Microstructural investigation of a silica fume–cement–lime mortar

Several additions, minerals and organic, are used in mortars, such as pozzolanic materials, cementicious materials and polymers. Literature about the use of additions in masonry mortars (cement/lime/sand mixes) is scarce; usually, studies are about concrete mortars. The purpose of this work is to study the microstructural effects of the substitution of 10% of Portland cement by silica fume in a 1:1:6 (cement/lime/sand mix proportion by volume) masonry mortar. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-rays analysis (SEM/EDX) shows that, with silica fume, the C–S–H formed is type III at early ages and that type III and type I coexist at later ages. Silica fume lowers the total porosity and increases compressive strength only at later age and, as expected, the pore structure of mortar with silica fume is found to be finer than of non-silica fume mortar.     

Comparison of ground waste glass with other supplementary cementitious materials

Finely ground glass has pozzolanic properties that make attractive its recycling as supplementary cementitious material. This paper compares the behaviour of waste glass powders of different fineness with that of natural pozzolana, coal fly ash and silica fume. Chemical analysis, compressive strength measurements and durability tests were carried out to investigate the effect of ground glass on strength and durability performances of mortars. Blended both with Portland cement and lime, ground glass improved strength, resistance to chloride penetration and resistance to sulphate attack of mortars more than natural pozzolana and similarly to fly ash. Mortars with ground glass immersed in water for seven years did not show any sign of degradation and increased their compressive strength. The ranking of ground glass with respect to the other mineral additions was not affected by fineness.     

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.     

Use of natural zeolite as a supplementary cementitious material

Natural zeolite, a type of frame-structured hydrated aluminosilicate mineral, is used abundantly as a type of natural pozzolanic material in some regions of the world. In this work, the effectiveness of a locally quarried zeolite in enhancing mechanical and durability properties of concrete is evaluated and is also compared with other pozzolanic admixtures. The experimental tests included three parts: In the first part, the pozzolanic reactivity of natural zeolite and silica fume were examined by a thermogravimetric method. In this case, the results indicated that natural zeolite was not as reactive as silica fume but it showed a good pozzolanic reactivity. In the second part, zeolite and silica fume were substituted for cement in different proportions in concrete mixtures, and several physical and durability tests of concrete were performed. These experimental tests included slump, compressive strength, water absorption, oxygen permeability, chloride diffusion, and electrical resistivity of concrete. Based on these results, the performance of concretes containing different contents of zeolite improved and even were comparable to or better than that of concretes prepared with silica fume replacements in some cases. Finally, a comparative study on effect of zeolite and fly ash on limiting ASR expansion of mortar was performed according to ASTM C 1260 and ASTM C 1567. Expansion tests on mortar prisms showed that zeolite is as effective as fly ash to prevent deleterious expansion due to ASR.     

Compressive strength and chloride resistance of self-compacting concrete containing high level fly ash and silica fume

The influence of high-calcium fly ash and silica fume as a binary and ternary blended cement on compressive strength and chloride resistance of self-compacting concrete (SCC) were investigated in this study. High-calcium fly ash (40–70%) and silica fume (0–10%) were used to replace part of cement at 50, 60 and 70 wt.%. Compressive strength, density, volume of permeable pore space (voids) and water absorption of SCC were investigated. The total charge passed in coulombs was assessed in order to determine chloride resistance of SCC. The results show that binary blended cement with high level fly ash generally reduced the compressive strength of SCC at all test ages (3, 7, 28 and 90 days). However, ternary blended cement with fly ash and silica fume gained higher compressive strength after 7 days when compared to binary blended fly ash cement at the same replacement level. The compressive strength more than 60 MPa (high strength concrete) can be obtained when using high-calcium fly ash and silica fume as ternary blended cement. Fly ash decreased the charge passed of SCC and tends to decrease with increasing fly ash content, although the volume of permeable pore space (voids) and water absorption of SCC were increased. In addition when compared to binary blended cement at the same replacement level, the charge passed of SCC that containing ternary blended cement was lower than binary blended cement with fly ash only. This indicated that fly ash and silica fume can improve chloride resistance of SCC at high volume content of Portland cement replacement.     

