The influence of L-arginine as an additive on the compressive strength and hydration reaction of Portland cement

The concrete quality relies on general factors like preparation technique, uniformity of the compaction, amount and appropriateness of the additives. The current article investigates the impact of a well knows amino acid, L-arginine as an additive on water requirements, setting durations and characterization of various cement samples. Compressive strength tests of reference and L-arginine added cements at age of 2, 7 and 28 days were carried out according to TS-EN 196-1. Samples were blended by incorporating various amounts of L-arginine (25 ppm, 50 ppm and 75 ppm) in the cement water mixture which were tested with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) on the 28th day. Results revealed that L-arginine does not affect the setting time, volume expansion of cement and water demands negatively; rather it imparts enhanced sustainability to the samples. It was determined that the highest value belonged to the 75L mortar with an increase of 2.6% compared to the reference sample when the compressive strengths of all mortars were compared on the 28th day. Besides, it has been observed that the development of calcium silicate hydrate or C–S–H gel, calcium hydroxide or CH and other hydrated products are associated with each other. L-arginine definitely has a contribution in the consumption of CH formed in the hydration process.