Supercritical carbonation of calcareous composites: Influence of mix design

This work combined compression moulding with subsequent super-critical carbonation treatment (100 bar, 60 degrees C, 24 h) to fabricate cement and/or lime based ceramic composites with various aggregates. Composites were examined using mechanical testing, XRD. He pycnometry and thin-section petrography. Composites with lime-only binders were significantly weaker than those with cement-lime binders regardless of the degree of carbonation. Flexural strengths in excess of >10 MPa were routinely achieved in large (>100 mm) specimens. Aggregate type (calcareous vs. siliceous) had a significant effect on the microstructure and properties of the composites. Calcareous aggregates appear to augment the strength enhancement effected during super-critical carbonation by encouraging preferential precipitation of calcite at the binder-aggregate interface. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.