About the authors
| First name, Middle name, Last name, Scientific degree, Scientific rank, Current position. Full and brief name of the organization, The organization address. | Andrey Yu. Belyakov, post-graduate student, head of laboratory, Kazan State University of Architecture and Engineering, Kazan, Russian Federation. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , ORCID: 0000-0003-0017-1419 Evgeny G. Gulyakov, post-graduate student, engineer, Kazan State University of Architecture and Engineering, Kazan, Russian Federation. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , ORCID: 0000-0002-7065-8022 Oleg V. Khokhryakov, doctor of technical sciences, professor, Kazan State University of Architecture and Engineering, Kazan, Russian Federation. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , ORCID: 0000-0001-5337-2850 Vadim G. Khozin, doctor of technical sciences, professor, Kazan State University of Architecture and Engineering, Kazan, Russian Federation. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , ORCID: 0000-0003-0874-316X |
| Title of the article | Microstructure of cement clinker powders and mineral additives ground with superplasticizer |
| Abstract. | Problem statement. The production of dispersed building materials such as Portland cement and mineral additives involves an energy-intensive process of fine grinding. Technological additives are traditionally used to improve grindability, but surfactants, in particular superplasticizers, which also improve the construction and technical properties of materials, are more effective. The aim of the work is a comparative assessment of the dispersed microstructure of cement clinker and mineral additives ground with a superplasticizer and without it. Research objectives: to determine the grindability of cement clinker, limestone and quartz sand with a superplasticizer; to study the microstructure of dispersed mineral particles of these materials using a field emission scanning electron microscope; to conduct an elemental analysis of dispersed mineral particles to assess the localization of the superplasticizer. Results. Grindability curves of clinker and limestone, unlike quartz sand, showed an exponential dependence with an asymptotic decay of the grinding rate. The addition of superplasticizer accelerated the process only for clinker and limestone, which is confirmed by the growth of the specific surface from 8000 to 10100 cm2/g and from 12100 to 14200 cm2/g, respectively, while for sand it remained virtually unchanged (~13900 cm2/g). Microstructural analysis revealed that particles of all materials have an irregular shape of the "fragment" class with a wide range of sizes. Elemental analysis showed the presence of superplasticizer on particles by an increase in the content of carbon (up to 7.34 wt. % in clinker) and sodium (0.27% in limestone). Conclusions. It was found that grinding with a superplasticizer leads to the formation of highly dispersed particles in clinker and limestone, indicating the effect of disaggregation. It was shown that the additive is localized in clusters of clinker and limestone particles, while in sand it is distributed uniformly. This confirms the possibility of adhesive fixation of the superplasticizer on the surface of mineral materials, i.e. their functionalization during the grinding process. |
| Keywords. | cement clinker, mineral additives, superplasticizer, grindability, functionalization, scanning microscopy |
| For citations: | Belyakov A.Yu., Gulyakov E.G., Khokhryakov O.V., Khozin V.G. Microstructure of cement clinker powders and mineral additives ground with superplasticizer // News of KSUAE, 2025, № 4 (74), p. 63-75, DOI: 10.48612/NewsKSUAE/74.6, EDN: EQTXPC |
