Overgrinding of Portland cement brings excessive shrinkage and poor self-healing ability to concrete. In this paper, through the ultrasonic test and optical micrograph observation, the self-healing properties of concrete prepared by cement with different particle size distributions were studied. Besides, the effect of carbonation and continued hydration on self-healing of concrete was analyzed. Results show that, for the Portland cement containing more particles with the size 30~60 μm, the concrete could achieve a better self-healing ability of concrete at 28 days. For the two methods to characterize the self-healing properties of concrete, the ultrasonic test is more accurate in characterizing the self-healing of internal crack than optical micrograph observation. The autogenous self-healing of concrete is jointly affected by the continued hydration and carbonation. At 7 days and 30 days, the autogenous self-healing of concrete is mainly controlled by the continued hydration and carbonation, respectively. The cement particle size could affect the continued hydration by affecting un-hydrated cement content and the carbonation by affecting the Ca(OH)₂ content. Therefore, a proper distribution of cement particle size, which brings a suitable amount of Ca(OH)₂ and un-hydrated cement, could improve the self-healing ability of concrete.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and calcium sulphoaluminate (CSA) cement were used to prepare repair mortar for the restoration of the walls of a building built with bricks. The preparation, hydration, and properties of the PVA-modified CSA cement repair mortar were studied. Besides this, the mechanism by which PVA improves the bonding strength is also discussed. The results demonstrate that PVA prolongs the setting time of CSA cement, which is ascribed to PVA inhibiting the dissolution of C₄A₃$ (4CaO·3Al₂O₃·SO₃) and the precipitation of AFt (3CaO·Al₂O₃·3CaSO₄·26H₂O) within the hydration age of 0~60 min. PVA lowers the mechanical strength of CSA cement repair mortar at the hydration age of 6 h. After 6 h, the mechanical strength is improved. PVA could also improve the bonding strength between CSA repair mortar and bricks. This is mainly ascribed to the Al ions in both the hydration products of CSA cement and the clay bricks reacting with the hydroxyl group of PVA and forming the chemical bond C-O-Al. Therefore, a tighter combination between CSA cement repair mortar and the clay bricks forms, thereby improving the bonding strength.

This study investigated the effect of the interaction between ultrafine slag powder (USL) and limestone (LS) on the rheology behavior, microstructure, and fractal features of UHPC. The results indicated that B2 with mass ratio of 2:1 between the USL and LS obtained the highest compressive strength and the lowest yield stress. The combination of the USL and LS facilitated the cement hydration, ettringite, and monocarboaluminate (Mc) formation, as well as the increase in the polymerization of the C–S–H. The synergistic action between the USL and LS refined the pore structure due to the formation of the Mc, compensating for the consumption of the CH by the pozzolanic reaction, which provided a denser microstructure in the UHPC. The fractal dimension (Ds) of the UHPC was strongly related to the concrete pore structures and the compressive strength, which demonstrated that a new metric called the Ds value may be used to assess the synergistic effect of the UHPC.

With the construction of projects under severe environments, new and higher requirements are put forward for the properties of concrete, especially the autogenous self-sealing property, which is greatly affected by the curing environment and the state of the water. Herein, six types of curing conditions, including in air with a relative humidity of 30%, 60%, and 95%; flowing water; wet-dry cycles; and static water, are designed to investigate the autogenous self-sealing of mortar under different curing conditions. The results showed that the self-sealing ratios are higher than 60% and the cracks are closed for the mortar undergoing the wet-dry cycles and the static water. However, the self-sealing ratios of mortar are lower than 10% and the cracks are almost unchanged when the mortar is cured in the air with a relative humidity (RH) of 30% and 60%. The static liquid water is more conducive to the continued hydration of cement and the formation of CaCO₃ than the flowing water. The research provides guidance for the design of concrete and the improvement of autogenous self-sealing when the concrete serves in different environments.

Due to low early strength and high shrinkage, ordinary Portland cement (OPC) has difficulty meeting the actual needs of modern construction projects, while belite calcium sulfoaluminate cement (BCSA–OPC) composite cement provides a new solution. The mechanical and the drying shrinkage properties of the BCSA–OPC mortar were determined, the hydration heat of the BCSA–OPC was studied, and the pore size distribution of the mortar was investigated. In addition, the hydration products of the BCSA–OPC were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and simultaneous thermal analysis (TG-DSC), and the microscopic morphology of the BCSA–OPC mortar was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that with the increase in BCSA dosage in the BCSA–OPC, compared with OPC, the flexural strengths of the mortar of 50% dosage of BCSA at the hydration age of 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, and 28 d are improved by 33.3%, 36.6%, 23.6%, and 26.8%, and the compressive strengths are improved by 50.8%, 35.7%, 13.4%, and 27.7%. The drying shrinkage and total porosity of the mortar at the hydration age of 28 d are reduced by 117.4% and 21.55%, respectively. It is attributed to the filling effect of a large amount of ettringite (AFt) and intertwined with the fibrous C-S-H gel to form a network. This study will provide a theoretical basis for the application of the BCSA–OPC engineering.