Low-carbon microwave curing of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3): Performance and mechanism

Limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) incorporates calcined clay and limestone as supplementary cementitious materials that can replace up to 50 % of conventional cement, significantly reducing the carbon emissions associated with cement production. However, challenges remain, including the inefficiencies of traditional curing methods and suboptimal early strength properties. Consequently, this study presents the low-carbon microwave curing approach for LC3 mortar. A comparative analysis of 15 different microwave curing systems was carried out. The results show that the optimum microwave curing efficiency is 300 W of heating power, 5 minutes of heating, 25 minutes of rest, and eight cycles. Three curing methods, including microwave curing, standard curing, and steam curing, were also compared. Microwave curing significantly increased the early strength of LC3 mortar, with 1-day compressive strength 1.78 times greater than standard curing and 1.26 times greater than steam curing. Microscopic studies show that the “thermal effect” of microwaving increases the internal Hc content of LC3, promotes the secondary hydration reaction of Ca(OH)2 within the LC3 material, and reduces the porosity of LC3, achieving reductions of 37.8 % and 8.9 % compared to standard and steam curing, respectively. This helps to improve the efficiency of the curing process. The results of this research will advance the use of low-carbon LC3 in building structures.