Limestone filler cement in low w/c concrete: A rational use of energy

The effect of limestone filler (up to 20%) on the degree of hydration, the volume of hydration products, and the optimal replacement of limestone filler in cement pastes at different w/cm ratios (0.25–0.50) were investigated by using a quadratic statistical model. The results show an increase in the degree of hydration in very low w/cm ratio paste when the limestone filler content is increased. However, the largest volume of hydration products occurs for high w/cm ratio pastes, for which the available space also increases with the limestone filler content. Finally, for a given cement, the optimum limestone filler content for different w/cm ratios can be obtained by using the gel–space ratio concept. In addition, concrete mixtures (w/cm=0.30 and 0.34) were made to determine the compressive strength. The results have shown that concretes containing limestone filler cements present a small reduction of strength at 28 days improving the hydration of clinker particles in the system. The strength of concrete depends on the gel–space ratio, which takes into account all of the effects produced by limestone filler addition: the increase of the degree of hydration, the dilution, and the increase of the effective w/c ratio.