Proton Spin–Spin Relaxation Study of the Effect of Temperature on White Cement Hydration

Abstract

The chemical and microstructural changes within a white cement paste were characterized in situ using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spin–spin relaxation at 30 MHz, and X‐ray diffraction. Paste samples with a water‐to‐cement ratio of 0.42 were cured at constant temperatures of 2°, 20°, 60°, and 100°C. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spin–spin relaxation allows tracking the evolution of the mixing water into the solid fractions of calcium silicate hydrate, calcium hydroxide, and monosulfate, and the liquid phases: the calcium silicate hydrate interlayer water, gel pore water, and capillary pore water. It is shown that the hydration process is markedly accelerated with increasing hydration temperature, and that proton nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation measurements can quantitatively determine the proportions of water phases, their magnetic resonance characteristics, as well as the setting times of the cement during the hydration process.