Representative elementary volume analysis of hardened cement paste during hydration using X-ray Computed Tomography

摘要

Representative elementary volume (REV) is an important property of cementitious materials. However, it is hard to experimentally study the REV of cement paste in micrometer scale. Here the REV size of hardened cement paste (HCP) was experimentally obtained by analyzing the microstructure information from high resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography (XCT). Results show that the selected microstructure information, the applied resolution of XCT, and the hydration ages have significant influences on REV size of HCP. With the improvement of XCT resolution, the REV size decreases. From the decreasing trend, the REV size will be close to a stable value at very high resolution. Along with the increased hydration ages, the REV size increases firstly and then decreases, while the decreasing trend slows down with higher resolution. Thus, at extremely high resolution, the REV size is expected to be constant at later hydration ages. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.