Rheological behaviour of ultra-high performance cementitious composites containing high amounts of silica fume

This study investigates the rheological behaviour of ultra-high performance cementitious composite mortars containing 15–25 % of silica fume. The utilization of two Portland cements with different mineralogical compositions and their influence on yield stress of mortar was monitored. The coaxial rheometer was used for determination of flow curves of tested samples. It was found that besides the relation between flow and water-to-binder ratio, there is also a substantial relationship with the mortar composition, in particular with the content of silica fume. The yield stress can be described by an exponential function of volume content of solids in the mortar. Such a function can describe not only the influence of granulometry but also the impact of structure formation on early age Portland cement hydration. It was found that the estimation of yield stress can be done even by a simple modular in-field technique such as a spread flow test.     

Effect of pozzolans on the performance of fiber-reinforced mortars

Randomly oriented short fibers have been shown to increase tensile strength and retard crack propagation of cement based materials such as fiber-reinforced mortars for diverse applications, especially in aggressive environments. In the case of reinforced concrete, it is very important to produce a “high quality” cover in order to prevent corrosion of the rebars. In order to obtain a high performance material the use of a pozzolan is advisable because low permeability is achieved. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of pozzolans such as silica fume (SF), fly ash (FA), and metakaolin (MK) on the properties of fiber-reinforced mortars. Different types of natural and synthetic fibers were used. A superplasticizer was used to keep the same workability as that of the control mortar. Results of the mechanical and durability properties of the fiber-reinforced mortars are reported. The results show that a loss of resistance due to embedding fibers in mortar is compensated for by the increase in strength caused by silica fume or metakaolin additions to the mortar. The addition of 15% of SF or MK produces an improvement of up to 20% and 68%, respectively, when compared with those mortars without addition. There is a significant decrease in the coefficient of capillary absorption and chloride penetration when a highly pozzolanic material is incorporated into the matrix. In general, these materials, especially SF and MK, improve the mechanical performance and the durability of fiber-reinforced materials, especially those reinforced with steel, glass or sisal fibers. The fly ash addition had a different performance, which could be attributed to its low degree of pozzolanicity.     

Comportement pseudo-pouzzolanique d'une cendre volante de centrale thermique

Résumé Les auteurs étudient le comportement d'une cendre voltante riche en sulfates et ne libérant pas de silice, en vue de préciser le r?le des sulfates dans le caractère pouzzolanique. A cette fin, ils comparent les résistances mécaniques de mortiers riches en cendre volante à celles de mortiers témoins, suivent leur hydratation par examen aux rayons X et analysent l'activité de la cendre placée au contact d'eau pure et d'eau de chaux saturée. La cohésion initiale des mortiers de cendre s'accro?t par formation de sulfoaluminates jusqu'à environ un mois. Par la suite, l'absence de réaction pouzzolanique empêche la progression des propriétés mécaniques des mortiers et enlève tout intérêt pratique à ce type de cendre.

