Theoretical and empirical modeling of the rheology of fresh cement pastes

Abstract

The most important property of cements and concretes after strength is the workability, which is controlled by the rheological characteristics of the mix. Theoretical modeling having proved complicated and in some cases mathematically untractable, cement specialists have concentrated on empirical based models for the last two decades. The major theoretical contributions to date on the properties of colloidal and concentrated suspensions are summarized and a general framework for theoretical modeling of cement viscosity is established. The empirical modeling and the experimental investigation of the rheological properties of fresh cements are reviewed and discussed. A semi-empirical model is proposed and its validity tested in the interpretation of some published experimental results.