Analysis of hydration of blast furnace slag in high-volume blast furnace slag cement using an expanded hydration equation

Abstract

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the hydration and hydrated layers of blast furnace slag grains in high-volume blast furnace slag cement. Hydrated high-volume blast furnace slag cement paste contains a large number of unreacted slag grains, and hydrated layers are observed surrounding the unreacted slag grains. To analyze the hydration reaction of the blast furnace slag components, an extended effective coefficient is adopted instead of the conventionally used Tomosawa’s equation. This makes it possible to explain the rate of heat liberation of blast furnace slag in comparison to that of ordinary Portland cement. The simulation results for the thickness of the hydrated layer around the slag particles in terms of its conversion radius dependence are in good agreement with the measured values.