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Article

Insights into Hydration Kinetics of Cement Pastes Evaluated by Low-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: Effects of Super-Absorbent Polymer as Internal Curing Agent and Calcium Oxide as Expansive Agent

by
Meixin Liu
1,
Yuan Hu
1,
Jing Li
2,
Xiaolin Liu
1,
Huiwen Sun
1,
Yunfei Di
1,
Xia Wu
1 and
Junyi Zhang
1,*
1
College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
2
The Huaihe River Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources, Bengbu 233001, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Materials 2025, 18(4), 836; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18040836
Submission received: 8 January 2025 / Revised: 5 February 2025 / Accepted: 11 February 2025 / Published: 14 February 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reaction Mechanism and Properties of Cement-Based Materials (2nd Edition))
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Abstract

Understanding the hydration kinetics of cement paste is essential for adjusting the early-age performance of concrete. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) has emerged as an innovative technique to evaluate cement hydration progress by analyzing the evolution of transverse relaxation time (T2) signals. This study provides insights into the influence of a super-absorbent polymer (SAP) as an internal curing agent and calcium oxide (CaO) as an expansive agent (EA) on LF-NMR spectroscopy of cement paste for the first time. The chemical compositions of the cement and CaO-based EA were determined by X-ray fluorescence, while the morphological characterizations of the cement, SAP and CaO-based EA materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Based on the extreme points in the first-order derivatives of the T2 signal maximum amplitude curve, the hydration progress was analyzed and identified with four stages in detail. The results showed that the use of the SAP with a higher content retarded the hydration kinetics more evidently at a very early age, thus prolonging the duration of the induction and acceleration stages. The use of the CaO-based EA shortened the induction, acceleration and deceleration stages, which verified its promotion of hydration kinetics in the presence of the SAP. The combination of 3 wt% SAP and 2 wt% CaO consumed more water content synergistically in the first 100 h by hydration reactions. These findings revealed the roles of SAP and CaO-based EA (commonly adopted for low-shrinkage concrete) in adjusting hydration parameters and the microstructure evolution of cement-based materials, which would further offer fundamental knowledge for the early-age cracking control of concrete structures.
Keywords: cement paste; hydration kinetics; super-absorbent polymer (SAP); CaO-based expansive admixture; low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) cement paste; hydration kinetics; super-absorbent polymer (SAP); CaO-based expansive admixture; low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR)

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MDPI and ACS Style

Liu, M.; Hu, Y.; Li, J.; Liu, X.; Sun, H.; Di, Y.; Wu, X.; Zhang, J. Insights into Hydration Kinetics of Cement Pastes Evaluated by Low-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: Effects of Super-Absorbent Polymer as Internal Curing Agent and Calcium Oxide as Expansive Agent. Materials 2025, 18, 836. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18040836

AMA Style

Liu M, Hu Y, Li J, Liu X, Sun H, Di Y, Wu X, Zhang J. Insights into Hydration Kinetics of Cement Pastes Evaluated by Low-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: Effects of Super-Absorbent Polymer as Internal Curing Agent and Calcium Oxide as Expansive Agent. Materials. 2025; 18(4):836. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18040836

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu, Meixin, Yuan Hu, Jing Li, Xiaolin Liu, Huiwen Sun, Yunfei Di, Xia Wu, and Junyi Zhang. 2025. "Insights into Hydration Kinetics of Cement Pastes Evaluated by Low-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: Effects of Super-Absorbent Polymer as Internal Curing Agent and Calcium Oxide as Expansive Agent" Materials 18, no. 4: 836. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18040836

APA Style

Liu, M., Hu, Y., Li, J., Liu, X., Sun, H., Di, Y., Wu, X., & Zhang, J. (2025). Insights into Hydration Kinetics of Cement Pastes Evaluated by Low-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: Effects of Super-Absorbent Polymer as Internal Curing Agent and Calcium Oxide as Expansive Agent. Materials, 18(4), 836. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18040836

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