Article: Water, portland cement, aggregates, and admixtures.(Hime & Erlin on Concrete)

It's only water--but it's the magic elixir of life on earth-and, of course, of concrete. Without it there would be no life on earth or any need for portland cement, and there would be no portland cement-based concrete or the many other things that portland cement is used for. Water mixed with portland cement becomes a solution enriched in chemicals from the cement. The result is a pH of 12.4 to 14 or more. (Less than 0 to almost 7 is an acid; above 7 is a base.) The water solution then facilitates reactions that result in new solid compounds that expand and eventually fill the space occupied by the solution. The eventual outcome of this process--a rigid material ...

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