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Application of Powers’ model to modern portland and portland limestone cement pastes
Author(s) -
Nadelman Elizabeth I.,
Kurtis Kimberly E.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/jace.14913
Subject(s) - portland cement , shrinkage , cement , inert , porosity , materials science , composite material , microstructure , mineralogy , chemistry , organic chemistry
Powers’ model is a simple approach for estimating the relative volumes of hydration products, porosity, and chemical shrinkage present in portland cement paste as a function of its starting water‐to‐cement ratio ( w / c ) and current degree of hydration. It forms an important link between cement composition, microstructure, and performance, necessary for modeling cement‐based systems. Previous researchers have adapted Powers’ model for inert fillers to illustrate their effects on the hydration, porosity, and chemical shrinkage of blended cements; however, it is well‐documented that limestone is not, in fact, an inert filler, but rather participates in cement hydration through both chemical and physical processes. This research experimentally investigates the applicability of Powers’ model to modern portland cements containing up to 15% by mass finely divided limestone. The results demonstrate that the modified Powers’ model is insufficient for predicting the influence of finely divided limestone additions on the chemical shrinkage of both ordinary portland cement pastes and portland limestone cement pastes. Possible explanations for the discrepancy are discussed and a plausible source is proposed.