Influence of water-to-cement ratio and curing period on pore structure of cement mortar

The effect of water-to-cement ratio (w/c) and age on the pore structure of cement mortar was determined through mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The cement mortar specimens were prepared with w/c of 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6, and were tested at different curing ages (14, 28, 180 days). The degree of hydration of the cement in cement mortar was obtained by determining the non-evaporable water content. Test results have shown that, the degree of hydration increased with increasing curing time and water-to-cement ratio of the cement mortar for the ages of cement mortar varying between 14 and 180 days. An increase in the water-to-cement ratio increases the total porosity. In addition, the existing models of pore size distribution of cement-based materials has been reviewed and compared with test results in this investigation.