Damage process and performance of PVA fiber-reinforced alkali-activated slag mortar plate under bending

The effects of unoiled polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)fiber with four different volume fractions of 0%,1.0%,1.5%and 2.0%on the bending properties of alkali-activated slag(AAS)mortar plates were studied.Meanwhile,the acoustic emission(AE)technique and a high-speed camera were utilized to detect the crack development over the complete damage process,and the scanning electronic microscopy(SEM)was used to observe the fiber-matrix interface.Test results show that PVA fibers play a significant role in the toughness improvement of AAS plates.However,the enhancing effect of PVA fibers on the bending behaviour of AAS plates at 120 d is not as remarkable as at early ages.It is observed that the failure process of the PVA fiber-reinforced alkali-activated slag plate can be divided into three stages:elastic stage,main crack formation stage and post-peak load stage.Observations on the fracture surface of specimens indicate that the deterioration process of specimens under bending changed from fiber pull-out at 3 and 28 d to fiber fracture at 120 d.

Clayey soil stabilization using alkali-activated volcanic ash and slag

Lime and Portland cement are the most widely used binders in soil stabilization projects.However,due to the high carbon emission in cement production,research on soil stabilization by the use of more environmentally-friendly binders with lower carbon footprint has attracted much attention in recent years.This research investigated the potential of using alkali-activated ground granulated blast furnace slag(GGBS)and volcanic ash(VA)as green binders in clayey soil stabilization projects,which has not been studied before.The effects of different combinations of VA with GGBS,various liquid/solid ratios,different curing conditions,and different curing periods(i.e.7 d,28 d and 90 d)were investigated.Compressive strength and durability of specimens against wet-dry and freeze-thaw cycles were then studied through the use of mechanical and microstructural tests.The results demonstrated that the coexistence of GGBS and VA in geopolymerization process was more effective due to the synergic formation of N-A-S-H and C-(A)-S-H gels.Moreover,although VA needs heat curing to become activated and develop strength,its partial replacement with GGBS made the binder suitable for application at ambient temperature and resulted in a remarkably superior resistance against wet-dry and freeze-thaw cycles.The carbon embodied of the mixtures was also evaluated,and the results confirmed the low carbon footprints of the alkali-activated mixtures.Finally,it was concluded that the alkali-activated GGBS/VA could be promisingly used in clayey soil stabilization projects instead of conventional binders.

Hydration Characteristics and Microstructure of Alkali-Activated Slag Concrete: A Review

Alkali-activated slag concrete (AASC) is a new green building material. The amount of CO_(2) produced by AASC is 1/5th of that produced by ordinary Portland cement concrete (OPCC). In addition, AASC promotes the reuse of slag and other wastes and saves resources. Furthermore, the scope of use of slag has been expanded. The progress of the research on the hydration characteristics, microstructure, interfacial transition zone, and pore structure of AASC based on the relevant literatures was analyzed and summarized in this study. The influences of the slag composition, the type and dosage of the alkali activator, and the curing conditions on the hydration characteristics and the microstructure of the AASC were discussed. Relatively few research results on the microstructure of AASC are available, and the relevant conclusions are not completely consistent. Moreover, there are many constraints on the development of AASC (e.g., complex composition of raw materials of slag, large shrinkage deformation, and low fluidity). Therefore, further research is required.

Pitting corrosion resistance of a novel duplex alloy steel in alkali-activated slag extract in the presence of chloride ions

In this study, two types of reinforcing steels(conventional low-carbon steel and a novel duplex alloy steel with Cr and Mo) were exposed to chloride-contaminated extract solutions(ordinary Portland cement(OPC) extract and alkali-activated slag(AAS) extract) to investigate their pitting corrosion resistance. The results confirm that the pitting corrosion resistance of the alloy steel is much higher than that of the low-carbon steel in both extract solutions with various Na Cl concentrations. Moreover, for each type of steel, the AAS extract contributes to a higher pitting corrosion resistance compared with the OPC extract in the presence of chloride ions, likely because of the formation of flocculent precipitates on the steel surface.

