Tobermorite

Tobermorite

Tobermorite

Inosilicate alteration mineral in metamorphosed limestone and in skarn


Tobermorite is a calcium silicate hydrate mineral with chemical formula: Ca5Si6O16(OH)2·4H2O or Ca5Si6(O,OH)18·5H2O.

Quick Facts General, Category ...

Two structural varieties are distinguished: tobermorite-11 Å and tobermorite-14 Å. Tobermorite occurs in hydrated cement paste and can be found in nature as an alteration mineral in metamorphosed limestone and in skarn. It has been reported to occur in the Maqarin Area of north Jordan and in the Crestmore Quarry near Crestmore Heights, Riverside County, California.

Tobermorite was first described in 1880 for an occurrence in Scotland, on the Isle of Mull, around the locality of Tobermory.[3][5]

Use in Roman concrete

Aluminum-substituted tobermorite is understood to be a key ingredient responsible for the longevity of ancient undersea Roman concrete. The volcanic ash that Romans used for construction of sea walls contained phillipsite, and an interaction with sea water actually caused the crystalline structures in the concrete to expand and strengthen, making that material substantially more durable than modern concrete when exposed to sea water.[6][7][8]

Crystal structure of tobermorite: elementary unit cell.

Cement chemistry

Tobermorite is often used in thermodynamical calculations to represent the pole of the most evolved calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H). According to its chemical formula, its atomic Ca/Si or molar CaO/SiO2 (C/S) ratio is 5/6 (0.83). Jennite represents the less evolved pole with a C/S ratio of 1.50 (9/6).

See also

  • Other calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) minerals:
    • Afwillite – Nesosilicate alteration mineral also sometimes found in hydrated cement paste
    • Gyrolite – Rare phyllosilicate mineral crystallizing in spherules
    • Jennite – Inosilicate alteration mineral in metamorphosed limestone and in skarn
    • Thaumasite – Complex calcium silicate hydrate mineral
    • Xonotlite – Inosilicate mineral
  • Other calcium aluminium silicate hydrate, (C-A-S-H) minerals:
    • Hydrogarnet
    • Hydrogrossular
    • Hydrotalcite
    • Katoite
    • Tacharanite (Ca12Al2Si18O33(OH)36)

References

  1. Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
  2. Anthony, John W.; Bideaux, Richard A.; Bladh, Kenneth W.; Nichols, Monte C. (2005). "Tobermorite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineral Data Publishing. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  3. Mineralogy Database, Mindat.org, retrieved 27 July 2022
  4. Barthelmy, David (2014). "Lavendulan Mineral Data". Webmineral.com. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  5. Scottish physician and amateur mineralogist Matthew Forster Heddle (1828–1897) first described tobermorite in: Heddle (1880). "Preliminary notice of substances which may prove to be new minerals. Part second". Mineralogical Magazine and Journal of the Mineralogical Society. 4: 117–123. doi:10.1180/minmag.1880.004.18.04. See pp. 119–121.
  6. Jackson, Marie D.; Mulcahy, Sean R.; Chen, Heng; Li, Yao; Li, Qinfei; Cappelletti, Piergiulio; Wenk, Hans-Rudolf (2017). "Phillipsite and Al-tobermorite mineral cements produced through low-temperature water-rock reactions in Roman marine concrete". American Mineralogist. 102 (7): 1435–1450. Bibcode:2017AmMin.102.1435J. doi:10.2138/am-2017-5993CCBY. ISSN 0003-004X.

Further reading


Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Tobermorite, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.