Preparation and Performance of a Fluorine-Free and Alkali-Free Liquid Accelerator for Shotcrete

Based on aluminum sulfate,a fluorine-free and alkali-free liquid accelerator(FF-AF-A)was prepared in this study.The setting time and compressive strength of three cement types with different FF-AF-A dosages were fully investigated.The compatibility of the FF-AF-A with the superplasticizers were also investigated,and the early hydration behavior and morphology of the hydration products of reference cement paste with the FF-AF-A were explored by hydration heat,X-ray diffractometry(XRD),and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).Test results indicated that adding the FF-AF-A at 8 wt%of the cement weight resulted in 2 min 35 s initial setting time and 6 min 30 s final setting time.The 1-day compressive strength of the cement mortar with 8 wt%of FF-AF-A reached 13.5 MPa,which represents an increase of 35%as compared to the strength of cement mortar without the FF-AF-A,and the 28-day compressive strength ratio was 119%.In addition,the FF-AF-A also showed good compatibility with different superplasticizer dosages.The results show that,when the FF-AF-A was added to the cement paste,it promoted the formation of ettringite crystals due to the aluminum ions(Al^(3+))and sulfate ions(SO_(4)^(2-))reacted with gypsum in the cement,as well as promoted the hydration of tricalcium aluminate(C_(3)A)and tricalcium silicate(C3S)leading to the overall structure becomes more compact.As a consequence,the hydration heat rate of the cement sharply increased,the cement paste setting time is shortened,and the compressive strength of cement mortar is improved.