Tests on Alkali-Activated Slag Foamed Concrete with Various Water-Binder Ratios and Substitution Levels of Fly Ash

To provide basic data for the reasonable mixing design of the alkali-activated (AA) foamed concrete as a thermal insulation material for a floor heating system, 9 concrete mixes with a targeted dry density less than 400 kg/m3 were tested. Ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) as a source material was activated by the following two types of alkali activators: 10% Ca(OH)2 and 4% Mg(NO3)2, and 2.5% Ca(OH)2 and 6.5% Na2SiO3. The main test parameters were water-to-binder (W/B) ratio and the substitution level (RFA) of fly ash (FA) for GGBS. Test results revealed that the dry density of AA GGBS foamed concrete was independent of the W/B ratio an RFA, whereas the compressive strength increased with the decrease in W/B ratio and with the increase in RFA up to 15%, beyond which it decreased. With the increase in the W/B ratio, the amount of macro capillaries and artificial air pores increased, which resulted in the decrease of compressive strength. The magnitude of the environmental loads of the AA GGBS foamed concrete is independent of the W/B ratio and RFA. The largest reduction percentage was found in the photochemical oxidation potential, being more than 99%. The reduction percentage was 87% - 93% for the global warming potential, 81% - 84% for abiotic depletion, 79% - 84% for acidification potential, 77% - 85% for eutrophication potential, and 73% - 83% for human toxicity potential. Ultimately, this study proved that the developed AA GGBS foamed concrete has a considerable promise as a sustainable construction material for nonstructural element.

Optimization of Blended Mortars Using Steel Slag Sand

A new kind of mortar made of ground granulated blast-furnace slag （GGBFS）, gypsum, clinker and steel slag sand （〈4.75 mm） was developed. The ratio of steel slag sand to GGBFS was 1 ： 1 and the amount of gypsum was 4% by weight while the dosage of clinker ranged from 0% to 24%. The optimization formulation of such mortar was studied. The content of steel slag sand should be less than 50% according to the volume stability of blended mortar, and the dosage of clinker is about 10% based on the strength development. Besides strength, the hydration heat, pore structure and micro pattern of blended mortar were also determined. The experimental results show the application of steel slag sand may reduce the dosage of cement clinker and increase the content of industrial waste product such as GGBFS, and the clinker is also a better admixture for blended mortar using steel slag sand.

A machine learning model to predict unconfined compressive strength of alkali-activated slag-based cemented paste backfill

The unconfined compressive strength(UCS)of alkali-activated slag(AAS)-based cemented paste backfill(CPB)is influenced by multiple design parameters.However,the experimental methods are limited to understanding the relationships between a single design parameter and the UCS,independently of each other.Although machine learning(ML)methods have proven efficient in understanding relationships between multiple parameters and the UCS of ordinary Portland cement(OPC)-based CPB,there is a lack of ML research on AAS-based CPB.In this study,two ensemble ML methods,comprising gradient boosting regression(GBR)and random forest(RF),were built on a dataset collected from literature alongside two other single ML methods,support vector regression(SVR)and artificial neural network(ANN).The results revealed that the ensemble learning methods outperformed the single learning methods in predicting the UCS of AAS-based CPB.Relative importance analysis based on the bestperforming model(GBR)indicated that curing time and water-to-binder ratio were the most critical input parameters in the model.Finally,the GBR model with the highest accuracy was proposed for the UCS predictions of AAS-based CPB.

Effect of magnesia on properties and microstructure of alkali-activated slag cement

The effect of magnesia bumt at 800-950℃ on the properties, especially the shrinkage, of alkali-activated slag cement （AASC.） was experimentally studied. Experimental results show that, although adding 4%-8% lightly-burnt magnesia may shorten the setting time and slightly reduce the compressive strength of AASC, it c, an remarkably reduce the shrinkage of AASC. The results also show that the setting time of AASC with a certain amount of magnesia increases with the buming temperature, and that the flexural and compressive strengths of AASC decrease with the increase of the additive amount of magnesia. Generally, the adverse effect of magnesia decreases with the increase of the burning temperature：, and the shrinkage-reducing effect of magnesia increases with the additive amount of magnesia. X-ray diffraction （XRD） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM） analyses show that some magnesia particles in the hardened AASC paste at a 28-d age remained unhydrated, and that the compactness decreased a little as magnesia was added. We can also conclude that magnesia bumt at 850-950℃ can be used to reduce the shrinkage of AASC only when its additive amount does not exceed 8%; otherwise, the setting time may be too short, and the flexural and compressive strengths may severely decrease.

