NUCLEI GROWTH-MODEL IN KINETIC-ANALYSIS OF CEMENT HYDRATION

For exact examination and a reliable predicting of the development of microstructure in pastes of portland and related cements, the relevant hydration reactions should be quantitatively interpreted from the kinetic point of view. That is why mathematical modelling has been introduced into the description of hydration processes and numerous attempts have been made to evaluate the kinetic parameters of the hydration of principal cement phases, especially of tricalcium silicate. The calculation of kinetic parameters cannot be completed without knowing the 'transitional' degrees of hydration for the involved size groups of particles; it means that the interdependence between the degree of hydration, the time of hydration and the original particle radii must be known.