In this paper, two kinds of pumice particles with different diameters and water absorption rates are employed to substitute the corresponding size of river sands by volume fraction, and their effects on the hydration characteristics and persistent shrinkage of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) are investigated. The obtained experimental results show that adopting a low dosage of 0.6⁻1.25 mm saturated pumice as the internal curing agent in UHPC can effectively retract the persistent shrinkage deformation of concrete without a decrease of strength. Heat flow calorimetry results demonstrate that the additional water has a retarding effect and promotes the hydration process. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Differential Thermal Gravimetry (DTG) are utilized to quantify the Ca(OH)₂ content in the hardened paste, which can confirm that the external moisture could accelerate the early cement hydration and secondary hydration of active mineral admixtures. The Ca/Si ratio of C⁻S⁻H calculated by the Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) reveals that the incorporation of wet pumice can transform the composition and structure of hydration products in its effective area.
Keywords: Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC); hydration characteristic; long-term drying shrinkage; optimization; porous pumice.