Assessing the effect of alkanolamine grinding aids in limestone calcined clay cements hydration

Grinding aids are commonly used in cement manufacture to reduce electrostatic forces between powder particles and reduce agglomeration. Alkanolamines are known to also influence the hydration of the aluminate phases in cement. This study assessed the effect of TEA, TIPA and DEIPA addition on the hydration of LC3 systems. It was observed that these molecules have an enhancing effect on the aluminate reaction in LC3. They promote the hydration of ferrite and C3A, and lead to higher amounts of hemicarboaluminate and monocarboaluminate precipitated, which contributes to porosity refinement and mechanical properties. The rate of reaction of metakaolin is not affected by the addition of TEA, independent of the iron content of the clay.