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The adsorption behavior and dispersing capability of hyperbranched phosphated polycarboxylate superplasticizers (PCEs) containing phosphate monoester and phosphate diester were investigated. The hyperbranched structures were constructed using a special monomer dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAMEA) to create the branches during the polymerization. Meanwhile, the polymer architectures were tailored by varying the content of phosphate monoester and phosphate diester in the backbone via free radical solution polymerization. In contrast to comb-like PCE, hyperbranched PCEs presented a weaker dispersion capability at w/c = 0.29, but with a lower water-to-cement ratio (w/c), the hyperbranched PCEs exhibited a better dispersion capability than the comb-like PCEs. The dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis showed that the adsorption layer of hyperbranched PCEs were thicker than that of comb-like PCEs. A thicker adsorption layer thickness generated thinner diffusion water layer thickness. The increase of the free water amount due to the thinner water diffusion layer is the key mechanism for improving the dispersibility and decreasing the viscosity of cement paste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drying shrinkage of alkali-activated slag concrete (AASC) is significantly greater than that of concrete made with ordinary Portland cement (OPC). It limits the large-scale application of AASC in field engineering. This study investigates the effect of early age-curing methods, including water curing, curing in elevated-temperature water, and CO2 curing, on drying shrinkage of AASC. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric (TG-DTG), and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) were carried out to analyze the composition and microstructure of hydration products, to provide deeper understanding of drying shrinkage of AASC. The results show that water curing decreased drying shrinkage of both C30 and C50 AASC moderately compared to air curing, while it was more effective for C30 AASC. Curing in water of elevated temperature and CO2 curing were very beneficial to mitigate drying shrinkage of AASC. Heat curing decreased drying shrinkage of AASC up to 80%. SEM and TG-DTG results show that denser microstructure formed because of the accelerated hydration, resulting in lower porosity and lower proportion of pores smaller than 25 nm that contributed to the reduction of drying shrinkage. In addition, under high-temperature curing, most autogenous shrinkage of AASC occurred in the first few days because hydration was accelerated. After measurement of drying shrinkage was started, recorded autogenous shrinkage of AASC cured in elevated-temperature water should be much less than that of AASC cured at normal temperature. It is another important reason for the reduction of drying shrinkage. Carbonation occurring in the CO2 curing period led to the decalcification of C-(A)-S-H gel; it coarsened the pore-size distribution and decreased the total porosity. Therefore, drying shrinkage of C30 and C50 AASC was declined by 49% and 53% respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]