Micropore size analysis by NMR in hydrated cement.

The understanding of the microstructure of cement remains incomplete. Especially, the progressive setting of the material is still unclear. Micropore size distribution (microstructure) has been investigated by both standard proton nuclear magnetic relaxation (1H-NMR) and field-cycling relaxation in C3S hydrated paste. The non-exponential decay was interpreted as a distribution of discrete relaxation rates. The attribution of T1 is supported by both a spectral and a dispersion curve analyses. These experiments allow us to follow the structuration of the material during setting.