Comparison of Ordinary Pores with Internal Cured Pores Produced by Superabsorbent Polymers

Abstract

Porous cementitious mixtures were prepared with two different spherical particles: expanded polystyrene (EPS) and superabsorbent polymer (SAP). The effect of EPS and SAP on the compressive strength, ultrasonic transmission, internal relative humidity and hydration degree under different volume fraction were studied. Results indicated that SAP matrix possessed much higher compressive strength (30-60%, 28d), ultrasonic transmission velocity, internal humidity (11-13%RH, 28d) and hydration degree (13-21%, 28d) than EPS matrix, which indicated that the desorption of SAP accelerated the hydration and increased the compactness of the surrounding cement paste. The internal cured pores left by SAP might have been strengthened which was different from ordinary pores produced by EPS.