Compositions for producing architectural cementitious structures having decorative aggregate-containing cementitious surfaces and processes therefor

Abstract

A packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition for mixing with predetermined amounts of a decorative aggregate and water for producing a decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry for applying to a base, and for producing a durable surface with exposed decorative aggregate; and process for producing a decorative aggregate-containing surface. The composition comprising about 50% to about 79% of a quartzitic silica blend; about 20% to about 35% of a hydraulic cement selected from the group consisting of Type V hydraulic cement and white portland cement; a particulate material selected from the group consisting of fly ash not exceeding about 8%, silica fume not exceeding about 5% and mixtures thereof; optionally, a superplasticizer or water reducer; and an optional substance selected from the group consisting of shrinkage reducers, alkali-silica reactivity controllers, colorants, permeability reducers and mixtures thereof.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition for use in mixing with predetermined amounts of a decorative aggregate and water for producing a decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry for pouring, troweling and curing on a base, and for producing a durable decorative aggregate-containing surface bonded to the base, the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition being free of additives selected from the group consisting of gypsum, limestone, reactive resins and hardeners therefor, epoxy and mixtures thereof, the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition not requiring curing at an elevated temperature, the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition comprising: 
 (a) a quartzitic silica blend;    (b) a hydraulic cement selected from the group consisting of Type V hydraulic cement and white portland cement;    (c) a particulate material selected from the group consisting of fly ash, silica fume and mixtures thereof;    (d) optionally, a superplasticizer; and    (e) an optional substance selected from the group consisting of shrinkage reducers, alkali-silica reactivity controllers, colorants, permeability reducers and mixtures thereof, and    wherein an amount of the quartzitic silica blend is between about 50% to about 79% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition,    wherein an amount of the hydraulic cement is between about 20% to about 35% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition,    wherein an amount of the fly ash if present does not exceed about 8% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition, and    wherein an amount of the silica fume if present does not exceed about 5% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.    
     
     
         2 . A packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition for use in mixing with predetermined amounts of a decorative aggregate and water for producing a decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry for pouring, troweling and curing on a base, and for producing a durable decorative aggregate-containing surface bonded to the base, the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition consisting essentially of: 
 (a) a quartzitic silica blend;    (b) a hydraulic cement selected from the group consisting of Type V hydraulic cement and white portland cement;    (c) a particulate material selected from the group consisting of fly ash, silica fume and mixtures thereof;    (d) optionally, a superplasticizer; and    (e) an optional substance selected from the group consisting of shrinkage reducers, alkali-silica reactivity controllers, colorants, permeability reducers and mixtures thereof, and    wherein an amount of the quartzitic silica blend is between about 50% to about 79% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition,    wherein an amount of the hydraulic cement is between about 20% to about 35% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition,    wherein an amount of the fly ash if present does not exceed about 8% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition, and    wherein an amount of the silica fume if present does not exceed about 5% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.    
     
     
         3 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein 
 the quartzitic silica blend is between about 55% and about 75% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition,    the hydraulic cement is between about 22% and about 33% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition,    the fly ash does not exceed about 7% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition, and    the silica fume does not exceed about 4% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.    
     
     
         4 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein 
 the quartzitic silica blend is between about 60% and about 70% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition,    the hydraulic cement is between about 25% and about 32% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition,    the fly ash is at least about 5% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition, and    the silica fume does not exceed about 3.5% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.    
     
     
         5 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the quartzitic silica blend is at least about 55% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.  
     
     
         6 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the quartzitic silica blend is no greater than about 75% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.  
     
     
         7 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the blended quartzitic silica that when characterized using Standard Sieve Sizes 4, 8, 16, 30, 50 and 100 has a particle size of: 
 about 0% larger than Standard Sieve Size 4,    between about 4% and about 8% smaller than Standard Sieve Size 4 and larger than Standard Sieve Size 8,    between about 17% and about 25% smaller than Standard Sieve Size 8 and larger than Standard Sieve Size 16,    between about 16% and about 25% smaller than Standard Sieve Size 16 and larger than Standard Sieve Size 30,    between about 20% and about 25% smaller than Standard Sieve Size 30 and larger than Standard Sieve Size 50,    between about 14% and about 19% smaller than Standard Sieve Size 50 and larger than Standard Sieve Size 100, and    no more than about 7% smaller than Standard Sieve Size 200.    
     
     
         8 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the blended quartzitic silica is produced from Sand Size Nos. 16, 20, 30 and 60 has a particle size of about 25% Sand Size No. 16, about 37% Sand Size No. 20, about 25% Sand Size No. 30, and about 13% Sand Size No. 60.  
     
     
         9 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the blended quartzitic silica that when characterized using Standard Sieve Sizes 4, 8, 16, 30, 50 and 100 has a fineness modulus of about 2.5.  
     
     
         10 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the blended quartzitic silica has a silica content of at least about 80%.  
     
     
         11 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the hydraulic cement is at least about 22% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.  
     
     
         12 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the hydraulic cement is no greater than about 33% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.  
     
