Cement paste prior to setting: A rheological approach

•The gelation of cement paste during the dormant period is analyzed via rheometry.•The observed evolution is proposed to be related to the pore structure refinement.•Similarities are observed with colloidal gels and colloidal glasses.

The evolution of cement paste during the dormant period is analyzed via small amplitude oscillation rheological measurements. Cement paste, from the very first moments after mixing cement and water, shows the formation of an elastic gel whose strength is rapidly increasing over time. Up to the onset of Portlandite precipitation G′(t) increases by more than 2 orders of magnitude and in the acceleratory period G′(t) continues steadily to increase. A microstructural modification is likely to occur between the dormant and the acceleratory period. At low deformations in the linearity domain the storage modulus G′(ω) exhibits a negligible frequency dependence. At higher deformations cement paste shows a yield stress which increases on increasing paste concentration.The presence of superplasticizers decreases the yield stress and increases the gelation threshold of the paste. Above the gelation threshold the evolution of cement paste with superplasticizers follows similar trends to the neat paste.