Hydration and Setting of Cements

This volume contains a series of contributions from leading international researchers on the relationships between the chemical reactions occurring during the hydration of inorganic binders (including Portland cements, calcium aluminate cements, their principal constituent phases and plaster), and the setting process. The book presents the state of the art on the chemical, structural and textural evolution of cement paste before and during setting. The three main topics covered are hydration of cements, hydration and setting, and hydration and microstructure. Relatively few studies have been made on the physico-chemical phenomena responsible for or involved in setting of cements and the central part of the book presents much original and novel materials, with a series of contributions from colloid scientists giving fundamental reviews and special reports on the nature of particle interactions which may be involved in the setting process. Two groups report experimental results from studies on the rheology of suspensions and strength development during setting.