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We are proceeding with the publication of prospective articles on diverse

topics covered by the programme of the 1987 RILEM Congress: From


materials science to materials engineering. In this issue, Professor Collepardi, from Ancona University, is dealing with cements and concretes.
Mario Collepardi since 1975 is Professor of "Technology of Materials
and Applied Chemistry" in the Department of "Science of Materials and
Earth", University of Ancona, Italy. He has a 'Laurea'" (equivalent to Master
Degree) in Industrial Chemistry (1962) and "Libera Docenza" (equivalent
to Ph. D.) in Applied Chemistry (1973). He was Assistant Professor in the
Universities of Cagliari and Rome, Italy.
He is author or co-author bf more than 100 scientific publications
(73 papers in Italian, 1 in French, 1 in Spanish, 42 in English) and two
patents (in Europe and USA).
He has served as a consultant in cement chemistry and concrete technology to several organizations both
in Europe and USA.
The main areas of his research activities are:
1. Hydration mechanism of pure Portland cement components.
2. Porosity of cement paste.
3. Influence of chemical admixtures on cement hydration (CaCI2, lignosulphonate, gluconate, glucose,
etc.).
4. Technology of superplasticized concretes.

From the science of materials to the engineering of materials:


Cements and concretes

Concrete is without doubt the most widely used


construction material in the world. From more than a
century tests are being carried out to clarify certain
mechanisms and behaviours of concrete and to improve
its performances. Often, the research appears to be
inadequately coordinated. Either it is focussed on the
material from the scientific point of view or towards
the achievement of better performances.
The scope of this article is to stimulate the interest
of the research workers on cement and concrete which
could contribute towards narrowing of the existing gap
between the science of the material on one side and its
engineering use on the other.
An incomplete list of subjects on which such an
action would be very useful, includes:
-- Cements:
constancy of quality; low energy blended cements.
-- Superplasticizing
admixtures:
loss of workability;
tailored admixtures.
0025-5432/86/02 93 03/$ 2.30/ 9 BORDAS-GAUTHIER-VILLARS

-- Aggregates:
lightweight and heavy weight aggregates; alkali-aggregate reaction; cement paste-aggregate
bond.

fibres; silica fume; fly ash.


porosity; compactness and durability of
concrete; mortars and concretes for repairs; very high
strength concretes; polymer impregnated concrete
--

Special

--

Concrete:

additions:

(PiC).
Rather than review t h e above mentioned subjects
"horizontally", I will limit myself to one topic as an
example viz, the constancy of quality of cements and
more precisely, one particular aspect of this problem:
that is, the constancy in requirement of the mix water
for a cement. I renounce t h e "horizontal" review
(because it would be rather superficial for lack of space)
in favour of a "vertical" analysis of the problem which
strikes "transversely" the whole chain ,of operators
working in this field: from the research workers to the
producers of cement, from the producers of concrete
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Vol. 19 - N ~ 110

- Matdriaux

et Constructions

to the contractors, from the design engineers to the


owners.
Those involved in the daily production of concrete
know very well how difficult it is to produce a concrete
of quality with constant workability and water
cement/ratio on which all the properties of the hardened concrete depend.
All this results in a doubtful reputation of concrete
as a reliable construction material with respect to the
other materials (for example, steel). Consequently the
Design Engineers are led to take in consideration, in
their calculations, only a small fraction of the effective
strength of the concrete.
The relatively scarce reproducibility of the properties
of concrete is due to numerous parameters, among
which the variation of the aggregates, above all in their
size distribution, the variability in the method of mixing
~and transportation, the variation in the climatic conditions and curing, etc.
In this paper I would like to lay stress on one
parameter which is normally little taken in consideration but which, in my personal experience, is of considerable scientific and technological:importance. It deals
with the different requirement of water needed to
obtain a cement paste (and hence a concrete) of a given
consistency. The producer of concrete is used to making
mixes having a given workability and the variation in
the water required to obtain a certain workability is
converted into a variation in the water/cement ratio
and hence into a variation of the properties of hardened
concrete.
To a certain extent an attempt has been made to
remedy this by considering the characteristic strength
(Rbk=Rm--K 5) for the structural design rather than
the average strength (Rm). The characteristic strength
takes into account certain variations with respect to
the average strength. This could constitute a stimulus
for the producers of concrete to manufacture a product
of more cgnstant quality by applying an efficient
control on rthe mix ingredients and the production
method.
However, the problem of the constancy of quality of
the most important component of concrete, viz, cement,
remains open. It is evident that a major constancy of
the mix water requirements of the cement can contribute significantly to reduce the variations o f the
water/cement ratio and hence increase the characteristic
strength for a given strength.
Moreover, a greater constancy of the water cement
ratio is automatically converted into a greater
constancy in all the properties of concrete: from
shrinkage to creep, permeability and durability. The
durability of concrete, on which depends the life span
of a structure that interests the owner, depends largely
on the water/cement ratio.
This is documented in the recommendations of many
Institutes: see for example, the recommendations of
Committee 201 of the American Concrete Institute on
the maximum water/cement ratio permitted to guaran94

