Better Pavements through Internal Hydration
Taking lightweight aggregate to the streets
By Victor H. Villarreal and David A. Crocker
The benefits of using structural lightweight aggregate (LWA)
to replace a portion of the normal weight aggregates in
concrete mixtures have been investigated by many
researchers. The main purpose of this substitution has been
to provide a source of moisture for internal curing that
will promote more complete hydration of the cementitious
materials. Due to the inherently low permeability of the
matrix, internal curing is especially beneficial in concrete
with a low water-cementitious material ratio (w/cm) where
external curing has little effect on hydration in the
internal portion of the concrete. If the w/cm is below about
0.36, these mixtures can also self-desiccate because the
amount of water included in the mixture is not enough to
completely hydrate the cementitious materials.
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