The durability of cement paste

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The durability of cement paste is one of the most topical field nowadays that economic restraint and conservation will remain the rule of the day. The term "degradation" means that the cement paste fails to serve the intended purpose for the length of time expected. It should be noted that normally, cement paste often does have an essentially indefinite life span, in the absence of degradation processes [32]. Physico-chemical cement degradation can be thought of in two categories. They are physical action which breaks hardened cements down into smaller fragments and chemical action which alters their components into different species and chemical action usually consisting of dissolution of matter and formation of a new phase [45]. Among mechanism of cement paste degradation due to chemical and physical factors are alkali-silica reaction, sulphate attack, chloride reaction, carbonation, leaching, and freezing and thawing [45]. Example of chemical degradation process can be observed in alkali-aggregate reactions such as dissolution of silica and the formation of silica gel. This reaction involves breakage of bonds between the aggregate and the paste [32]. An example of physical degradation process is the reaction of Ca(OH)2 and C-S-H with CO2 causes carbonation shrinkage. It may lead to the loss of structural integrity such as volume instability, cracking and loss of strength [32]. Laboratory experiments have shown that cement degrades would occur once exposed to such CO2 rich environments [10]-[12], [16], [22], [72]-[74], [30]. It tends to degrade rapidly once exposed to such acid gas by reacting with Ca(OH)2 and C-S-H. The mechanism of degradation process starts when CO2 gas is exposed in a wet environment, it will... ... middle of paper ... ...3 occured by an acid attack after a complete removal of Ca(OH)2 at low pH as shown in Equation 2.10. CaCO3 + H2CO3 → Ca(HCO3)2 (2.10) In these reactions, CaCO3 is converted to water soluble calcium bicarbonate (Ca(HCO3)2) which can then react with Ca(OH)2 to form CaCO3 and additional water as shown in Equation 2.11. Ca(HCO3)2 is two orders of magnitude more soluble than Ca(OH)2 [33]. As such, the water produced in Equation 2.11 will dissolve more Ca(HCO3)2. As the leaching of this material continues from the cement matrix, dramatic increases in porosity and permeability would occur. Ca(HCO3)2 + Ca(OH)2 → 2CaCO3 + H2O (2.11) In addition, the additional water produced from each reaction may allow production of H2CO3 when react with CO2 as in Equation 2.4 and thus a continuation carbonation process might occur.

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