Study on the mitigation of drying shrinkage and crack of limestone powder cement paste and its mechanism

Abstract

To investigate the reasons for the mitigation of drying shrinkage but earlier cracking in limestone powder cement paste, various admixtures such as fly ash, metakaolin, super-absorbent polymer, and expansion agent were selected for the above-mentioned experiments. The effects of mixing two admixtures on the drying shrinkage deformation and crack resistance performance of the limestone powder-cement paste was studied. Additionally, hydration exotherm, hydration products, microscopic morphology of samples were analyzed to understand the underlying mechanisms. Based on the hydration process, the addition of fly ash and metakaolin can promote the formation of carbon aluminate in the reaction system, thereby reducing the porosity. Fly ash is more beneficial for the hydration heat peak value of cement paste, effectively eliminating temperature strain. The results indicate that effects of mixing two admixtures on the improvement of drying shrinkage and crack resistance of limestone powder cement paste are much better than using a single admixture. Among them, the combination of metakaolin and expansion agent shows the best overall mitigating effect on the drying shrinkage and crack resistance of limestone powder cement paste. This compound admixtures reduces the drying shrinkage of the paste by approximately 30% and delays the cracking time of the specimens by 34.4 h.