Hydration and performance of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement

Speakers: Prof. Shashank Bishnoi, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India and Prof. José Fernando Martirena-Hernandez, Universidad Central de las Villas, CIDEM, Cuba Host: Prof. Karen Scrivener, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland Limestone calcined clay cement promises to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of cement production. Not only does it reduce the clinker content required for the production of cement, it can also consume low grade raw materials that are not used by the other industries. The production of LC3 can be carried out using technologies that are widely available and are familiar to the cement industry. Despite the lower clinker content, the cement achieves a similar compressive strength as OPC by 28 days. The hydration characteristics and the hydrates are slightly different from other cements, with the presence of higher amounts of ettringite and carboaluminate phases. The production of good quality concrete mixes is possible without significant changes to the mix design process. Due to the finer pore structure in LC3, the concretes were found to be more resistant against chloride ingress. Alkali silica reaction was also found to be significantly slower. Although the carbonation rates were higher, they were still found to be within acceptable levels in the concretes produced. ABOUT RILEM The mission of RILEM is to advance scientific knowledge related to construction materials, systems and structures and to encourage transfer and application of this knowledge world-wide. This mission is achieved through collaboration of leading experts in construction practice and science including academics, researchers, testing laboratories and authorities.