Effect of Macro-, Micro- and Nano-Calcium Carbonate on Properties of Cementitious Composites—A Review

Abstract

Calcium carbonate is wildly used in cementitious composites at different scales and can affect the properties of cementitious composites through physical effects (such as the filler effect, dilution effect and nucleation effect) and chemical effects. The effects of macro (>1 mm)-, micro (1 μm–1 mm)- and nano (<1 μm)-sizes of calcium carbonate on the hydration process, workability, mechanical properties and durability are reviewed. Macro-calcium carbonate mainly acts as an inert filler and can be involved in building the skeletons of hardened cementitious composites to provide part of the strength. Micro-calcium carbonate not only fills the voids between cement grains, but also accelerates the hydration process and affects the workability, mechanical properties and durability through the dilution, nucleation and even chemical effects. Nano-calcium carbonate also has both physical and chemical effects on the properties of cementitious composites, and these effects behave even more effectively than those of micro-calcium carbonate. However, agglomeration of nano-calcium carbonate reduces its enhancement effects remarkably.

Investigating mechanical properties and biocement application of CaCO3 precipitated by a newly-isolated Lysinibacillus sp. WH using artificial neural networks

“…The CTE of CaCO 3 crystal is usually around 24 μs/°C 45 which is comparable to that of the cement paste. Incorporation of nano-calcium carbonate in cementitious materials could also improve the compressive stress, strain, and toughness under ambient environment or even after high temperature exposure 19,51 . Note that the SEM micrographs and XRD spectra of uninoculated cement and biocement are shown in Supplementary Figures 2 and 3, respectively.…”

Effect of CaCO3 nanoparticles on the microstructure and fracture toughness of ceramic nanocomposites

“…Moreover, the acceleration of the hydration reaction can be explained as follows. Owing to the high surface area of NC nanoparticles, Ca 2+ and OH − ions could be adsorbed easily in the surface of the CaCO 3 nanoparticles, which accelerated the hydration reaction [42,43]. The formation of additional CSH products in NC nanoparticle cement composites indicates that their microstructures are more condensed and densified than those of plain cement composites.…”

Investigating the Impacts of Ultra-Fine Calcium Carbonate in High-Volume Fly Ash Concrete for Structural Rehabilitation for Sustainable Development

“…The strength enhancement due to the inclusion of UFCC in UHPC-containing HVFA is acceptable when compared to results obtained by Refs. [25,27,29,43]. In their studies, they explained that the inclusion of nano-CaCO 3 improves the microstructure by forming additional C-S-H gels and decreases the CH and Ca 2 SiO 4 of HVFA concretes.…”

“…Therefore, it was required to address the issue of low strength development. In some studies, researchers have introduced different types of nanomaterials, such as titanium oxide (TiO 2 ), zinc dioxide (ZnO 2 ), calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ), silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), and carbon nanotubes to improve the early strength development of HVFA concrete [24][25][26][27]. However, the production of all these materials is highly energy-intensive, which impacts on the cost and environment [28].…”

“…It was expected that UFCC would enhance the characteristics of concrete mixes to a high-performance level by filling up the voids within the binder particles, rheological characteristics, and would form secondary hydration products through pozzolanic activity. Through seeding effects, UFCC can accelerate the hydration leading to an increased early strength [27,[29][30][31]. The principal objective of the experimental study was to determine the optimum replacement of FA-UFCC in UHPC and to assess the characteristics of the optimum mixes as a high-performance repair material.…”