tee the durability of concrete. It is a daily experience


of those who make concrete that the variations in the
water requirement, for a given consistency of the
cement paste, and hence for a given workability of the
concrete, are frequent also when cement of the same
type and produced in the same factory is used.
This limited reproducibility of the rheological properties of the cement paste, which for the above-menfioned
causes is transformed into scarce reproducibility of the
properties of concrete, finds its origin basically in three
phases of the process: (a) Standards and Specification;
(b) Production; (c) Research.
(a) All the specifications on the production of
cements (see for example ASTM, BS, DIN, etc.) take in
consideration only controls on the fineness of cement,
setting times, strengths, etc., but not the consistency of
a paste (or a mortar with a standard sand) for a given
twater/cement ratio, or the water cement/ratio for a
given consistency. This shortcoming in the specifications on cements puts on the same level two cements
which give, at the same water/cement ratio, the same
strength in a mortar, but which have a considerably
different workability in the fresh cement mix. Naturally, the producers of concrete do not consider the
two cements described above as being equal. Amongst
the two, they prefer the one which requires less water
for a given workability or that which will produce a
more workable concrete with the same amount of mix
water.
(b) The cement manufacturer will continue not to be
stimulated to produce cement of constant quality from
the point of view of the rheology of the fresh mixes
until the specifications are revised. On the other hand,
one cannot ignore the difficulty to produce a cement
having a constant water requirement for a given workability. This depends upon numerous parameters,
amongst which the chemical composition of the clinker,
the burning temperature and the rate of cooling of the
clinker, the fineness, etc.
(c) These parameters, which can potentially affect
the water requirements of a cement, have not been
really carefully examined by the research workers. For
example, as a result of the enormous amount of work
dedicated to the study of the hydration mechanism of
C3S (the component of cement which gives the maximum contribution for the development of the strength)
scarce benefits have been obtained practically for improving the strengths of cement. On the contrary, few
works are dedicated to study the influence of the type
of cement on the rheological properties of fresh mixes.
Amongst these, the works of Locher et al. ([1]-[4]) are
certainly to be noted. Even though these works deal
with the setting of cement, they are very interesting
since they evidence the influence of some parameter
concerning the production of cement on the initial
hydration of cement, and hence also on the rheological
properties of fresh cement mixes. In particular Locher
et al. have brought to light some factors, till now very
little known or studied, which could influence the initial

M. Collepardi

hydration of cement: (a) the burning temperature, the


more or less oxidizing conditions in the kiln, the rate
of cooling which can modify the C3A/C~AF ratio in
the clinker for the same AI203 and FeO3 content; (b)
the alkali and sulphate content in the clinker which
could influence the relative quantities of the different
forms of C3A; (c) the grinding conditions which could
influence not only the fineness of the cement but also
the relative quantities of the different forms of the
calcium sulphate (gypsum, hemihydrite, anhydrite)
added to the clinker. On the basis of these parameters
Locher et al. have proposed a new physico-chemical
and microstructural model to give a new interpretation
of the complex phenomenon of the rheological properties of fresh concrete. Just as an example, the regulation
of the setting of Portland cement by gypsum is not so
much linked to slowing down the rate of hydration of
C3 A but instead to a modification in the microstructure
of the cement paste and the morphology of the cement
.
.
.
.
I
hydrated during the lmhal phase of hydration.
The work of Locher et al. merits greater attention
from the researchers working in the field of the chemistry of cement not so much for the novelty of the
experimental data obtained or for the alternative model

proposed, but for the methodology with which typical


problems of the engineering of materials are examined
with the tools of the science of materials.
The subject dealt with in the present paper
(constancy in the mix water requirements of the
cement) can be considered to be of minor relevance
with respect to other subjects apparently more important (like those mentioned earliers: PIC, etc.). This has
offered the opportunity to examine, even if synthetically, a series of problems regarding the engineering of
materials to whose solution the science of materials
could in the future give a determining contribution.

REFERENCES

[I] LOCHERF.W., RICHARTZW., SPRUNGS. - - Zement-KalkGips, Vol. 29, 1976, pp. 435-442.
[2] LOCHERF.W., RICHARTZW., SPRUNGS.
Zement-KalkGips, Vol. 33, 1980, pp. 271-277.
[3] LOCHER F.W., RICHARTZW., SPRUNG S.) SYLLA M. - Zement-Kalk-Gips, Vol. 35, 1982, pp. 669-676.
[4] LOCHERF.W., RICHARTZW., SPRUNGS., RECHENBERGW.
--Zement-Kalk-Gips, Vol. 36, 1983, pp. 224-231.
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