The formation of 1.13 nm tobermorite under hydrothermal conditions: 1. The influence of quartz grain size within the system CaO–SiO2–D2O

The influence of grain size of quartz on the formation of 1.13 nm tobermorite in aerated autoclaved concrete was investigated by applying in-situ neutron diffraction. Experiments were performed at 210 °C/Psat employing quartz of 8 μm and 16 μm, respectively. The results reveal changes in the reaction mechanism from solution control to diffusion control. The grain size of the quartz fraction clearly influences the occurrence of those changes. Based on those results an interpretation of former not clearly interpretable quenching experiments was performed. An interpretation using different reaction mechanisms for those experiments leads to a coherent picture of the reaction.