Mechanical properties of crystalline calcium‐silicate‐hydrates: comparison with cementitious C‐S‐H gels

Abstract This work explores from a theoretical viewpoint the mechanical properties of the most important hydration product present in cementitious environments, the so called C‐S‐H (calcium‐silicate‐hydrate) gel. The dependence of the bulk ( K ), shear ( G ) and Young's ( E ) modulus for the C‐S‐H crystals respect to its composition and the length of its silicate chains is analysed by lattice dynamic simulations with parameterised two‐body and three‐body potentials. Our simulations reveal that the mechanical properties of C‐S‐H crystals show a strong dependence on their composition. Nevertheless our calculated numbers systematically overestimate the experimental values for C‐S‐H gels. Only when the finite length of the silicate chains is taken into account this discrepancy disappears. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)