Prediction of Thermal Decomposition of Hardened Cement Paste
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 24, Issue 5
Abstract
When exposed to elevated temperatures, various constituents in hardened cement paste will undergo decomposition, resulting in thermal damage of concrete. To better understand the thermal damage mechanism, it is essential to investigate the whole decomposition process of hardened cement paste. Based on the kinetic and stoichiometric analysis, a numerical method is presented in this paper for predicting the thermal decomposition of hardened cement paste. In this method, the initial volume fractions of various constituents in hardened cement paste are expressed as a function of the water-to-cement ratio, degree of hydration, and the chemical composition of cement. By analyzing the kinetics of decomposition, the volume fraction evolution of each constituent is then formulated in terms of the heating rate and temperature. When silica fume is added, the pozzolanic reaction is also considered. Finally, the validity of the proposed numerical method is verified with three sets of experimental data collected from the literature. The effect of the heating rate on the thermal decomposition of hardened cement paste is evaluated in a quantitative manner.
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Acknowledgments
The financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 50978026) and the Ministry of Education (Grant No. 20100009110014) of the People’s Republic of China is gratefully acknowledged.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 24 • Issue 5 • May 2012
Pages: 592 - 598
Copyright
© 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 16, 2011
Accepted: Nov 9, 2011
Published online: Nov 11, 2011
Published in print: May 1, 2012
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