Optimum Level of Replacement Slag in OPC-Slag Mortars

The present paper reports the testing of 14 OPC-slag mortars and 2 controls OPC and slag mortars. The main aim is to determine the optimum level of replacement slag for achievement to the highest early strength with reasonable flow. Variable was the level of GGBFS in the binder. In this experimental work, two types of sands were used that are： silica and mining sands. It is determined that the optimum level of replacement slag is 40% and use of silica sand in OPC is preferable to mining sand and reversely, use of mining sand is preferred in GG100 to silica sand. All mortars had W/B and S/B 0.33 and 2.25, respectively.

Efficient Use of Steel Slag in Alkali-Activated Blast Furnace Slag Based Geopolymer

Energy shortage and the emission of greenhouse gases have become a global problem of urgent concern.Therefore,there is an urgent need to develop a low carbon building material.Geopolymers have become a hot topic due to their environmental sustainability and the feasibility of immobilizing industrial waste.In this paper,steel slag(SS)fines were investigated as auxiliary materials of blast furnace slag(BFS)based geopolymer.The hydration heat properties,flowability,compressive strength,sorptivity coefficient,X-ray diffraction(XRD),and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)of the geopolymer pastes were determined.The results showed that the incorporation of SS weakened the reactivity of the BFS-based geopolymer paste and improved the flow values of the paste.The compressive strength of the geopolymer with 20%SS content reached 117 MPa at 28 d.The geopolymer specimens with high compressive strength showed a low sorptivity coefficient.The microscopic results showed that the addition of the appropriate amount of SS reduced the cracks,improved the density of the geopolymer,and produced a geopolymer composite with excellent mechanical properties.

The Interaction Effects of the Parameters on Optimization Design in Paper Production Waste Usage on Alkali-Activated Slag with Taguchi Method

The paper investigates the second-order interactions of parameters in an alkali-activated mixture of paper production waste(PPW)and blast furnace slag(BFS)in Taguchi method.The PPW including lime mud(LM)and paper sludge(PS).This paper provides the experimental models to assess the compressive and flexural strength of them at 7-day and 28-day.The results have shown that the second-order interactions between PPW and alkali-activated activator exists in each experimental model,and the significant interactions affect the selection of optimal compositions.Compared with the interactions between the PPW themselves,the interactions between PPW and alkali-activated parameters are the main significant factors affecting its physical properties.In each experimental model,the maximum compressive strength was 47.41 MPa in 7-day and 65.64 MPa in 28-day.Compared with the confirmatory experiments,the deviation of prediction calculated by experimental models was 3.08%and 0.56%,respectively.The maximum flexural strength was 5.74 MPa in 7-day and 5.96 MPa in 28-day;compared with the confirmatory experiments,the deviation of prediction calculated by experimental models was 5.40%and 0.17%.Considering the influence of circular materials,30%of PPW should be a suitable ratio to replace BFS as the raw material of alkali-activated slag(AAS).

Strength Development of Cement-Slag Mortars

In this experimental work, three groups of cement-slag mortars namely OPC, OPC-slag, and slag mortars were made. All were cured in both water and air under room temperature. Strength development was studied up to 90 days. The mortars were prepared using 0%, 50%, and 100% replacement with slag. The sensitivity for all groups was obtained against the curing regime with the highest being attributed to the slag mortars. The highest and lowest strengths at early ages were attributed to OPC and slag mortars when both were cured in water. The highest and lowest strengths were attributed to OPC-slag and slag mortars at later ages, respectively. The highest strengths for OPC-slag, OPC, and slag mortars were as 72.0, 64.0, and 21.5 MPa at 90 days when the specimens cured in water, respectively. Strength loss was observed for all groups at later ages when cured in air under room temperature. The maximum and minimum, of about 8.0% and 1.3%, occurred at 56 and 90 days for slag and OPC-slag mortars, respectively.

