Low-Alite Portland Cement in Steam-Curing Condition: Long-Term Compressive Strength and Permeability

Abstract

Steam curing is a commonly used method to obtain cement products with high early strength. It is popularly employed to produce prefabricated units in factory. However, the long-term performance of steam-cured products is not as satisfactory as in situ casting samples cured at room temperature. In order to obtain comparable durability of steam-cured products, a low-alite portland cement (LAPC) is used to manufacture steam-cured materials. The results indicate that the later development of compressive strength is significantly promoted by steam curing to LAPC mortars, consistent to the decrease of specific water absorption, which is associated with the optimization of pore structure and notable improvement of hydration degree at late stage compared with ordinary portland cement (OPC). This work can provide a novel strategy to enhance long-term properties of steam-cured products.