Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A chemical reaction called hydration causes the paste to harden and strengthen to create concrete. “Unlike cement, concrete is a hard material that appears like a stone,” Sanders says.
A fairly well-defined reaction front can often be observed in thin sections; ahead of the front the concrete is normal, or near normal. Behind the reaction front, the composition and the microstructure of concrete are modified. These changes may vary in type or severity but commonly include: Extensive cracking; Expansion
Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, [1] and is the most widely used building material. [2] Its usage worldwide, ton for ton, is twice that of steel, wood, plastics, and aluminium combined. [3]
Sulfates in solution in contact with concrete can cause chemical changes to the cement, which can cause significant microstructural effects leading to the weakening of the cement binder (chemical sulfate attack). Sulfate solutions can also cause damage to porous cementitious materials through crystallization and recrystallization (salt attack). [7]
Concrete is the most widely used material in existence and is behind only water as the planet's most-consumed resource. [ 2 ] Cements used in construction are usually inorganic , often lime - or calcium silicate -based, and are either hydraulic or less commonly non-hydraulic , depending on the ability of the cement to set in the presence of ...
During the months, or the years, after its placing, concrete is subject to slow chemical reactions accompanied by mineral phases transformations and volumetric changes. Back to ambient temperature, AFm becomes more soluble that ettringite and slowly dissolves while ettringite slowly crystallizes.
ASTM C1293: "Test Method for Concrete Aggregates by Determination of Length Change of Concrete Due to Alkali-Silica Reaction". It is a long-term confirmation test (1 or 2 years) at 38 °C in a water-saturated moist atmosphere (inside a thermostated oven) with concrete prisms containing the aggregates to be characterised mixed with a high-alkali ...
When water is added to cement, each of the compounds undergoes hydration and contributes to the final state of the concrete. [2] Only calcium silicates contribute to the strength. Tricalcium silicate is responsible for most of the early strength (first 7 days). [3] Dicalcium silicate, which reacts more slowly, only contributes to late strength.