Abstract:Hydration and expansion properties of shrinkage compensating composite cementitious materials were studied. The results show that sulfoaluminate as calcium expansive agent will result in a larger expansion and a greater expansion speed in early ages, so it is more suitable for the preparation of high strength shrinkage compensating concrete. During the hydration process, when the water is sufficient, expansive agent and cement promote the hydration in early ages. While the water is in shortage, promotion changes to restraint. The effect of expansive agent for the hydration process is greater than the cement, so it grabbed the water firstly. In the case of the low water cement ratio, expansive agent will also generate many ettringite and produce appropriate expansion. When the content of expansive agent is fixed, the eff ectiveness of expansion performance is closely related to the microstructure of hardened binder pastes.