Prediction of compressive strength of cement mortars with fly ash and activated coal gangue

The pozzolanic activity of coal gangue, which is calcining at 500 to 1 000 ℃, differs distinctly. The simplex-centroid design with upper and lower bounds of component proportion is adopted to study the compressive strength of mortars made with ternary blends of cement, activated coal gangue and fly ash. Based on the results of a minimum of seven design points, three special cubic polynomial models are used to establish the strength predicating equations at different ages for mortars. Five experimental checkpoints were also designed to verify the precision of the equations. The most frequent errors of the predicted values are within 3%. A simple and practical way is provided for determining the optimal proportion of two admixtures when they are used in concrete.

Hydration process in Portland cement blended with activated coal gangue

This paper deals with the hydration of a blend of Portland cement and activated coal gangue in order to determine the relationship between the degree of hydration and compressive strength development.The hydration process was investigated by various means:isothermal calorimetry,thermal analysis,non-evaporable water measurement,and X-ray diffraction analysis.The results show that the activated coal gangue is a pozzolanic material that contributes to the hydration of the cement blend.The pozzolanic reaction occurs over a period of between 7 and 90 d,consuming portlandite and forming both crystal hydrates and ill-crystallized calcium silicate hydrates.These hydrates are similar to those found in pure Portland cement.The results show that if activated coal gangue is substituted for cement at up to 30%(w/w),it does not significantly affect the final compressive strength of the blend.A long-term compressive strength improvement can in fact be achieved by using activated coal gangue as a sup-plementary cementing material.The relationship between compressive strength and degree of hydration for both pure Portland cement and blended cement can be described with the same equation.However,the parameters are different since blended cement produces fewer calcium silicate hydrates than pure Portland cement at the same degree of hydration.

Effect of temperature on the hydration process and strength development in blends of Portland cement and activated coal gangue or fly ash

This paper describes the results of an investigation into the effect of the variation of curing temperatures between 0 and 60 °C on the hydration process,pore structure variation,and compressive strength development of activated coal gangue-cement blend(ACGC) . Hardened ACGC pastes cured for hydration periods from 1 to 360 d were examined using the non-evaporable water method,thermal analysis,mercury intrusion porosimetry,and mechanical testing. To evaluate the specific effect of activated coal gangue(ACG) as a supplementary cementing material(SCM) ,a fly ash-cement blend(FAC) was used as a control. Results show that raising the curing temperature accelerates pozzolanic reactions involving the SCMs,increasing the degree of hydration of the cement blends,and hence increasing the rate of improvement in strength. The effect of curing temperature on FAC is greater than that on ACGC. The pore structure of the hardened cement paste is improved by increasing the curing temperature up to 40 °C,but when the curing temperature reaches 60 °C,the changing nature of the pore structure leads to a decrease in strength. The correlation between compressive strength and the degree of hydration and porosity is linear in nature.

Effect of Coal Gangue with Different Kaolin Contents on Compressive Strength and Pore Size of Blended Cement Paste

The effects of activated coal gangue on compressive strength, porosity and pore size distribution of hardened cement pastes were investigated. Activated coal gangue with two different kaolin contents, one higher and one lower, were used to partially replace Portland cement at 0%, 10%, and 30% by weight. The water to binder ratio（w/b） of 0.5 was used for all the blended cement paste mixes. Experimental results indicate that the blended cement of activated coal gangue mortar with higher kaolin mineral content has a higher compressive strength than that with lower kaolin mineral content. The porosity and pore size of blended cement mortar were significantly affected by the replacement of activated coal gangue.