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Summary In earlier work we have shown that pozzolanic properties of some fly ashes used in Portland cement concretes result of two distinct reactions: first, fly ashes release sulphates which combine with calcium hydroxyde and calcium aluminate to form ettringite; then, silica passes into solution and reacts with lime to produce C.S.H. To define the effect of sulphates, we have undertaken the present study with another ash having a low soluble silica content. Cristalline components are the major constituent, some 60 %, and consist chiefly of quartz (35 %), magnetic (15 %), hematite (5 %) anhydrite (3 %). The specific surface value is 5200 cm²/g (Blaine). We have made four type of 1:3 sand mortars with Portland cement (CPA 400) and quartz aggregate having a maximum size of3.15 mm. In the first, cement only was used (w/c ratio of0.50). Second and third mortars contained equal volumes of cement and fly ash and w/(cement+fly ash)=0.50; fly ash added to the third mortar had been previously washed in water to eliminate soluble sulphates. A fourth mortar was made with equal volumes of cement and finely ground quartz. Initially, sulphates brought by fly ash make easy ettringite formation in mortars: X-ray examination show that the content of ettringite in raw fly ash mortars, is, at 2 days, twice more important that in washed fly ash ones. The main effect of this reaction is to increase strength of mortars of about40 to45%. Then, during the first month of hardening, calcium sulphoaluminate goes on forming in mortars; but the high-sulphate form is converted to low-sulphate. This last reaction starts at about seven days and is probably due to sodium and magnesium sulphates released by fly ash. During this first month strength of mortars continues to increase. At longer age, calcium sulphoadluminate formation is stopped and ettringite goes on converting to low sulphate form and tetracalcium aluminate. Fly ash does not release silica able to combine with calcium hydroxyde: therefore strength of mortars does not increase with age.

     

Sulfate resistance of plain and blended cements exposed to varying concentrations of sodium sulfate

Concrete deterioration due to sulfate attack is the second major durability problem, after reinforcement corrosion. This type of deterioration is noted in the structures exposed to sulfate-bearing soils and groundwater. Though concrete deterioration due to sulfate attack is reported from many countries, the mechanisms of sulfate attack have not been thoroughly investigated, particularly the effect of sulfate concentration and the cation type associated with the sulfate ions on concrete deterioration. This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of plain and blended cements exposed to varying concentrations of sodium sulfate for up to 24 months. Four types of cements, namely Type I, Type V, Type I plus silica fume and Type I plus fly ash, were exposed to five sodium sulfate solutions with sulfate concentrations of 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5% and 4%. These concentrations are representative of the sulfate concentration in highly saline soils. The sulfate resistance was evaluated by visual examination and measuring the and reduction in compressive strength. The maximum deterioration, due to sulfate attack, was noted in Type I cement followed by silica fume and Type V cements. The performance of Type V, Type I plus silica fume and Type I plus fly ash was not significantly different from each other. The enhanced sulfate resistance noted in the Type I cement blended with either silica fume or fly ash indicates the usefulness of these cements in both sulfate and sulfate plus chloride environments.     

Limestone addition effects on concrete porosity

The effect on porosity (including absorption and sorpitivity) of cement paste and mortar/concrete, of limestone addition to Portland cement is assessed. Based on globally sourced literature published in English since 1993, consisting of 171 publications from 35 countries. The data analysed were from wide ranging tests. The effect on pore structure was also examined in terms of type of Portland cement and limestone, cement fineness and method of producing it, curing, maturity and water-cement ratio, as well as the cement composites with fly ash, slag (GGBS), silica fume and metakaolin and related to strength. Overall, it is suggested that though the use of limestone up to 25% with Portland cement should not impair the pore structure, limit on limestone content for its effect on strength is likely to be about 15%. This should be considered where higher proportion of limestone content is allowed in the Standards.     

Compressive strength development of binary and ternary lime–pozzolan mortars

This study considers the compressive strength development of broad range of hydraulic lime mortars prepared with a range of commercially available alumino-silicate by-products and modern pozzolanic additions. Specifically this paper considers the effect of mineral addition selection, binary and ternary combinations, pozzolan content and the effect of curing conditions on the compressive strength development of hydraulic lime based mortars. The study was undertaken as the initial phase of a broader investigation considering the feasibility of producing modern, sustainable hydraulic lime–pozzolan concretes with comparable strengths to Portland cement based concretes. The aim of the initial phase was to identify a small number of additions, and combinations thereof, which would result in a structural strength lime–concrete when scaled up from mortars to concretes.In the absence of a definitive source of information on the mechanical properties of hydraulic-lime mortars prepared with binary and ternary combinations of alumino-silicate by-products, 22 combinations consisting of Natural Hydraulic Lime (NHL5) and a range of possible additions, identified from historical and current practice, were prepared. The results have shown that combining an eminently-hydraulic NHL5 with silica fume and ground granulated blastfurnace slag can produce mortars with a 28-day compressive cube strength of around 28 N/mm², at a water-to-binder (w/b) ratio of 0.5. This is eight times the strength of an equivalent mortar prepared with NHL5 alone and broadly speaking comparable with that of low-heat cementitious mortars. The contribution of the pozzolanic reaction to the strength of hydraulic lime mortars is discussed for a range of alumina-silicious materials and combinations thereof.     

Evaluation of blends of high and low calcium fly ashes for use as supplementary cementing materials

The present paper outlines the results of a research attempt aimed at developing and evaluating the performance of ternary blended cements, incorporating mixtures of two different types of fly ash (of high and low calcium content). The main target of this study was to investigate whether and by what means, the introduction of a certain type of fly ash into a fly ash–cement (FC) matrix containing a different type of ash, can improve the performance of the initial binary system. For achieving this, new pozzolans were prepared by mixing, in selected proportions, a high lime fly ash with an ash of lower calcium content. The efficiency of the new materials was examined in terms of active silica content, pozzolanic activity potential, strength development, k-values and progress of the pozzolanic action by means of fixed lime capabilities. The results obtained demonstrated that the mixtures containing equal amounts of each fly ash were the most effective for moderate cement substitution, whilst for higher replacements the intermixture possessing the highest active silica content shows supremacy at almost all hydration ages. The superior performance of the ternary fly ash blends was mainly attributed to synergistic effects detected for all the ashes utilized. These were quantified in each case and almost linear correlations were obtained with the k-values of the most efficient ternary mixes.     

The fluid transport properties of HCWA–DSF hybrid supplementary binder mortar

It has been demonstrated in several past studies that high calcium wood ash (HCWA) can be effectively used in combination with densified silica fume (DSF) as supplementary binder material to enhance the mechanical performance of concrete. The experimental investigation was conducted to study the effect of the inclusion of HCWA and DSF on the durability properties of high strength cement mortar produced. A total of twelve different mix designs of mortar were fabricated with the use of HCWA at various cement replacement levels of 0–20% in combination with 7.5% densified silica fume (DSF) and subjected to various durability tests. The durability assessments performed include tests on water absorption, air permeability, porosity and degree of carbonation. A significantly lower degree of water absorption, porosity and carbonation was observed for cement mortars with HCWA contents of 2–8% used in combination with 7.5% DSF by weight of binder as compared to an equivalent pure cement mortar.     

Effects of mix composition and water–cement ratio on the sulfate resistance of blended cements

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the sulfate resistance of blended cements containing various amounts of natural pozzolan and/or Class-F fly ash. The performance of blended cements was monitored by exposing the prepared mortar specimens to a 5% Na₂SO₄ solution for 78 weeks. For comparison, an ordinary Portland cement (produced with the same clinker as blended cements) and a sulfate resistant Portland cement (produced from a different clinker) were also used. In addition to the cement chemistry, water–cement (w/c) ratio of mortars was another parameter selected that will presumably affect the performance of mortars. The experimental results of expansion measurements showed that the effect of w/c ratio was more pronounced for the low sulfate resistant cements with higher C₃A amounts, while the blended cements were less affected by an increase in the w/c ratio.     

