Microstructure of Concrete

CEE303 Properties of Concrete

Concrete Microstructure, Properties and

Materials
by
P. Kumar Mehta and Paulo J. M. Monteiro
Significance
 Progress in the field of materials Properties
originate from internal microstructure
 What does it mean?
 The microstructure-property relationships in
concrete are not yet fully developed. Why?
 Understanding of the essential elements of the
microstructure is helpful. Why?
Microstructure of Concrete –
Hetrogeneous & Complex
 At Macroscopic level
 Two phase material  Aggregates dispersed in
cement paste

Polished section from a concrete

 Microstructure of Concrete –
Hetrogeneous & Complex
 At Microscopic level  The Microstructure is
Hetrogeneous & Complex

Dense Area

Highly porous Area

Microstructure of hydrated cement paste

 Microstructure of Concrete –
Hetrogeneous & Complex
 What information can we
get from this picture?
 Microstructure of hydrated
cement paste in the vicinity
of aggregate is different
from the microstructure of
bulk paste in the system.
 At Microscopic level 
Three phase material
 Why we should have broad
knowledge of these Three
phases?
Do you know Why the theoretical
structure-property relationship models,
generally helpful for predicting the
behavior of engineering materials, are of
little use in the case of concrete?
Microstructure of Aggregate Phase

 The aggregate phase  Predominantly responsible

for Unit weight, Elastic modulus, and Dimensional
stability of concrete.
 The above properties of concrete depend to a large
extent on bulk density and strength of aggregate.
 Bulk density and strength of aggregate are
determined by Physical characteristics such as the
volume, size, and distribution of pores rather than
the chemical characteristics of the aggregate.
 Microstructure of Aggregate Phase

 The shape and

texture of the
coarse aggregate
also affect the
properties of
concrete.
Microstructure of Aggregate Phase
 For Normal strength Concrete  Aggregate phase
is stronger than the other two phases.
 The size and the shape of coarse aggregate can
affect the strength of concrete in an indirect way.

Internal bleed water tends to accumulate in the vicinity of elongated, flat, and
large pieces of aggregate. In these locations, the aggregate-cement paste
transition zone tends to be weak and easily prone to microcracking. This
phenomenon is responsible for the shear-bond failure at the surface of the
aggregate particle marked in the photograph.
Microstructure of Hydrated Cement Paste
(hcp)
 Is Microstructure Homogeneous?
 If not, What would be the consequences?
A represents C-S-H.
H represents hexagonal
crystalline products such
as CH, C4ASH18, C4AH19.
C represents capillary
cavities or voids.

Microstructure of well hydrated cement paste

 Solids in Hydrated Cement Paste

Calcium Silicate Hydrate

Notation: C-S-H
C/S Ratio: 1.2 to 2.3
Main Characteristics
High Surface (100 to 700
m2/ g) ---->
High Van der Walls Force
-----> Strength.
Volume % : 50 to 60
Solids in Hydrated Cement Paste

Calcium Hydroxide
(Poltlandite)

Notation: Ca(OH)2
Volume % : 20 to 25
Definite stoichiometry
(hexagonal-prism
morphology).
Solids in Hydrated Cement Paste

Calcium Sulfoaluminate
Hydrates

Volume % : 15 to 20
 First : ettringite C6AS3H32
 After : monosulfate
hydrated C4ASH18
Solids in Hydrated Cement Paste

Ettringite C6AS3H32
Typical rates of formation of hydration
products in an ordinary portland cement
 Voids in Hydrated Cement Paste

 Interlayer space in CSH

Size = 5 to 25 Å
No adverse effect on strength and permeability
Some effect on drying shrinkage and creep
 Capillary Voids (Irregular in shape)
The space not taken up by cement or hydration products.
> 50 nm : detrimental to strength and impermeability
< 50 nm: important to drying shrinkage and creep.
 Air Voids (Spherical in shape)
entrapped air: ~ 3 mm
entrained air: 50 to 200 microns
Water inside the pores

 Classification depends on the degree of ease with

which water can be removed.
 Why Classification is important?
Water inside the pores
 CAPILLARY WATER
Free from the influence of the attractive forces exerted
by the solid surface.
Two categories;
Water in large voids > 50 nm (0.05 μm) is called free
water.
Water held by capillary tension in small capillaries (5 to
50 nm) which on removal may cause shrinkage of the
system.
Water inside the pores
 ADSORBED WATER
Water physically adsorbed onto the surface of solids in
the hcp.
Loss of adsorbed water is mainly responsible for the
shrinkage of the hcp on drying.
Water inside the pores
 INTERLAYER WATER
Water associated with the C-S-H structure.
Lost only on strong drying.
The C-S-H structure shrinks considerably when the
interlayer water is lost.
Range of solids and pores in hcp
Microstructure-Property Relationship in hcp

