TY - JOUR A1 - Munsch, Sarah Mandy A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram A1 - Lorenzoni, Renata A1 - Telong, Melissa A1 - Grobla, Lili A1 - Lauinger, Robert A1 - Kruschwitz, Sabine T1 - Investigation of the hydration of clinker‑reduced cementitious binders by 1H NMR relaxometry N2 - In this paper, we demonstrate the value of 1 H NMR relaxometry for studying the hydration of clinker-reduced, climate-friendly cementitious binders. Our study includes white cement (WC), ordinary Portland cement (OPC), and samples incorporating reactive agro-waste based ashes and non-reactive biochars as supplementary cementitous materials (SCM). NMR measurements were performed over a period of up to 120 h during hydration with an echo time of 50 μ s and a relatively large sample size of 20 mL. The results were compared to heat flow calorimetry (HFC) data, and a detailed comparison with literature data was performed for pure OPC and WC. The results show that time-resolved NMR measurements, especially the analysis of individual NMR signal components assigned to defined 1 H reservoirs, are effective for studying hydration processes. They offer insights into the evolution of the microstrucure and specific chemical phases. NMR provides valuable information and serves as a good complement to HFC. The comparison with data obtained with shorter echo times (40 μs or around 15–45 μs with solid echo sequence) on much smaller samples showed almost identical developments with respect to the T2 distributions. For the SCM samples, NMR results indicated partially accelerated hydration processes compared to classical OPC hydration. One SCM sample acted as a highly reactive pozzolan, showing a similar hydration process to OPC with the strongest effect observed when superplasticizer was added. Adding biochar delayed C-S-H gel pore formation but significantly increased capillary pores and even free water, likely due to the sponge-like structure. KW - Nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry KW - Heat flow calorimetry KW - Cement KW - Hydration KW - Clinker reduction KW - Carbon emission KW - Kinetics PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630284 DO - https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-025-02632-x SN - 1871-6873 VL - 58 IS - 137 SP - 1 EP - 23 PB - Springer Nature AN - OPUS4-63028 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lorenzoni, Renata A1 - Fritsch, Tobias A1 - Kruschwitz, Sabine A1 - Bruno, Giovanni A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram T1 - Mechanical analysis of cement-biochar composites using in-situ X-ray microtomography and digital volume correlation N2 - This study addresses biochar as a potential carbon-sequestering filler in cement and examines its effect on mechanical properties using X-ray computed tomography (XCT) and digital volume correlation (DVC). DVC was reliably used to measure global displacement and has proven to be an effective method for correcting displacement data obtained from mechanical tests conducted without traditional instrumentation, such as extensometer. This made it possible to measure strain and Young’s modulus accurately. The results demonstrate that while 5 vol% biochar replacement had minimal effect on mechanical properties, a 25 vol% biochar replacement caused a 35 % reduction in Young’s modulus and 40 % reduction in the ultimate compressive strength. Additionally, DVC detected strain concentrations and predicted material failure locations even when cracks could not be quantified using XCT alone. Moreover, the study reveals that biochar particles, due to their sharp geometry, increase internal shear strain during uniaxial compression, unlike round phases such as pores. KW - Cementitious materials KW - Biochar KW - Mechanical proprieties KW - In-situ X-ray microtomography KW - Digital volume correlation PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-638065 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.142511 SN - 1879-0526 VL - 490 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-63806 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -