The objective of this research was to develop high performing polymer modified calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement materials for use in applications requiring superior adhesion characteristics. Little information is available describing interactions of CSA cement containing minor phase tri-calcium aluminate (C3A) with commonly used admixtures. Given the scarcity of information, a basic approach for developing cementitious materials was followed. The basic approach consisted of four tasks: cement design, admixture design, polymer design and testing developed materials. The iterative, time consuming process is necessary for understanding the influence of specific constituent components on overall system behavior. Results from the cement design task suggest calcium sulfate type influences microstructural characteristics and strength development for materials based upon the experimental CSA cement. Results from the admixture design task suggest lithium carbonate and tartaric acid are effective accelerating and retarding admixtures for hydration reactions including reactants yeelimite, calcium sulfate and water. Results from the polymer design task suggest vinyl acetate / ethylene (VAE) dispersible polymer powders (DPP) are compatible with systems containing the experimental CSA cement and other commonly used admixtures. Additionally, results from the polymer design task highlight a method for specifying the ductile behavior of materials containing the experimental CSA cement as majority hydraulic binding agent. Finally, results from the testing of developed materials task suggests adhesion performance for materials containing the experimental CSA cement can be influenced by adjusting the ratio of polymer to hydraulic binding agent in material formulations. Polymer modified CSA cement mortars demonstrated bond strength resulting in substrate failure when cast over porous concrete substrates. Developed mortars demonstrated consistent bonding performance when applied to non-porous substrate materials, metal and glass. Select polymer modified mortars displayed adhesion bond performance such that the glass substrate materials fractured during pull off testing.

Synthèse et hydratation de la phase ye’elimite Les ciments riches en ye’elimite ou les ciments sulfoalumineux (CSA) sont commercialisés pour la préparation des bétons à compensation de retrait. De plus, les ciments CSA présentent des caractéristiques écologiques associées à leur production, notamment une réduction de l'empreinte CO2. Le comportement expansif des ciments CSA est principalement contrôlé par la quantité de la phase ettringite, cette dernière est produite lors de l’hydratation de la phase importante, la ye’elimite [Ca4 (Al6O12)SO4]. Cette thèse présente, d’une part, les conditions optimales pour la synthèse de la phase ye’elimite la plus pure possible par des réactions à l’état solide, et d’autre part, une description fondamentale des mécanismes de formation de cette phase. Un autre aspect de ce travail vise à étudier l’influence de la finesse et de l’addition d’acide citrique sur la dissolution de la phase ye’elimite. Pour l’étude de l’effet de la finesse, une poudre fine et pure de ye’elimite a été synthétisée par des méthodes sol-gel, ces dernières méthodes de synthèse ont été développées d’une manière originale dans notre thèse. Plusieurs techniques expérimentales ont été réalisées pour mener à bien les différents aspects de la présente thèse, à savoir l'analyse quantitative par DRX (méthode Rietveld), l’analyse thermique (ATG, ATD, et dilatométrie), MEB (imagerie en rétrodiffusé et cartographie EDS), l’analyse BET, l’analyse granulométrique par diffraction laser, et l’analyse d'images (porosité 2D et analyse granulométrique 2D). / A Synthesis and hydration of ye’elimite Ye’elimite-rich cements or calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cements are commercialized to prepare shrinkage compensation and self-stressing concretes. Moreover, CSA cements show environmentally friendly characteristics associated to their production, which include reduced CO2 footprint. The expansive behavior of CSA cements is mainly controlled by ettringite amount, produced upon hydration of the key-phase, ye’elimite [Ca4(Al6O12)SO4]. This work presents, on one hand, the optimal conditions for the synthesis highly pure ye’elimite by solid state reactions, and on the other hand, it shows a fundamental description of ye’elimite formation mechanisms. Another aspect of the study encompasses the influence of fineness and citric acid addition on ye’elimite phase dissolution, then on hydrates composition of lab made ye’elimite-rich cement. For the fineness effect study, a highly fine and pure ye’elimite was originally synthetized by sol-gel methods. Various experimental techniques were performed to conduct the different aspects of the present study, namely XRD-Quantitative Rietveld analysis, Thermal analysis (TGA, DTG, DTA and Dilatometry), SEM (BSE imaging and EDS mapping), BET analysis, PSD by laser diffraction, and Image analysis (2D porosity and 2D PSD).