Alkali activation of a slag at ambient and elevated temperatures

Strength development of alkali activated slag (AAS) mortars, activated using alkali hydroxide and sodium silicate, was investigated at room and elevated temperatures. Heat evolution at room temperature was measured using isothermal calorimetry. Important differences were observed between critical activation parameters. Heat cured specimens gain strength rapidly, humid oven conditions being favorable, but given sufficient time room temperature curing yields comparable strengths. Both activators are needed for high strength at room temperature, NaOH solution is more critical and its concentration greatly influences strength. At 80 °C however, sodium silicate is essential and even sufficient. KOH is more effective than NaOH at 80 °C, but not at room temperature. Lower water-to-slag ratios give higher strength at early ages. AAS hydration evolves less heat than Portland cement hydration. Time to significant strength gain of mixtures can be predicted using their time and heat evolution at setting. Twenty eight-day strength of AAS mortars is roughly related to total evolved heat and increases nearly linearly with the amount of NaOH activator for fixed water glass content.     

Artificial neural networks for prediction of percentage of water absorption of geopolymers produced by waste ashes

In the present work, percentage of water absorption of geopolymers made from seeded fly ash and rice husk bark ash has been predicted by artificial neural networks. Different specimens, made from a mixture of fly ash and rice husk bark ash in fine and coarse form together with alkali activator made of water glass and NaOH solution, were subjected to permeability tests at 7 and 28 days of curing. The curing regime was different: one set cured at room temperature until reaching to 7 and 28 days and the other sets were oven cured for 36 h at a range of 40–90 °C and then cured at room temperature for 7 and 28 days. To build the model, training and testing using experimental results from 120 specimens were conducted. According to these input parameters, in the neural networks model, the percentage of water absorption of each specimen was predicted. The training and testing results in the neural networks model have shown a strong potential for predicting the percentage of water absorption of the geopolymer specimens.     

Compressive strength of ash-based geopolymers at early ages designed by Taguchi method

In the present work, compressive strength of ash-based geopolymers has been designed by Taguchi method at 2 and 7 days of water curing. Three factors including oven curing temperature (at 3 levels of 25, 70, and 90 °C), oven curing time (at 3 levels of 2, 4, and 8 h) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentration (at 3 levels of 5, 8, and 12 M) were considered. By utilizing L9 Taguchi array, 9 series of experiments were conducted on the prepared specimens. The aluminosilicate source was a mixture of fly ash and rice husk ash while the alkali activating was done by a mixture of NaOH and sodium silicate solution. The obtained results were evaluated by analysis of variance (ANOVA) method to determine the optimum level of each factor. In all produced specimens, the optimum level of oven curing temperature was always 90 °C to achieve the highest compressive strength. Furthermore, the optimum strength was obtained by applying light and middle concentration of NaOH in approximately all specimens. Finally, the oven curing time was not an important factor to determine the compressive strength. To validate the accuracy of the optimum conditions suggested by ANOVA, compressive specimens were made and tested in accordance to the optimum conditions for each of 2 and 7 days water curing regimes. The compressive strength acquired from this situation was higher than those of proposed in initial 9 series of experiments for each of 2 and 7 days water curing regimes.     

Influence of curing conditions on properties of high calcium fly ash geopolymer containing Portland cement as additive

This paper investigated the mechanical properties and microstructure of high calcium fly ash geopolymer containing ordinary Portland cement (OPC) as additive with different curing conditions. Fly ash (FA) was replaced with OPC at dosages of 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% by weight of binders. Setting time and microstructure of geopolymer pastes, and flow, compressive strength, porosity and water absorption of geopolymer mortars were studied. Three curing methods viz., vapour-proof membrane curing, wet curing and temperature curing were used. The results showed that the use of OPC as additive improved the properties of high calcium fly ash geopolymer. The strength increased due to the formation of additional C–S–H and C–A–S–H gel. Curing methods also significantly affected the properties of geopolymers with OPC. Vapour-proof membrane curing and water curing resulted in additional OPC hydration and led to higher compressive strength. The temperature curing resulted in a high early compressive strength development.     

