This term describes the process of the chemical reaction that is initiated immediately when the
ABIand the
cement are brought together. The hydration process starts on the surface of the cement particles and expands into the core. Thus there must always be enough water available so that the cement can react completely. This complete reaction process generally runs through 3 phases: stiffening, setting, and hardening. During the water-cement reaction process the surface of each individual cement particle enlarges to a multiple of its initial size. The fresh water-cement mix is the so-called
paste, a
suspension of more or less liquid to paste-like consistency depending on the ratio of water to cement (
ratio). In that state the cement paste is workable and is used e.g. for injections. The consistency influences the start of the stiffening phase and the cement paste becomes more and more viscous. Then the setting phase follows, i.e. the very viscous cement paste changes to solid state. During the final hardening phase, the solid cement paste turns into
stone.
