Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) pastes with added superplasticizer were made using water/cement weight ratios of standard consistency. Three types of superplasticizer based on acrylate—poly(ethylene glycol) copolymers were used. The pastes were hydrated for various time lengths and the mechanical characteristics of the hardened cement pastes were studied and related to their pore structures. It was found that the addition of the superplasticizers to OPC improved the mechanical properties of the hardened pastes for all hydration lengths. The addition of such superplasticizers to OPC resulted in a decrease in the specific surface areas and total pore volumes of the hardened superplasticized cement pastes relative to the corresponding hardened neat cement pastes.
A new method involving the extraction of various ions from hardened cement pastes by anhydrous ethanol is presented to determine the pH value and ionic concentration during the first 28 days. The volume content of pore solution extracted by ethanol in the leachate reached 12% or above and the pH values calculated by alkali ions are more than 12, even up to 12.73. The results were compared with those from parallel, conventional pore water expression experiments. All of these comparisons verified the feasibility of the proposed method. However, the application of this method to pore solution analysis needs further improvement.
Effect of Some Acrylate—Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Copolymers as Superplasticizers on the Mechanical and Surface Properties of Portland Cement Pastes