Proceedings Article | 14 March 2015
Proc. SPIE. 9362, Terahertz, RF, Millimeter, and Submillimeter-Wave Technology and Applications VIII
KEYWORDS: Statistical analysis, Silica, Spectroscopy, Composites, Calcium, Cements, Solids, Terahertz radiation, Silicates, Terahertz spectroscopy
Cement is mixed with water in an optimum ratio to form concrete with desirable mechanical strength and durability. The ability to track the consumption of major cement constituents, viz., Tri- and Dicalcium Silicates (C3S, C2S) reacting with water along with the formation of key hydration products, viz., Calcium-Silicate-Hydrate (C-S-H) which gives the overall strength to the concrete and Calcium Hydroxide (Ca(OH)<sub>2</sub>), a hydration product which reduces the strength and durability, using an efficient technique is highly desirable. Optimizing the amount of water to be mixed with cement is one of the main parameters which determine the strength of concrete. In this work, THz spectroscopy has been employed to track the variation in hydration kinetics for concrete samples with different water-cement ratios, viz., 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6. Results show that for the sample with water-cement ratio of 0.3, significant amount of the C3S and C2S remain unreacted even after the initial hydration period of 28 days while for the cement with water-cement ratio of 0.6, most of the constituents get consumed during this stage. Analysis of the formation of Ca(OH)<sub>2</sub> has been done which shows that the concrete sample with water-cement ratio of 0.6 produces the highest amount of Ca(OH)<sub>2 </sub>due to higher consumption of C3S/C2S in presence of excess water which is not desirable. Samples with water-cement ratio of 0.4 and 0.5 show more controlled reaction during the hydration which can imply formation of an optimized level of desired hydration products resulting in a more mechanically strong and durable concrete.
