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Handbook of Materials Modeling pp 1–15Cite as

Mesoscale Structure and Mechanics of C-S-H

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Abstract

Cement is the most used building material on earth, yet its properties are inexactly understood and not fully controlled. Cement hydrates named C-S-H (Calcium-Silicate-Hydrate) are the most abundant phase in hydrated cement paste and are responsible for gluing all other hydration products and unreacted cement together. A source of complexity in modelling C-S-H is that the structure is amorphous, multiscale with fully interconnected porosity spanning from a few nm up to mm. The focus of this chapter is modeling approaches that allow connecting structure and mechanics of C-S-H at the mesoscale (the scale that spans from few nm up to the micron) from the early stages of hydration, the setting and up to the hardened cement paste. The modelling approach reviewed here is of reduced complexity based on coarse-graining with emphasis on the effective interactions between C-S-H particles. It addresses the mesoscale of C-S-H and has provided a unified framework for understanding the microstructure of C-S-H and reconciling data from many different experimental techniques. A consistent picture is presented covering (1) the reactive solidification of cement, (2) the origin of the observed microstructure of C-S-H, and (3) its link to mechanics. This provides a powerful predictive tool for nanoscale design of cement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT Energy Initiative, Multiscale Materials Science for Energy and Environment, Joint MIT-CNRS laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Katerina Ioannidou

Authors
  1. Katerina Ioannidou
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Correspondence to Katerina Ioannidou .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Wanda Andreoni

  2. Department of Nuclear Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Sidney Yip

Section Editor information

  1. No affiliation provided

    Emanuela Del Gado

  2. No affiliation provided

    Roland Jm Pellenq

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Ioannidou, K. (2018). Mesoscale Structure and Mechanics of C-S-H. In: Andreoni, W., Yip, S. (eds) Handbook of Materials Modeling. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50257-1_127-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50257-1_127-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-50257-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-50257-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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