Effect of Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) on the Structural Build-Up of Cement Pastes
Résumé
The comprehension of the effect of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) on the structural build-up is of great interest, especially for the development of modern concretes. The structural build-up of fresh cement paste describes the evolution of rheological properties with resting time and can be related to the loss of workability. It originates from particle flocculation and chemical changes and is mainly affected by the inter-particle distance and the nucleation of hydrates. The effect of SCMs on this structural build-up is complex and depends on several factors. This study aims to examine the effect of SCMs (fly ash, slag, limestone filler, and metakaolin) on the reversibility of the structural build-up of cement paste. It appears that the addition of slag, fly ash, or metakaolin leads to a decrease in the structural build-up with a negligible irreversible part, while cement paste with limestone filler (LF) exhibits the same trend as Portland cement paste. In addition, it appears that the reversibility of the structural build-up would not depend solely on chemical changes