Influence of water-cement ratio and superplasticizers on the heat release, cement hydration and hardening processes

The regularities of influence of water-cement ratio (W/C) and superplasticizers on heat release, phase composition and strength in the process of cement hydration and hardening are revealed in the paper. It has been established that an increased W/C ratio causes not only an increase in the induction period and a slowdown in the hydration of cement, but also the formation of a different composition of the hydrate phases. It has been found that the integral heat emissions, both at increased W/C = 0.5 and late cement hydration, do not have a directly proportional dependence on the strength generation rate. The inexpediency of using calorimetric analysis of cement systems at W/C = 0.5 for research purposes, connected primarily with the production of highly functional concretes, has been justified.