Influence of nano-SiO₂ addition on properties of sulphoaluminate cement based material

Abstract

The influences of different nano–SiO₂ (NS) contents on the mechanical properties and rheological behavior of sulfoaluminate cement (SAC) based composite materials were studied. Results show that with increasing content of NS, the apparent viscosity, and shearing strength of fresh paste gradually increase but the fluidity decreases. With a dosage of 3.0% NS, the tensile and flexural strengths of mortars at 56 days were increased by 87.0% and 84.6%, respectively, compared with that in the absence of NS, indicating that the toughness of hardened mortars is significantly improved. Besides, the exothermic peaks of hydration are obviously increased and will earlier occur, and the second and the third peaks appear 2.61 hours and 2.56 hours earlier, respectively than that in the absence of NS, and the hydration of SAC before 8 hours is accelerated. The forming mechanism of strengths was revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), hydration heat, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG). The micro-aggregate filling effect and nucleation effect at early age and weak pozzolanic effect at late age of NS make the microstructure more compact, which obviously enhances the strength of SAC mortars.