     
         13 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the hydraulic cement is Type V portland cement.  
     
     
         14 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the hydraulic cement is white portland cement.  
     
     
         15 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition contains fly ash and the fly ash is no greater than about 8% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.  
     
     
         16 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition contains fly ash and the fly ash is at least about 5% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.  
     
     
         17 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition contains fly ash and the fly ash is between about 5% and about 7% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.  
     
     
         18 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein silica fume is at least about 0.5% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.  
     
     
         19 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the silica fume is no greater than about 4% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.  
     
     
         20 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition contains silica fume and the silica fume is between about 1% to about 5% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.  
     
     
         21 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition contains superplasticizer and the superplasticizer is up to about 3% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.  
     
     
         22 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition contains superplasticizer and the superplasticizer is between about 0.3% and about 1.5% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.  
     
     
         23 . The packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition of  claim 2 , wherein the superplasticizer is a packaged dry solid superplasticizer.  
     
     
         24 . A packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition consisting of: 
 (a) a quartzitic silica blend;    (b) a hydraulic cement selected from the group consisting of Type V hydraulic cement and white portland cement;    (c) a particulate material selected from the group consisting of fly ash, silica fume and mixtures thereof;    (d) optionally, a superplasticizer; and    (e) an optional substance selected from the group consisting of shrinkage reducers, alkali-silica reactivity controllers, colorants, permeability reducers and mixtures thereof,    wherein an amount of the quartzitic silica blend is between about 50% to about 79% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition,    wherein an amount of the hydraulic cement is between about 20% to about 35% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition,    wherein an amount of the fly ash if present does not exceed about 8% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition, and    wherein an amount of the silica fume if present does not exceed about 5% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition.    
     
     
         25 . A decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry for use in producing a decorative aggregate-containing surface, the decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry comprising: 
 (a) a packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition consisting essentially of: 
 (i) a quartzitic silica blend;  
 (ii) a hydraulic cement selected from the group consisting of Type V hydraulic cement and white portland cement;  
 (iii) a particulate material selected from the group consisting of fly ash, silica fume and mixtures thereof;  
 (iv) optionally, a superplasticizer; and  
 (v) an optional substance selected from the group consisting of shrinkage reducers, alkali-silica reactivity controllers, colorants, permeability reducers and mixtures thereof, and 
 wherein an amount of the quartzitic silica blend is between about 50% to about 79% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition,  
 wherein an amount of the hydraulic cement is between about 20% to about 35% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition,  
 wherein an amount of the fly ash if present does not exceed about 8% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition, and  
 wherein an amount of the silica fume if present does not exceed about 5% of the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition;  
 
   (b) a decorative aggregate wherein the weight ratio of decorative aggregate to packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition is between about 20/60 to about 50/60; and    (c) water in an amount that when mixed with the packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition and the decorative aggregate produces slurry having a slump of at least about 2 inches.    
     
     
         26 . The decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry of  claim 25 , wherein the weight ratio of decorative aggregate to packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition is between about 35/60 to about 45/60.  
     
     
         27 . The decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry of  claim 25 , wherein the weight ratio of decorative aggregate to packaged dry blended cementitious matrix composition is about 40/60.  
     
     
         28 . A decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry of  claim 25 , wherein the amount of water produces slurry having a slump of at least about 3 inches.  
     
     
         29 . A decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry of  claim 25 , wherein the amount of water produces slurry having a slump of from about 3 inches to about 5 inches.  
     
     
         30 . A decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry of  claim 25 , further comprising a superplasticizer.  
     
     
         31 . A process for producing a monolithic architectural cementitious structure having a decorative aggregate-containing cementitious surface comprising: 
 a. forming a freshly poured cementitious base that is free of decorative aggregate;    b. preparing a decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry having at least decorative aggregate and cementitious matrix composition operable for forming a monolithic structure when applied to the freshly poured cementitious base and simultaneously cured therewith;    c. pouring an amount of the decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry having a slump of at least about 2 inches on the freshly poured cementitious base within a period of time after forming the freshly poured cementitious base, effective for forming a monolithic structure, when simultaneously cured with the freshly poured cementitious base, 
 the amount of the decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry producing a decorative aggregate-containing cementitious layer having a thickness operable, when cured, for permanently securing the decorative aggregate therein,  
 at least a portion of the decorative aggregate forming a portion of a surface of the decorative aggregate-containing cementitious layer; and  
   d. simultaneously curing 
 i. the decorative aggregate-containing cementitious slurry poured on the freshly poured cementitious base, with  
 ii. the freshly poured cementitious base, for a period of time effective for producing the monolithic architectural cementitious structure having the decorative aggregate-containing cementitious surface.  
   
     
     
         32 . The process of  claim 31 , wherein the slump is at least about 3 inches.  
     
     
         33 . The process of  claim 31 , wherein the slump is no greater than about 6 inches.  
     
     
         34 . The process of  claim 31 , wherein the slump is no greater than about 5 inches.