Abstract
Relative humidity and water activity (aH) reductions have been known to suppress the hydration of anhydrous cement clinker phases. However, the relationship between ye'elimite (C4A3$) hydration kinetics and water activity remain unclear. This study employs experimental and thermodynamic modeling approaches to investigate the influence of water activity on ye'elimite hydration in the "C4A3$ + water", and "C4A3$ + gypsum + water" systems. Experimental findings indicate that as water activity decreases, C4A3$ hydration diminishes until the reaction is brought to a halt at a threshold aH. The critical aHand corresponding solubility constant of C4A3$ (KC4A3S¯) estimated from thermodynamic analysis are 0.46 and 10–24.554, respectively. Critical aHand KC4A3S¯ are fundamental data for the numerical modeling of hydration in C4A3$-based cementitious systems. Additionally, thermodynamic modeling was employed to reveal the effects of isopropanol ingress on the precipitation-dissolution of hydrated phase assemblage and the speciation in the aqueous pore solution.
Recommended Citation
G. I. Ogbuehi et al., "Elucidating the Effects of Water Activity on the Hydration Kinetics and Thermodynamics of Ye’elimite–calcium Sulfate Hydrate Systems," Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 64, no. 44, pp. 20995 - 21009, American Chemical Society, Nov 2025.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.5c03449
Department(s)
Materials Science and Engineering
Second Department
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1520-5045; 0888-5885
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2025 American Chemical Society, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
05 Nov 2025
Included in
Ceramic Materials Commons, Chemical Engineering Commons, Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons, Materials Chemistry Commons, Structural Materials Commons
Comments
National Science Foundation, Grant 1932690