Studies about the hydration of hybrid “alkaline-belite” cement

The mechanical performance of a hybrid cement containing 48% fly ash, 48% mineralized belite clinker, 1. 5% gypsum and 2.5% Na2SO4 was analyzed and the hydration products were identified. The findings showed that the newly designed cement met European standard EN 197-1 compositional, mechanical and setting time requirements (cement type IVB). The hydration products forming in this blended “alkaline-belite” cement (as it was determined through XRD, 29Si and 27Al MAS NMR and electron microscopy) consisted in a mix of cementitious gels: C-(A)-S-H and N-(C)-A-S-H, which interacted and over time evolved toward the latter with no detriment to the mechanical strength developed by the cement.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER under research projects BIA2016-76466-R and RTC2016-4872-S.Peer reviewe