Flexural behavior of geopolymer composites reinforced with steel and polypropylene macro fibers

Like ordinary Portland cement concrete, the matrix brittleness in geopolymer composites can be reduced by introducing appropriate fiber reinforcement. Several studies on fiber reinforced geopolymer composites are available, however there is still a gap to understand and optimize their performance. This paper presents the flexural behavior of fly ash-based geopolymer composites reinforced with different types of macro steel and polypropylene fibers with higher aspect ratio. Three types (length-deformed, end-deformed and straight) of steel fibers and another type of length-deformed polypropylene fiber with optimum fiber volume fraction of 0.5% are studied. The effects of different geometries of the fibers, curing regimes (ambient cured and heat cured at 60 °C for 24 h) and concentration of NaOH activator (10 M and 12 M) on the first peak strength, modulus of rupture and toughness of the geopolymer composites are investigated. The quantitative effect of fiber geometry on geopolymer composite performance was also analyzed through a fiber deformation ratio. The compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural toughness are significantly improved with macro fibers reinforcement and heat curing. The results also show that heat curing increases the first peak load of all fiber-reinforced geopolymers composites. End-deformed steel fibers exhibit the most ductile flexural response compared to other steel fibers in both heat and ambient-cured fiber reinforced geopolymer composites.     

Compressive strength and drying shrinkage of fly ash-bottom ash-silica fume multi-blended cement mortars

This paper studies the physical properties, compressive strength and drying shrinkage of multi-blended cement under different curing methods. Fly ash, ground bottom ash and undensified silica fume were used to replace part of cement up to 50% by weight. Specimens were cured in air at ambient temperature, water at 25, 40 and 60 °C, sealed with plastic sheeting for 28 days. The results show that absorption and volume of permeable pore space (voids) of blended cement mortars at 28 day under all curing methods tend to increase with increasing silica fume replacement. The compressive strength of blended cement with fly ash and bottom ash was lower than that of Portland cement control at all curing condition while blended cement with silica fume shows higher compressive strength. In addition, the compressive strength of specimens cured with water increased with increasing curing temperature. The drying shrinkage of all blended cement mortar cured in air was lower than that of Portland cement control while the drying shrinkage of blended cement mortar containing silica fume, cured with plastic sealed and water at 25 °C was higher than Portland cement control due to pore refinement and high autogenous shrinkage. However, the drying shrinkage of blended cement mortar containing SF cured with water at 60 °C was lower than that of Portland cement control due to lower autogenous shrinkage and the reduced microporosity of C–S–H.     

Reuse of cement-solidified municipal incinerator fly ash in cement mortars: physico-mechanical and leaching characteristics

The reuse of cement-solidified Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator (MSWI) fly ash (solidified/stabilised (S/S) product) as an artificial aggregate in Portland cement mortars was investigated. The S/S product consisted of a mixture of 48 wt.% washed MSWI fly ash, 20 wt.% Portland cement and 32 wt.% water, aged for 365 days at 20 degrees C and 100% RH. Cement mortars (water/cement weight ratio=0.62) were made with Portland cement, S/S product and natural sand at three replacement levels of sand with S/S product (0%, 10% and 50% by mass). After 28 days of curing at 20 degrees C and 100% RH, the mortar specimens were characterised for their physico-mechanical (porosity, compressive strength) and leaching behaviour. No retardation in strength development, relatively high compressive strengths (up to 36 N/mm2) and low leaching rates of heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn) were always recorded. The leaching data from sequential leach tests on monolithic specimens were successfully elaborated with a pseudo-diffusional model including a chemical retardation factor related to the partial dissolution of contaminant.     

Long-term strength development of concrete in arid conditions

A long-term investigation into the development of the compressive strength of various concretes, subjected to Kuwait hot and arid environmental conditions is reported. The main parameters investigated included, w/c ratio, cement type and content, and admixture type and its dosage. Other parameters investigated included the effects of using different water curing periods, curing compounds, and casting season. Forty-seven different mixes were placed on the roof of the laboratory building and were exposed to the environment. Compression tests on 100 mm cubes were carried out over a period in excess of five years.The results generally showed that the compressive strength of the concrete increased with age. The gain in strength at 1800 days above that at 28 days varied considerably depending on the concrete constituents and curing procedure. Concretes made with white Portland cement achieved higher compressive strengths than those made with ordinary or sulphate resisting Portland cements. Also, the type and dosage of admixture influenced the compressive strength of concrete. An increase in the water-curing period was more effective in improving the 28-day compressive strength than the 1800-day strength. The use of curing compounds or silica fume appeared to influence the early age strength more than the long-term strength. Compression test results from selected mixes at the age of 10 years indicated that there was little or no increase in strength during the previous five years.     

