Influence of tartaric acid dosage on the early-age and long-term properties of calcium sulfoaluminate belite cement composites

Abstract

Increasing the use of low carbon footprint calcium sulfoaluminate belite (CSAB) cement is a potential way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions related to the cement and concrete industry. However, rapid setting is one of the barriers limiting the large-scale applications of CSAB cement. To address this issue, experimental studies were carried out to investigate a sustainable retarder—tartaric acid—and its dosage on the hydration reaction, early-age properties, and long-term properties of CSAB cement composites from their fresh state to 2 years. The results confirmed that tartaric acid is a powerful retarder for CSAB cement; it showed a stronger retarding effect than citric acid, sodium gluconate, borax, and molasses. A proper tartaric acid dosage (≤ 0.75 %) extended the initial setting time of CSAB cement from 5 min to up to 154 min without compromising long-term strength. When the tartaric acid dosage was no more than 0.5 %, it hardly affected the strength from 2 h to 2 years. However, over dosage (≥ 1%) should be avoided since it significantly affected the strength development from 2 h to 2 years. Overall, this study provided a knowledge base for the mixture design of CSAB cement composites, which can benefit the popularization of low carbon footprint CSAB cement.