Nonetheless, we have used the get_peaks method to determine both the time of maximum heat flow t max and the maximum heat flow Qmax for all samples (Figure ). The increase in t max as a function of the dosage is approximately linear on a semi-log scale, i.e., if the y-axis is scaled logarithmically. Furthermore, the slopes of sucrose and etidronic acid are very similar at dosages larger than 2 µmol g -1 . The maximum heat flow Qmax gets smaller for larger retarder dosages. This effect is more pronounced for etidronic acid than for sucrose (Figure ). The decrease of Qmax is a known phenomenon for cement pastes with increasing amounts of retarders . Sucrose has a smaller effect on the maximum heat flow compared to etidronic acid if both retarders are compared at the same retardation time ( the main hydration peak has been interpreted as resulting from a slower precipitation of C-S-H for a sorbitol derivative recently . To demonstrate how sucrose and etidronic acid differ in their effects on broadening the C 3 S hydration peak, we plot Qmax against the time at which the peak occurs (t max ) instead of against the amount of retarder used.