J Mater Sci (2017) 52:13120–13132

Composites
COMPOSITES

Microstructure–toughness relationships in calcium

aluminate cement–polymer composites using
instrumented scratch testing
Kevin Anderson1 and Ange-Therese Akono1,2,*

1
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 205 N. Mathews Avenue,
Urbana, IL 61801, USA
2
Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 205 N. Mathews Avenue,
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

Received: 23 February 2017 ABSTRACT

Accepted: 19 July 2017 We investigate the influence of the microstructure on the fracture properties of
Published online: calcium aluminate cement/polymer composites. We carry out microscopic
26 July 2017 scratch tests during which a Rockwell C diamond probe pushes across the
surface of a polished specimen under a linearly increasing vertical force. We
 Springer Science+Business extend the scratch fracture method to heterogeneous materials. The scratch test
Media, LLC 2017 induces a ductile-to-brittle transition as the penetration depth increases. Scan-
ning electron microscopy imaging shows that the low porosity and the strong
cement-binder interphase favor toughening mechanisms such as crack trapping
and bridging. Nonlinear fracture mechanics theory yields the fracture toughness
in the fracture-driven regime. The fracture toughness of macro-defect-free
(MDF) cement is found to decrease as the polymer-to-cement ratio increases.
This decrease in the fracture resistance can be explained by the decrease in
anhydrous cement content and the increase in the inter-particle distance
between cement grains. By evaluating the fracture toughness of the micro-
constituents of MDF cement, we show that the high value of the fracture
toughness at the composite level stems from tough calcium aluminate phases
and a highly packed non-porous granular microstructure.

Introduction are relevant in many applications including cryo-

Calcium aluminate cements (CAC) are non-Portland
cements with outstanding properties such as rapid
hardening, high thermal stability, high chemical
inertia, or high abrasion and wear resistance. They
genic facilities, foundries, industrial floors, fireplaces
and orthopedic cements [1–4]. We seek to elucidate
the microstructure–toughness relationships in cal-
cium aluminate cement/polymer composites using
macro-defect-free cement as a surrogate material.

Address correspondence to E-mail: aakono@illinois.edu

DOI 10.1007/s10853-017-1416-8

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