The Fractal Ratio as a Metric of Nanostructure Development in Hydrating Cement Paste

Abstract

It is necessary to have appropriate metrics to quantify the development of the nanostructure in Portland cement paste. The fractal ratio, calculated from Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) data, serves as such a metric. It expresses the proportion of the volume-fractal surface area of calcium-silicate-hydrate gel (C-S-H) to the surface-fractal surface area. The volume fractal develops in the scale range from ≈ 5 nm to ≈ 100 nm, and it is associated with the formation of outer product in the capillary pore space by the through-solution mechanism. The surface fractal is attributed to the surface structure formed by colloidal particles on solid substrates such as the Portland cement grains and fly ash particles. The evolution of this ratio over time provides insight into which types of hydration processes are dominant. Applied to study of the hydration of fly ash/Portland cement mixes at later ages, the fractal ratio method showed that in every case, except two, there was a reduced hydration rate due to the dilution effect. The two exceptions involved fly ash fractions with sufficient CaO to generate significant C-S-H gel by the alkali-activated reaction. In all cases the fractal ratio increased with time, indicating the production of additional C-S-H through the topochemical reaction.