Characteristics of Hardened Concrete

(Strength, Dimensional Stability & Durability)

Influenced by Proportion & Properties of hcp

Microstructural features
(Type, amount & distribution of solids & voids)
 Microstructure-Property Relationship in hcp

Strength
Examples by
Powers
 Microstructure-Property Relationship in hcp
 Relation between Compressive Strength and
solids-to-space ratio (x),
 fc = ax3

where a is a constant equal to 34,000 psi

 Microstructure-Property Relationship in hcp
 Durability
 Hydrated cement paste  Alkaline
 Exposure to acidic water  Detrimental to the material.
 Impermeability, or watertightness, becomes a primary factor in
determining the durability.
 Permeability is defined as the ease with which a fluid under pressure
can flow through a solid.
 The size and continuity of the pores in the microstructure of the solid
would determine its permeability.
 Strength and permeability of the hydrated cement paste are two
sides of the same coin in the sense that both are closely related to
the capillary porosity or the solid-space ratio.
 Microstructure-Property Relationship in hcp
 Durability
 Microstructure-
Property
Relationship in hcp
 Dimensional Stability
 Saturated Cement paste  Dimensionally unstable
 Interfacial Transition Zone (ITZ)
 The ITZ represents a
small region (10 to 50 µm)
next to the particles of
coarse aggregate.
 Generally, ITZ is weaker
than either of the two main
components of concrete,
namely, the aggregate and
the bulk hydrated cement
paste.
 It has a far greater influence on the
mechanical behavior of concrete than is
reflected by its size.
 Significance of ITZ
 HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY:
 Concrete is brittle in tension but relatively tough in
compression?
 The components of concrete when tested separately in a
uniaxial compression remain elastic until fracture, whereas
concrete itself shows inelastic behavior?
 At a given cement content, water/cement ratio, and age of
hydration, cement mortar will always be stronger than the
corresponding concrete? Also, the strength of concrete goes
down as the coarse aggregate size is increased.
 The permeability of concrete containing even a very dense
aggregate will be higher by an order of magnitude than the
permeability of the corresponding cement paste?
 On exposure to fire, the elastic modulus of a concrete drops
more rapidly than its compressive strength?
 Microstructure of ITZ - Development
 In freshly compacted
concrete, water films form
around the large aggregate
particles. This would account
for a higher water-cement
ratio closer to the larger
aggregate than away from it.
 Due to the high water-
cement ratio, calcium
hydroxide and ettringite in
the vicinity of the coarse
aggregate consist of
relatively larger crystals, and
therefore form a more
porous framework than in
the bulk cement paste or
mortar matrix.
 Microstructure of ITZ - Development

Cement
Note the open
structure of the
matrix Aggregate
Microstructure of ITZ - Development
 The platelike calcium hydroxide crystals tend to form in
oriented layers with the c-axis perpendicular to the
aggregate surface.
Main Characteristics of ITZ

 Larger porosity than

the matrix
 Precipitation of CH
with a preferred
orientation
 Larger crystals
Strength of ITZ

 Strength of ITZ depends on the volume and

size of voids present.
 Poor strength of ITZ is due to the presence
microcracks and large volume of capillary
voids.
Why the components of concrete when tested separately
in a uniaxial compression remain elastic until fracture,
whereas concrete itself shows inelastic behavior?
REASON
Why On exposure to fire, the elastic
modulus of a concrete drops more
rapidly than its compressive strength?

Effect of ITZ on the Durability of Concrete.

 Microstructural Improvement
 Use of silica fume reduces the porosity of the ITZ
due to the geometrical effect and reduces the
amount of CH due to the pozzolanic reaction

Silica fume – 100 times

smaller than Cement
 Microstructural Improvement
 Two Primary Mechanisms Occur
 Microfiller Effect
 Pozzolanic Reaction
Microsilica
Cement
Cement
Cement
Cement
Cement Filling the microscopic
voids between cement
Cement
particles
Cement
Cement

Microsilica
 Hydration Reaction (Cement + Water)

Calcium Silicate + Calcium

Cement + Water Hydrate Hydroxide

C3S2H3 + Ca(OH)2
(C3S + C2S) + H2O (Glue) (Weak product)

Pozzolanic Reaction (Ca(OH)2)

Calcium + Microsilica Calcium Silicate Hydrate

Hydroxide

3CaO•2SiO2•3H2O [C3S2H3]
3Ca(OH)2 + 2Si2O
(Glue)