Melting behavior of water confined in nanopores of white cement studies by1H NMR cryoporometry: Effect of antifreeze additive and temperature

Abstract

The size and distribution of pores have been studied through the melting behavior of water confined in white cement samples by1H nuclear magnetic resonance cryoporometry. It is found that the sample cured at 298 K shows a considerably coarser pore structure in the range of pores from 1 to 15 nm when compared with the samples cured at 278 K. With the addition of the Sika Rapid 2 antifreeze admixture in the cement cured at 278 K, an increase of pores between 5 and 15 nm and a more homogeneous distribution of small pores from 1 to 5 nm is observed when compared with cement cured at the same temperature but without the antifreeze additive. The positive influence of Sika Rapid 2 antifreeze admixture on the mechanical properties of cement cured at a lower temperature was also found through the compressive strength measurements performed for the studied cement samples as a function of the curing age.