FTIR Spectroscopic Studies on Hydration Propensities of the Preferentially Selected OPC Cements Manufactured in Nepal

Abstract

In general, the performance and working efficiency of the cements, and cement made mortars & concretes are the direct consequences of the clinker phases and their wide ranged chemical constituents. But, the more specific and valuable descriptors vowed to rate their cementitious features genuinely are natures of the succeeding hydration reactions products and their contributions to enhance placing, adhering, setting, and hardening strength, types of the intergranular porosity and the capillary water retaining potentiality, and the overall kinetics of the temporal hydration reactions. In this work, all of these fundamental criteria are assessed via the FTIR spectroscopic technique employed in quantizing all type hydration reactions products produced by the variable technology manufactured Nepal based cements (CS1 and CS2) in their mortar mixtures cured with the sufficient amount of water time to time for 28 days. Based on the standard time regimes required by them to gain considerable porosity, denseness, and strengths plus their practical feasibilities, 1 day; 7 days; & 28 days long time periods are chosen here as the effective sampling intervals, and the different phases of the subsequent hydration reactions products & their explicit contributions towards the same are analyzed quantitatively. The same logical interpretations are taken here as actual bases by means of which superior performances of one cement brand over the other are evaluated. In the course of rating their potentialities at each individual timeframes, the quality and quantity of the silicate–, calcite–, portlandite– phases; SO₃^2-– & CO₃^2-– groups holding chemical compounds; and C–S–H nanosized gel released as predominant hydration reaction products, and the mass of water interlocked into the mortar matrices as evaporable (absorbed and capillary) water are examined precisely. The authors believe this article as a doctrine document explaining all the primary prerequisites needed to acquire good quality hydration reaction products which in turn illuminate the practical approaches of rating cements and cement based engineering materials.