Microstructure evolution of hydration products of tricalcium silicate under dissolution
The dam concrete in the underwater zone is susceptible to dissolution damage due to the leaching of cal-cium ions,which results in the decalcification and dissolution of cement hydration products,and further leads to the deterioration and failure of the dam concrete performance.To deeply reveal the deterioration mechanism of dam concrete,it is necessary to clarify the evolution law of the morphology and microstructure of cement hydration prod-ucts under dissolution.As the main mineral phase of cement,the hydration product characteristics of tricalcium sil-icate(C3S)significantly affect the performance of cement and concrete.Therefore,high-purity C3S was prepared and then soaked in ammonium chloride solution with different concentrations after hydration,to simulate accelerated dissolution procedure of cement hydration products.The composition,micro-nano structure and mor-phology of the dissolved products were investigated by combining thermogravimetric analysis,nuclear magnetic res-onance,scanning electron microscope and nitrogen adsorption.The results showed that the hydration product of C3S was neutralized with the ammonium chloride solution,and the pH value of the solution increased.The lower pH value and more obviously decalcified of the hydration products after reaction with the increase of the concentration of ammonium chloride,demonstrated that the dissolution degree is closely related to environmental conditions.The dissolution would reduce the chemical binding water content of the hydrated calcium silicate(C-S-H)gel among ce-ment hydration products,cause the polymerization of the silicon chain structure,coarsen the pore structure and in-tensify the hollowness of C-S-H gel.The deterioration degree of structure and morphology increased continuously with the increment of dissolution degree,which provides theoretical basis for explanation of concrete dissolution mechanism at micro-nano scale.