Influence of hydroxypropylation of starch on rheological properties of cement paste modified by superplasticizers

Abstract

Starch is often used as a viscosity modifying agent (VMA) in self-compacting concrete (SCC) and highly flowable concrete. In this paper, starches possessing different degrees of hydroxypropyl substitution (DS) were used to study the shear rheological properties and hydration kinetics of cement paste in the presence of and without polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PCE). The starch with the highest DS increases the yield stress and the plastic viscosity stronger than others. Regardless of the dosage and DS of starch the structural build-up is not affected specifically by the starch during the induction period. During the acceleration period starches reduce the structural build-up, but with the highest DS this effect was less prominent than for the other modifications. In the presence of PCE the addition of starch notably increases the yield stress, whereas the influence on the plastic viscosity is limited. Yet, the combined application of PCE and starch allows to control rheological properties and maintain the structural build-up rate