Effects of Water Absorption and Size of Superabsorbent Polymers on Internal Curing of Cement Paste

In recent years, superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) are considered as promising material for internal curing of cement-based materials, however, the relationship between SAPs structure and its performance are still unclear. In this paper, SAPs with different water absorption and size were selected to discuss their effect on autogenous deformation of cement paste and strength of mortars. Results indicated that SAPs with large-size and high-water absorption had positive effect on autogenous shrinkage reduction. The influence of SAPs on mortar mechanical properties revealed that SPAs seemed to have no negative effect on the strength of cement past. The increase of the strength might be from the decreased water/cement (w/c) ratio due to the water absorption by SAPs.