Use of bench-top NMR to measure the density, composition and desorption isotherm of C-S-H in cement paste

A. C.A. Muller, K. L. Scrivener, A. M. Gajewicz, P. J. McDonald*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

171 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), supported by a measurement of the degree of hydration using X-ray diffraction, has been used to fully characterise the nano-scale porosity and composition of calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H), the active component of cement. The resultant "solid" density and composition are ρ = 2:68 g=cm3; (Ca)1.53. (Si0.96,Al0.04)O3.51. (H2O) 1.92 for an underwater cured, never-dried cement paste with an initial mix water-to-cement ratio of 0.4 after 28 days of hydration. In addition, the first pore-type resolved desorption isotherm of cement that shows the location of water as a function of relative humidity has been measured. Critical to our results is verification of the assignment of the different NMR spin-spin relaxation time components. These have been corroborated with conventional analyses. The new methodology is key to enabling design of cement pastes with lower environmental impact.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)99-103
Number of pages5
JournalMicroporous and Mesoporous Materials
Volume178
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Sept 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Calcium silicate hydrate
  • Density
  • Desorption isotherm
  • Nuclear magnetic resonance
  • Pore size distribution

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