Optical evaluation on the setting of cement paste

Abstract

In the construction area, one of the most widely used cement is the CPC 30R, it is a hydraulic binder consisting of CaO, SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3, when mixed with water forms cement pastes and its four crystallographic phases start to hydrate. The diffuse reflection on cement paste can give an indication of the behaviour on optical properties on the hydration of the cement and early formation products. In this study, Portland cement (CPC) pastes were prepared with 0.45 a water to cement ratio (w/c). This work is aimed to evaluate the optical properties of cement pastes on the hydration reaction during the first 24 hours by measuring the intensity of diffuse reflection changes.