Is cement a glassy material?
The nature of Calcium-Silicate-Hydrate (C-S-H), the binding phase of cement, remains a controversial question. In particular, contrary to the former crystalline model, it was recently proposed that its nanoscale structure was actually amorphous. To elucidate this issue, we analyzed the structure of...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
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CRC Press
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/117511 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7089-8069 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5559-4190 |
| Summary: | The nature of Calcium-Silicate-Hydrate (C-S-H), the binding phase of cement, remains a controversial question. In particular, contrary to the former crystalline model, it was recently proposed that its nanoscale structure was actually amorphous. To elucidate this issue, we analyzed the structure of a realistic simulation of C-S-H, and compared the latter to crystalline tobermorite, a natural analogue to cement, and to an artificial ideal glass. Results clearly support that C-S-H is amorphous. However, its structure shows an intermediate degree of order, retaining some characteristics of the crystal while acquiring an overall glass-like disorder. Thanks to a detailed quantification of order and disorder, we show that its amorphous state mainly arises from its hydration. |
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