THE ROLE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPE IN THE INVESTIGATION OF CEMENT-BASED MATERIALS

The role of the environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) in t he study of cement-based materials is reviewed. Since water is an intr insic part of the microstructure of cement paste, techniques that faci litate the study of wet specimens are necessary. The evolution of tech niques is traced from standard microscopic methods to the use of the E SEM for in situ analysis. The importance of past and current work is d iscussed, including novel analytical methods designed for the study of cement pastes. Directions for future work are also discussed.