Supplementary cementitious materials/mineral admixtures and their effect on the hydration of cement

This chapter is aimed at investigating a comparative study of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) and their effect on the hydration of cements. In the first stage, a comprehensive overview of the existing literature on physical and chemical properties and mechanical properties of SCMs are discussed. In the second stage, physical and chemical properties of Ordinary Portland cement (OPC), Fly-ash (FA) blended cement, and limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) were determined in addition to particle size analysis. Further, the temperature changes, initial and final setting time, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and compressive strength (CS) analyzes were performed at different time durations. The addition of FA in Portland cement contributes more calcium silicate hydrate peaks and the addition of limestone calcined clay (LC2) in Portland cement contributes extra aluminate phases. The CS of LC3 increased by 8% at 28 days, however, FA decreased by 21.74% compared to OPC.