A quantitative model is proposed in this paper to simulate the Portland cement microstructure development based on the theories of kinetics, stoichiometry and physical chemistry of cement hydration. The hydration degree, the volume fractions of the hydration products, the capillary porosity and the gel porosity are obtained from model simulation by clarifying the microstructure elements and defining the hierarchical pore structure of cement pastes. The compressive strength is predicted based on the gel-space ratio concept. The experimental work was performed on ordinary Portland cement of water/cement ratios (w/c) 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6 at caring ages 3, 7, 14, 28 and 56 days. The hydration degrees were determined by measuring the non-evaporable water content and the pore structures were measured by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The computation results are in good agreement with the experimental data.
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