Physicochemical Study of the Self-Disintegration of Calcium Orthosilicate (β→γ) in the Presence of the C<sub>12</sub>A<sub>7</sub> Aluminate Phase

The β-γ polymorphic transition of calcium orthosilicate (C<sub>2</sub>S) is a key phenomenon in cement chemistry. During this transition, the compound expands due to structural changes and a significant reduction in its density is observed, leading to its disintegration into a powder wit...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Michał Pyzalski, Jarosław Dąbek, Anna Adamczyk, Tomasz Brylewski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-10-01
Series:Materials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/21/6459
Description
Summary:The β-γ polymorphic transition of calcium orthosilicate (C<sub>2</sub>S) is a key phenomenon in cement chemistry. During this transition, the compound expands due to structural changes and a significant reduction in its density is observed, leading to its disintegration into a powder with a very high specific surface area. Owing to this tendency of the C<sub>2</sub>S material to “self-disintegrate”, its production is energy-efficient and thus environmentally friendly. A physicochemical study of the self-disintegration process was conducted with the aim of determining how the amount of dodecacalcium hepta-aluminate (C<sub>12</sub>A<sub>7</sub>) in calcium orthosilicate (C<sub>2</sub>S) affects the temperature at which the polymorphic transi-tions from α’L-C<sub>2</sub>S to β-C<sub>2</sub>S and from β-C<sub>2</sub>S to γ-C<sub>2</sub>S undergo stabilization. The applied techniques included differential thermal analysis (DTA), calorimetry and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and they made it possible to determine what C<sub>2</sub>S/C<sub>12</sub>A<sub>7</sub> phase ratio in the samples and what cooling rate constitute the optimal conditions of the self-disintegration process. The optimal cooling rate for C<sub>2</sub>S materials with a C<sub>12</sub>A<sub>7</sub> content of up to 60 wt% was determined to be 5 K·min<sup>−1</sup>. The optimal mass ratio of C<sub>2</sub>S/C<sub>12</sub>A<sub>7</sub> was found to be 70/30, which ensures both efficient self-disintegration and desirable grain size distribution.
ISSN:1996-1944