Abstract
This study examines the performance of cementitious systems made using clinker that is typically used to make Type II/V cement, limestone, and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). The porosity, formation factor, and pore connectivity of mortars are examined. The mortars are made with ordinary portland cement (OPC), OPC+limestone (LS), and portland limestone cement (PLC) with and without typical commercial SCMs (silica fume, fly ash, and slag). The porosity of both the PLC and OPC+LS mortars is approximately 4 % higher than the porosity of commercial OPC (which typically contains 2–3 % interground limestone) mortar. The porosity of PLC+SCM and OPC+LS+SCM mortars is also 2–6 % higher than the porosity of commercial OPC+ SCM mortars. The mixtures containing SCMs with alumina showed less of an increase in porosity because the limestone reacted with alumina to form carbo-aluminate reaction products. Despite the increase in porosity, there is no statistically significant difference between the formation factor of the PLC, OPC+LS, and OPC mortars without SCM. The PLC+SCM, OPC+LS+SCM, and OPC+SCM mortars had a higher formation factor than the plain OPC/PLC/OPC+LS mortars because of pore refinement. Pore refinement is also observed in PLC and OPC+LS mortars containing SCMs with alumina. The results of this study indicate that PLCs (ASTM C595/C595M-20, Standard Specification for Blended Hydraulic Cements) can be used as a direct replacement for OPCs (ASTM C150/C150M-20, Standard Specification for Portland Cement) without any significant reduction in performance as related to transport.