Effect of Compound Early-Strength Internal Curing Agents on Properties of Cement-Based Materials

Abstract

To address the negative impact of an internal curing agent on strength while preserving its ability to resist autogenous shrinkage, we investigated the incorporation of triethanolamine and triisopropanolamine as early-strength components. These additives were combined with an internal curing agent to prepare a compound early-strength internal curing agent so as to investigate how compound early-strength internal curing agents affect the mechanical characteristics and volume stability of mortar. This was assessed using a battery of tests, including strength, autogenous shrinkage, internal relative humidity, mercury intrusion porosimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. These results indicate that the compound early-strength internal curing agent effectively maintains the volume stability of the mortar without compromising its early mechanical properties. The compressive strength ratios of the mortar mixed with the compound early-strength internal curing agent were 109.45% at 3 days and 119% at 7 days, indicating significant improvement compared with the internal curing agent. Furthermore, the 7-day autogenous shrinkage rate of the mortar was −56.78 µm/m. The proportion of hazardous-grade pores larger than 100 nm was reduced to 3.54%, and the pore distribution was uniform. This study introduces innovative ideas and methods for mitigating the adverse effects of internal curing agents on the early strength of mortar.

Keywords

internal curing agent / early-strength components / mechanical properties / volume stability / autogenous shrinkage

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