Investigation of blended cement hydration by isothermal calorimetry and thermal analysis

Hydration of portland cement pastes containing three types of mineral additive; fly ash, ground-granulated slag, and silica fume was investigated using differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (DTA/TGA) and isothermal calorimetry. It was shown that the chemically bound water obtained using DTA/TGA was proportional to heat of hydration and could be used as a measure of hydration. The weight loss due to Ca(OH)2 decomposition of hydration products by DTA/TGA could be used to quantify the pozzolan reaction. A new method based on the composition of a hydrating cement was proposed and used to determine the degree of hydration of blended cements and the degree of pozzolan reaction. The results obtained suggested that the reactions of blended cements were slower than portland cement, and that silica fume reacted earlier than fly ash and slag.