Improvement of initial mechanical strength by nanoalumina in belite cements

The development of new environmentally friendly and energy efficient cements such as belite cements are being promoted due the environmental problems related to CO₂ emissions in the manufacture of Portland cement. Although long-term hydrated belite cements show comparable and even better mechanical strength to ordinary Portland hydrated cements, they have low initial mechanical strength, which limits their applicability. In this work we analyse the potential of nanomaterials for activation of the initial strength of belite cements. Different nanoparticles are added to belite cement and both the microstructure modification of the resulting paste and the mechanical properties at early ages are studied. Our results show that the addition of nanoparticles can overcome the drawbacks of this type of eco-efficient cements making them competitive to OPC.