Clinkering and hydration of alite-belite-ye'elimite cement with increasing ye'elimite percentage

Alite-belite-ye'elimite (ABY) cement is considered to be eco-cements with adequate mechanical properties and fewer CO₂ emissions. The phase assemblage and ye'elimite content of ABY cement play a very important role in cement properties. In this study, ABY clinkers with increasing ye'elimite percentage (0.3 wt%-36.4 wt%) were prepared at 1300 °C and the phase composition was characterized by Rietveld Quantitative Phase Analysis combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The ye'elimite formed with a calculated composition of Ca_3.92Mg_0.02Al_2.81Fe_0.05Si_0.04S_1.16, incorporating additional sulfur compared to the theoretical value. In addition, the hydration properties of heat evolution, hydration products and compressive strength of ABY cement are studied. The result shows that the increase of ye'elimite content leads to a more intense initial heat release and a higher cumulative heat release. The presence of ye'elimite inhibits the hydration of alite at early ages. ABY mortars with increasing ye'elimite (15.8 wt%) exhibited a higher strength (29.6 MPa) at 3 days by the contribution of ye'elimite hydration, and an increase (47.4 MPa) at 28 days. An adequate proportion of ye'elimite (<15 wt%) is favorable to the performance of ABY cement, and releases 12 % less CO₂.