution of the particle. This slows down the reaction for a period of several hours. This is called as the Dormant Period.
The existence of the dormant period allows the concrete to be transported to the construction site and placed and finished in the forms.
The existence of the dormant period allows the concrete to be transported to the construction site and placed and finished in the forms.
Stage 3: Hydration Acceleration
The end of the dormant period shows the beginning of the setting at which time the cement starts to react more rapidly with water. This will result in the formation of new hydration products.
Stage 4: Hydration Deceleration
This period will undergo the formation of hydration products but the rate of reaction and the dissolution is very controlled and slow.
Stage 5: Steady State
This is the stage that is for a longer period that is equal to the age of the structure. The hydration reaction is carried out throughout this period at a very slow rate.