Development of Cementitious Materials Utilizing Alkali-activated Yellow River Silt

The possibility of preparing cementitious materials by the alkali-activated method using Yellow River sediment(The second largest river in China)as raw material and the modification effect on different slag addition were investigated.Sodium silicate and calcium hydroxide were used as the activator,and the specimens were prepared by the press molding method.The hydration process,hydration products,pore characteristics,and mechanical properties were investigated using SEM/EDS,FTIR,TG/DTG,XRD,MIP,and uniaxial compressive strength experiments,respectively.The results showed that the compressive strength of the modified yellow river silt-based cementitious material was significantly increased when the water glass dosage was 12 wt%(Ms=1.8)and the slag dosage was 40%,and its 90-day maximum compressive strength could reach 53 MPa.

The Research for Surface Properties of Steel Slag Powder and High-Temperature Rheological Properties of Asphalt Mortar

In order to evaluate the feasibility of steel slag powder as filler,the coating properties of steel slag and limestone aggregate were compared by water boiling test,the micro morphology difierences between steel slag powder and mineral powder(limestone powder)were compared by scanning electron microscope(SEM),and the high-temperature rheological properties of asphalt mortar with difierent ratio of filler quality to asphalt quality(F/A)and difierent substitution rates of mineral powder(S/F)were studied by dynamic shear rheological test.The results show that the surface microstructure of steel slag powder is more abundant than that of mineral powder,and the adhesion of steel slag to asphalt is better than that of limestone.At the same temperature,the lower the ratio of S/F is,the greater the rutting factor and complex modulus will be.In addition,the complex modulus and rutting factor of the asphalt mortar increase with the increase of F/A,and the filler type and F/A have a negligible efiect on the phase angle.

Analysis of Calcined Red Mud Properties and Related Mortar Performances

Red mud(RM)is a low-activity industrial solid waste,and its utilization as a resource is currently a hot topic.In this study,the micro characteristics of red mud at different calcination temperatures were analyzed using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy.The performance of calcined red mud was determined through mortar strength tests.Results indicate that high-temperature calcination can change the mineral composition and microstructure of red mud,and increase the surface roughness and specific surface area.At the optimal temperature of 700°C,the addition of calcined red mud still leads to a decrease in mortar strength,but its activity index and flexural coefficient increase by 16.2%and 11.9%with respect to uncalcined red mud,reaching values of 0.826 and 0.974,respectively.Compared with the control group,the synergistic activation of calcined red mud with slag can increase the compressive and flexural strength of the mortar by 12.9%and 1.5%,reaching 8.7 and 62.4 MPa,respectively.Correspondingly,the activity index and flexural coefficient of the calcined RM and GGBS(Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag)mixtures also increase to 1.015 and 1.130,respectively.

Influence of Thermally Treated Flue Gas Desulfurization(FGD) Gypsum on Performance of the Slag Powder Concrete

The feasibility of flue gas desulphurization （FGD） as concrete admixture was studied. A combined concrete admixture of the thermally-treated FGD gypsum and slag powder was explored. The FGD gypsum was roasted at 200℃ for 60 min and then mixed with the slag powder to form FGD gypsum-slag powder combined admixture in which the SO3 content was 3.5wt%. Cement was partially and equivalently replaced by slag powder alone or FGD gypsum-slag powder, at concentration of 25wt%, 40wt%, and 50wt%, respectively. The setting times, hydration products, total porosity and pore size distributions of the paste were determined. The compressive strength and drying shrinkage of cement mortar and concrete were also tested. The experimental results show that, in the presence of FGD gypsum, the setting times are much slower than those of pastes in the absence of FGD gypsum. The combination of FGD gypsum and slag powder provides synergistic benefits above that of slag powder alone. The addition of FGD gypsum provides benefit by promoting ettringite formation and forms a compact microstructure, increasing the compressive strength and reduces the drying shrinkage of cement mortar and concrete.