Potential utilization of class C fly ash-based geopolymer in oil well cementing operations

The early age compressive strength development of class C fly ash-based geopolymers under high pressure and high temperatures of curing is considered as an alternative to well cements. Uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) results show how the curing temperature affects the early compressive strength development. As the temperature rises from 87 to 125 °C, a consecutive reaction seems to take place at the higher concentrations of NaOH, which decrease the compressive strength at the higher temperature. The taken scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show a change in the morphology of the samples at 125 °C with the higher concentrations of NaOH. Ultrasonic cement analyzers (UCA) were employed to investigate the instantaneous strength development of the geopolymeric slurries. As the common cement models were not able to assess the compressive strength development, the custom algorithm option in the UCA software was applied. The developed empirical correlations were not able to accurately estimate the sonic strength of the slurries remarkably at 125 °C. The rheological measurements of the prepared geopolymeric slurries showed a Newtonian like behavior.     

Effect of binder type and content on physical and mechanical properties of geopolymers

In this study, the physical and mechanical behaviors of geopolymers prepared by using different amounts of silica fume and calcium hydroxide as binding materials, acidic pumice as fine aggregate and waste aluminium particles as air-entraining agent were investigated. Test results showed that binder types, amount of binders and alkali activator (sodium hydroxide) significantly affected the physical and mechanical behavior of geopolymer specimens. Bulk density, compressive and flexural strength decreased with the higher alkali activator content. Addition of waste aluminium particles led to decrease in bulk density and strength due to the some extent of entrained air. In the case of same alkali activator content, compressive and flexural strength increased with increase in silica fume and calcium hydroxide up to a certain level.     

Characterisation of ground hydrated Portland cement-based mortar as an additive to alkali-activated slag cement

The sustainable development of cement manufacturing requires extension of the raw material base, including large-tonnage waste. Hydrated mortar waste is a promising mineral resource for the production of Portland cements and alternative binders, such as alkali-activated slag cement. The influences of ground-hydrated mortar aged for 3 months on the properties of alkali-activated slag fresh and hardened pastes were performed. The results show that the properties are dependent on the concentration (2.5–60%), cement:sand ratio (1:1–3) and fineness (200–600 m²/kg) of the ground hydrated mortar; the alkali activator (sodium carbonate and sodium silicate); and the curing conditions (normal conditions and steam curing). The fresh paste properties that we considered in this study included the water requirement and the setting time; the hardened paste properties we considered were the water absorption, the density, and the compressive strength after 2, 7, 14, 28, 180 and 360 days of ageing. The ground hydrated mortar improved the early strength and the long-term strength of the alkali-activated slag paste and replaced the slag up to 50%. The factors that affecting the strength of the alkali-activated slag cement with ground hydrated mortar as an additive were, in order of influence, alkali activator type > curing conditions > cement:sand ratio > ground-hydrated mortar fineness.     

High effective silica fume alkali activator

Growing demands on the engineering properties of cement based materials and the urgency to decrease unsuitable ecologic impact of Portland cement manufacturing represent significant motivation for the development of new cement corresponding to these aspects. One category represents prospective alkali activated cements. A significant factor influencing their properties is alkali activator used. In this paper we present a new high effective alkali activator prepared from silica fume and its effectiveness. According to the results obtained this activator seems to be more effective than currently used activators like natrium hydroxide, natrium carbonate, and water glass.     

Comparative study on strength,sorptivity, and chloride ingress characteristics of air-cured and water-cured concretes modified with metakaolin

This paper reports an investigation in which the performance of plain and metakaolin (MK)-modified concretes were studied under two different curing regimes. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of MK in enhancing the strength and permeation properties of concrete. MK was used to replace 0–20% of Portland cement by weight in concrete with two water-binder (w/b) ratios of 0.35 and 0.55. The change in compressive strength, sorptivity, and chloride ingress with age at all cement replacement levels under both air and water curing are compared with those of the control concrete. The results indicated that the inclusion of MK greatly reduced sorptivity and chloride permeability of concrete in varying magnitudes, depending mainly on replacement level of MK, w/b ratio, curing condition, and chloride exposure period. It was found that under the inadequate or poor curing, MK-modified concretes suffered a more severe loss of compressive strength and permeability-related durability than the plain concretes.     

