Introduction to the Chemistry of Inorganic Cements

Introduction to the Chemistry of Inorganic Cements presents the chemistry of inorganic cements to anyone coming to the study of these materials. It is aimed mainly at students with a civil engineering, materials science or chemistry background beginning research in the area either at a PhD level or in industry, as well as professionals entering the field. It details the manufacture and characterisation of the unreacted cement, the hydration processes leading to setting and hardening, the hydrates formed, and the microstructural development and degradation processes. Portland cements are the main focus, because of their over-riding importance in civil construction, but the increasingly important supplementary cementing materials, such as slag and fly ash, are also considered in detail. A separate chapter looks at calcium aluminate cements and calcium sulfo aluminate cements. The latest ideas and concepts in the field are outlined, as are the major methods of characterization used in the field.