Influence of Controlled Cooling Rates on Clinker Microstructure and Phase Evolution with Machine Learning-Based Compressive Strength Prediction

The effect of cooling rate on Portland cement clinker was studied using six regimes (2-100 C/min) after sintering at 1450 C.X-ray diffraction rietveld refinement and optical analyses revealed that slow cooling stabilized monoclinic-C 3 S and -C 2 S, while rapid quenching produced triclinic-C 3 S and -C 2 S, thereby reducing reactivity.A random forest model was used to predict compressive strength (R 2 = 0.92) based on phase and microstructure data.Moderate cooling (20-50 C/min) resulted in optimal strength and phase stability.The results indicate that controlled cooling governs clinker reactivity and data driven modeling enables reliable prediction of mechanical performance for sustainable, high-efficiency cement production.