Effect of early age curing carbonation on the mechanical properties and durability of high initial strength Portland cement and lime-pozolan composites reinforced with long sisal fibres

This paper presents the results of a study about the mechanical behaviour, before and after aging, of two cement based composites reinforced with long sisal fibres cured at early age in a CO2 environment. After curing, samples of both composite systems were submitted to wetting and drying cycles to accelerate the aging of the materials allowing the evaluating of the efficiency of the CO2 treatment. Besides promoting CO2 capture, the used cure also allowed the increase in the durability of the sisal fibre-cement based composites by the Calcium Hydroxide (CH) consumption and pH decrease promoted by the carbonation reactions. The lime-pozzolanic material composite was also treated with CO2 at early stages of formation, with the carbonation and pozzolanic reactions acting simultaneously to deplete the Ca(OH)(2) thus improving its durability. Four-point bending test, thermogravimetry analysis of the matrix and SEM analysis of the fibres were done before and after aging to study the durability mechanisms of the composites. The obtained results showed that the CH free cement-based composite containing metakaolin and fly ash presented the best mechanical behaviour before and after accelerated aging. The early age carbonation of the lime-pozolan composites improved its mechanical response, before and after accelerated aging, when compared with the non-carbonated samples. The thermogravimetry test showed that the increase of the carbonation time of the reference Portland cement-based composite consumed the C-S-H, compromising the ductility and strain capacity of this composite family after aging. The SEM pictures showed petrified fibre effect by the migration of hydrated products after 10 and 20 cycles of ageing for this composite system.