Optimization of calcium chloride content on bioactivity and mechanical properties of white Portland cement

This research investigates the optimization of calcium chloride content on the bioactivity and mechanical properties of white Portland cement. Calcium chloride was used as an addition of White Portland cement at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10% by weight. Calcium chloride was dissolved in sterile distilled water and blended with White Portland cement using a water to cement ratio of 0.5. Analysis of the bioactivity and pH of white Portland cement pastes with calcium chloride added at various amounts was carried out in simulated body fluid. Setting time, density, compressive strength and volume of permeable voids were also investigated. The characteristics of cement pastes were examined by X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscope linked to an energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer. The result indicated that the addition of calcium chloride could accelerate the hydration of white Portland cement, resulting in a decrease in setting time and an increase in early strength of the pastes. The compressive strength of all cement pastes with added calcium chloride was higher than that of the pure cement paste, and the addition of calcium chloride at 8 wt.% led to achieving the highest strength. Furthermore, white Portland cement pastes both with and without calcium chloride showed well-established bioactivity with respect to the formation of a hydroxyapatite layer on the material within 7 days following immersion in simulated body fluid; white Portland cement paste with added 3%CaCl₂ exhibited the best bioactivity.     

Environmental, physical and structural characterisation of geopolymer matrixes synthesised from coal (co-)combustion fly ashes

The synthesis of geopolymer matrixes from coal (co-)combustion fly ashes as the sole source of silica and alumina has been studied in order to assess both their capacity to immobilise the potentially toxic elements contained in these coal (co-)combustion by-products and their suitability to be used as cement replacements. The geopolymerisation process has been performed using (5, 8 and 12 M) NaOH solutions as activation media and different curing time (6-48 h) and temperature (40-80 degrees C) conditions. Synthesised geopolymers have been characterised with regard to their leaching behaviour, following the DIN 38414-S4 [DIN 38414-S4, Determination of leachability by water (S4), group S: sludge and sediments. German standard methods for the examination of water, waste water and sludge. Institut für Normung, Berlin, 1984] and NEN 7375 [NEN 7375, Leaching characteristics of moulded or monolithic building and waste materials. Determination of leaching of inorganic components with the diffusion test. Netherlands Normalisation Institute, Delft, 2004] procedures, and to their structural stability by means of compressive strength measurements. In addition, geopolymer mineralogy, morphology and structure have been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. It was found that synthesised geopolymer matrixes were only effective in the chemical immobilisation of a number of elements of environmental concern contained in fly ashes, reducing (especially for Ba), or maintaining their leachable contents after the geopolymerisation process, but not for those elements present as oxyanions. Physical entrapment does not seem either to contribute in an important way, in general, to the immobilisation of oxyanions. The structural stability of synthesised geopolymers was mainly dependent on the glass content of fly ashes, attaining at the optimal activation conditions (12 M NaOH, 48 h, 80 degrees C) compressive strength values about 60 MPa when the fly ash glass content was higher than 90%.     

Preparation,characterization and reaction kinetics of green cement: Ecuadorian natural mordenite-based geopolymers

This study was carried out to develop geopolymers derived from mordenite-rich tuffs. First the synthesis of mordenite-based geopolymer was explored through the mix design of three chemical reagents: NaOH, Na₄Si₅O₁₂, and Ca(OH)₂ and varying curing temperature. All the types of synthesized geopolymers were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, quantitative X-ray diffraction, SEM–EDS, TGA–DSC, compressive strength. The best mix design and curing temperature by means of the highest compressive obtained after 24 h were found as NaOH: 10 M, Na₄Si₅O₁₂/NaOH ratio: 0.5, Ca(OH)₂: 3% (w/w), and 60 °C, respectively, which showed values of compressive strength about 10 MPa. Then early age reaction kinetics was established using Avrami–Erofe’ev model. The carbonation, as side effect of reactive ingredient, was also observed during the experiment seemingly without causing any effect on mechanical properties of geopolymers.     

