Modeling thixotropic behavior of fresh cement pastes

•A thixotropic model of fresh cement pastes is established and validated.•The breakdown of cement particle connections is considered.•The de-flocculation of fresh cement pastes can be well-described. It is crucial to describe the thixotropic behavior of cement-based materials, which plays an important role during the production process such as mold casting or 3D printing. This study establishes and validates a thixotropic model of fresh cement pastes considering de-flocculation using experimental data with different shear rates and water-to-cement ratios.