Improvement of the early-age reactivity of fly ash and blast furnace slag cementitious systems using limestone filler

This article analyzes the effects of the addition of limestone filler on the hydration rate, setting times and early-age mechanical properties of binary and ternary-binder mortars containing Portland cement, blast furnace slag (BFS) and fly ash (FA), with various substitution rates of cement with mineral additions going up to 50%. Vicat needle penetration tests and measurements of heat flow of reaction, compressive strength and dynamic Young’s modulus were carried out on 14 mortars prepared with binary and ternary binders, at 20°C. The results obtained on the mortars containing binary binders, show that their loss of mechanical strength at early age is not caused by a deceleration of the reactions of cement in the presence of mineral additions, but is mainly explained by the dilution effect related to the reduction in cement content. A moderate addition of limestone filler (8–17%) makes it possible to obtain ternary binders with early-age reactivity equal or even higher than that of Portland cement, and with 28-days mechanical resistance close to those of the binary-binder mortars. This accelerating effect of limestone filler is particularly sensitive in the case of mortars containing FA.     

Effect of supplementary cementitious materials on shrinkage and crack development in concrete

The autogenous and drying shrinkage of Portland cement concrete, and binary and ternary binder concretes, were measured and compared. The binary and ternary binder concretes were formed by replacing part of the cement with fly ash, very fine fly ash and/or silica fume. Restrained shrinkage test was also performed to evaluate the effect of binder type on early age cracking. After the cracking of the restrained ring samples, crack widths were measured and compared with the results of an R-curve based model, which takes post-peak elastic and creep strains into account.The incorporation of fly ash and very fine fly ash decreased the autogenous shrinkage strain but increased the drying shrinkage strain. Since the total shrinkage strains of both the ternary and the binary concrete mixtures were similar, the strength development became an important factor in the cracking. The lower strength of the concrete with ternary binders led to earlier cracking compared to the binary binder concrete. Portland cement concrete cracked the earliest and had the greatest crack width. Measured crack widths were in accordance with the crack widths calculated with the R-curve model.     

Adhesive and cohesive properties of glue cement mortars with addition of organic–mineral modifiers

The paper deals with results of experimental research on cement glue mortars containing non-milled fly ash and organic–mineral modifiers are given. The organic–mineral modifiers (OMM) include finely dispersed additives like microsilica or milled fly ash and organic substances (naphthalene formaldehyde superplasticizers and redispersed polymers). Glue cement mortars, modified by OMM additives allow reducing Portland cement consumption, stabilizing and improving the mortars’ properties, especially their adhesive and cohesive strength. The influence of the modifier compositions on the strength parameters of mortars for masonry stone walls, facing by ceramic tiles or gluing heat isolation materials was studied. The experimental results show that as the silica additives dispersion is higher the positive effect on adhesive and cohesive strength increases. Optimal content of modifiers in mortars is obtained.     

Influence of fly ash blending on hydration and physical behavior of belite–alite–ye’elimite cements

A cement powder, composed of belite, alite and ye’elimite, was blended with 0, 15 and 30 wt% of fly ash and the resulting blended cements were further characterized. During hydration, the presence of fly ash caused the partial inhibition of both AFt degradation and belite reactivity, even after 180 days. The compressive strength of the corresponding mortars increased by increasing the fly ash content (68, 73 and 82 MPa for mortars with 0, 15 and 30 wt% of fly ash, respectively, at 180 curing days), mainly due to the diminishing porosity and pore size values. Although pozzolanic reaction has not been directly proved there are indirect evidences.     

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.     

Resistance of lignite bottom ash geopolymer mortar to sulfate and sulfuric acid attack

This paper presents an investigation of the compressive strength and the durability of lignite bottom ash geopolymer mortars in 3% sulfuric acid and 5% sodium sulfate solutions. Three finenesses of ground bottom ash viz., fine, medium and coarse bottom ash were used to make geopolymer mortars. Sodium silicate, sodium hydroxide and curing temperature of 75 °C for 48 h were used to activate the geopolymerization. The results were compared to those of Portland cement and high volume fly ash mortars. It was found that the fine bottom ash was more reactive and gave geopolymer mortars with higher compressive strengths than those of the coarser fly ashes. All bottom ash geopolymer mortars were less susceptible to the attack by sodium sulfate and sulfuric acid solutions than the traditional Portland cement mortars.