Hydration Mechanism of the Hydrogen-Rich Water Based Cement Paste

Abstract

With the aim to speed up the construction process, utilization of the hydrogen-rich water as a cement set accelerator would be a unique approach. The investigation deals with the effectiveness of the hydrogen-rich water in controlling the setting and the hydration behavior of cement. Analyzing the setting time using Vicat apparatus, the initial and final setting time of the control cement is measured to be 197 +/- 6 and 257 +/- 3 min, respectively, while the same is measured to be 8 +/- 3 and 14 +/- 3 min, respectively, for the 0.5 ppm hydrogen-rich water based cement sample. The change in surface potential of the hydrogen-rich water based cement paste may lead to agglomerate the cement particle immediately. Additionally, the hydration test reveals that the hydrogen-rich water accelerates the cement hydration reaction. This phenomenon is primarily governed by the rapid dissolution of the cement component, followed by the early nucleation and flocculation of the hydrated products, which is confirmed monitoring the amount of hydrated cement product using analytical tools. Finally, based on the zeta potential measurement, a plausible model has been proposed to explain the overall performances of the hydrogen-rich water.