Data of Article : Hydration mechanisms in Roman seawater concrete: Archaeological analogue for validation of long-term ageing reactive transport model
Published by Mejdi NEJI
About this dataset
Data (Raw data with post-processing script) related to the publication of article : Hydration mechanisms in Roman seawater concrete. Raw Data Formats: .bcf: SEM-EDS Hyperspectral Bruker format .xrdml: XRD Malvern Panalytical format .htc: Reactive transport Hytec format Software Used for Post-Processing: .ipynb: Jupyter Notebook (Python) .xlsx: Microsoft Excel .HPF2: Malvern Panalytical HighScore Plus Abstract : Cement-based materials are considered for sealing plugs in deep geological disposal of radioactive waste. Ensuring their long-term durability is critical for safety over millennia. The Roman Concrete (RoC) project uses ancient Roman underwater concretes as analogues to validate reactive transport models for long-term ageing. This study focuses on hydration mechanisms in Roman concrete made with Phlegrean pozzolan, slaked lime, and seawater. Various techniques (XRD, SEM-EDS, NMR, nanoindentation, microtomography, ICP-OES, ion chromatography) were used to characterize hydration products. Casting underwater led to aragonite and brucite layers with a 60 GPa Young’s modulus, protecting the concrete from further degradation. In the core, pozzolanic reactions produce C-(A)-S-H phases (Ca/Si = 1.2; Al/Si = 0.2) with a modulus of 12 GPa. HYTEC modeling confirmed the mechanism: incongruent pozzolan dissolution releases ions (K⁺, SiO₄⁴⁻, Al³⁺, Na⁺), promoting C-(A)-S-H formation and portlandite consumption.