Self-healing products of cement pastes with supplementary cementitious materials, calcium sulfoaluminate and crystalline admixtures

Abstract

The phase composition of self-healing products generated in cracks affects self-healing performance. This study investigated the self-healing products of cementitious materials using supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), a calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) expansion agent, and crystalline additives (CAs). Ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS), fly ash (FA), and silica fume (SF) were used as SCMs, and anhydrite, Na2SO4, Na2CO3, and MgCO3 were used as crystalline additives (CAs). An artificial crack method was used to collect the self-healing products in the crack of the paste. The phase composition of the self-healing products was analyzed through X-ray diffraction (XRD)/Rietveld refinements and thermogravimetry/differential thermogravimetry (TG/DTG) analysis, and their morphology and ion concentration were examined through scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM–EDS). From the results, the main compound of self-healing products was found to be calcite. GGBFS and FA decreased the content of portlandite, and the use of CAs led to the formation of alkali sulfate and alkali carbonate. The SEM–EDS analysis results showed that when GGBFS and FA were used, a large proportion of the self-healing products contained C-S-H and C-A-H, and the use of CSA led to the formation of monosulfate and ettringite.