Evaluation of Portland limestone cements for use in concrete construction

The paper describes a study carried out to examine the performance of concrete produced using combinations of Portland cement (PC) and limestone (LS), covering compositions for Portland limestone cement (PLC) conforming to BS EN 197-1: 2000, and up to 45% LS. In particular, key engineering (mechanical) and durability properties of concrete were studied. The results indicate only minor differences in performance between PC and 15% PLC concretes of the same cement content and water/cement (w/c) ratio (cement = Portland cement + addition). However, there was an adverse effect with increasing LS content beyond 15% of the cement content for many properties. It is shown that for 35 N/mm² cube strength concrete the adjustment to w/c ratio to match the compressive strength of PC concrete was in the region of 0.08 for each 10% LS added (water curing at 20°C) above this level. Studies of permeation and concrete durability performance, including, initial surface absorption, carbonation resistance, chloride diffusion, freeze/thaw scaling and abrasion resistance, indicate that in general the test concretes followed single relationships with strength for most properties. Consideration is given to the practical implications of the main outcomes of the study.     

Effects of super plasticizer and curing conditions on properties of concrete with and without fiber

In this study, effects of super plasticizer (SP) and curing conditions on properties of concrete with and without fiber were investigated. In the concrete mixtures, Portland cement, artificial aggregate, SP and steel fibers were used. SP in concrete mixtures was used with ratios of 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% by weight of cement and so C25 concrete was produced with and without fiber. Specimens were cured under two different curing conditions being continuous moist curing and open-air curing. Produced concrete with and without fiber were compared with each other as well as with Portland cement concrete. The highest compressive and flexural strength were obtained with 1.0% and 1.5% SP fiber reinforced concrete, respectively.     

Computer-aided Prediction of the ZrO2 Nanoparticles’ Effects on Tensile Strength and Percentage of Water Absorption of Concrete Specimens

In the present paper,two models based on artificial neural networks and genetic programming for predicting split tensile strength and percentage of water absorption of concretes containing ZrO2 nanoparticles have been developed at different ages of curing.For building these models,training and testing using experimental results for 144 specimens produced with 16 different mixture proportions were conducted.The data used in the multilayer feed forward neural networks models and input variables of genetic programming models were arranged in a format of eight input parameters that cover the cement content,nanoparticle content,aggregate type,water content,the amount of superplasticizer,the type of curing medium,age of curing and number of testing try.According to these input parameters,in the neural networks and genetic programming models,the split tensile strength and percentage of water absorption values of concretes containing ZrO2 nanoparticles were predicted.The training and testing results in the neural network and genetic programming models have shown that two models have strong potential for predicting the split tensile strength and percentage of water absorption values of concretes containing ZrO2 nanoparticles.It has been found that neural network(NN) and gene expression programming(GEP) models will be valid within the ranges of variables.In neural networks model,as the training and testing ended when minimum error norm of network gained,the best results were obtained and in genetic programming model,when 4 genes were selected to construct the model,the best results were acquired.Although neural network have predicted better results,genetic programming is able to predict reasonable values with a simpler method rather than neural network.     

Properties of geopolymer with seeded fly ash and rice husk bark ash

In the present work, compressive strength of inorganic polymers (geopolymers) produced of seeded fly ash and rice husk bark ash has been investigated. Different specimens made from a mixture of fly ash and rice husk bark ash in fine and coarse form were subjected to compressive strength tests at 7 and 28 days of curing. The curing regime was different: one set of the specimens were cured at room temperature until reaching to 7 and 28 days and the other sets were oven cured for 36 h at the range of 40-90 °C and then cured at room temperature until 7 and 28 days. The results indicate that in both 7 and 28 days regimes, the highest strengths are related to the specimens by SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratio equals 2.99 cured at 80 °C. For these specimens, those contained finer fly ash particles show more compressive strength. Thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy both also are in agreement with the obtained results from compressive strength tests. In addition, SEM micrographs of the specimens show that the finer the particle size of the utilized ashes, the denser the microstructure which confirms the results obtained by the strength tests.