Stress relaxation of foamed high-alumina cement paste

Abstract

A series of stress relaxation tests on foamed high-alumina cement pastes with different relative densities under various temperatures and imposed fixed strains were conducted to study the effects of relative density and imposed strain on the stress relaxation rates of foamed high-alumina cement pastes. At the same time, the activation energy for stress relaxation of foamed high-alumina cement paste was determined from experimental results. Experimental results on the stress relaxation rates of foamed high-alumina cement pastes are also compared to a theoretical expression obtained from a cell-edge relaxation-bending model. Consequently, the microstructural coefficients included in the theoretical expression for describing the stress relaxation rates of foamed high-alumina cement pastes are found. Furthermore, the stress relaxation rates of foamed high-alumina cement pastes can be predicted from the theoretical expression once their relative density and the imposed strain are known.