PERFORMANCE OF PULVERIZED SLAG SUBSTITUTED CEMENT

The Portland cement is equivalently substituted by slag micropowders with various specific areas. The workability, activity and acid-corrosion resistance of the slag-substituted cements are investigated, the activation of gypsum is discussed also the porosity and pore distribution of mortars of the slag micropowders cement are determined by mercury intrusion porosimetry.

Investigating the Local Granulated Blast Furnace Slag

The promotion of blast furnaces slag in construction industry aims at protecting the environment, fighting against the nuisance such as waste dumps and promoting local products. The use of granulated slag as a part replacement of Portland cement or in the production of clinker free binder constitutes a valuable outlet for this product. The aim of this study is the characterization of local granular slag using various techniques such as chemical analysis, X ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, infrared spectrometry, and conductimetry. These methods provide a clearer understanding of the vitreous structure of this type of slag and also provide clues as to the nature of its hydraulic reactivity. Mechanical tests have been carried out using 4 × 4 × 16 cm3 prismatic mortars using a composition activated by the clinker, varying the fineness of slag, its content and the nature of clinkers. Results obtained show that this type of slag is reactive, the evolution of its mechanical resistance depends on its fineness, and that long-term mechanical performance is of great interest.

Influence of colloidal nanosilica on hydration kinetics and properties of CaO/CaSO_(4)-activated slag binder

To solve the energy consumption and CO_(2) emission during cement production,the new binders must be developed as an alternative to cement.CaO/CaSO_(4)-activated slag binder is an eco-friendly and safe cementitious material;however,its low strength during initial stages limits its applications.In this study,colloidal nanosilica(CNS)was employed as an additive to improve the strength of CaO/CaSO_(4)-activated slag binder,and the effects of CNS on the workability,hydration kinetics,hydration products(type,quantity,and polymerization degree),and binder microstructure were thoroughly investigated.A moderate CNS content,through its nucleation effect,significantly increased the hydration rate of the nucleation and crystal growth(NG),phase boundary interaction(I)and diffusion(D)processes,which generated large quantities of calcium aluminosilicate hydrate(C-A-S-H)gel in the initial hydration stage.Meanwhile,the addition of CNS improved the polymerization degree of C-A-S-H gel.This amorphous reactant well-filled the pore space between slag particles and yielded a compact microstructure,consequently enhancing the binder strength.Considering the reduction in fluidity and the increase in production cost,the CNS mass fraction was controlled as3%,and the binder reached the satisfactory strengths of 3.87,24.47,31.43,and 41.78 MPa at 1,3,7,and 28 d,respectively.

The Preparation of Porous Activated Slag Granules/TiO_(2)Photocatalyst and Its De-NO_(x)Performance

The porous structure and honeycombed structure of granulated blast furnace slag formed by alkali activation(AGBFS)can be used as a promising photocatalysts substrate for the photocatalytic removal of atmospheric or water pollutants.In this study,photocatalytic activated slag granules were synthesized by loading TiO_(2)on AGBFS with immersion method.The physicochemical properties and NO_(x)removal performance of activated slag granules/TiO_(2)photocatalysts were studied by X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscope(SEM)and photocatalytic performance test.The effects of slag particle sizes and nano-TiO_(2)loading concentrations on photocatalytic efficiencies of NO_(x)removal were also investigated.It was found that the De-NO_(x)performance of activated slag granules/TiO_(2)photocatalyst increased with the increasing of slag particle size in low TiO_(2)loading concentration situation,while increasing the TiO_(2)loading concentration would result in the opposite De-NO_(x)performance as slag size increased.Nevertheless,for the same size activated slag,the photocatalytic efficiency of activated slag granules/TiO_(2)photocatalyst gradually improved with the increase of loading concentration of TiO_(2).