Influence of aggregate size, water cement ratio and age on the microstructure of the interfacial transition zone

This paper presents the results of an investigation on the effect of water-cement ratio (w/c), aggregate size, and age on the microstructure of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between normal weight aggregate and the bulk cement paste. Backscattered electron images (BSE) obtained by scanning electron microscope were used to characterize the ITZ microstructure. The results suggest that the w/c plays an important role in controlling the microstructure of the ITZ and its thickness. Reducing w/c from 0.55 to 0.40 resulted in an ITZ with characteristics that are not distinguishable from those of the bulk paste as demonstrated by BSE images. Aggregate size appears to have an important influence on the ITZ characteristics. Reducing the aggregate size tends to reduce the ITZ porosity. The evolution of the ITZ microstructure relative to that of the bulk paste appears to depend on the initial content of the unhydrated cement grains (UH). The results suggest that the presence of a relatively low amount of UH in the ITZ at early age may cause the porosity of the ITZ, relative to that of the bulk paste, to increase with time. The presence of relatively large amount of UH in the ITZ at early ages may cause its porosity, relative to that of the bulk paste, to decrease with time. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.