Dry Mix Slag—High-Calcium Fly Ash Binder. Part Two: Durability

This work investigates durability of cement-free mortars with a binder comprised of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) activated by high-calcium fly ash (HCFA) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3): the soundness, sulfate resistance, alkali-silica reactivity and efflorescence factors are considered. Results of tests show that such mortars are resistant to alkali-silica expansion. Mortars are also sulfate-resistant when the amount of HCFA in the complex binder is within a limit of 10 wt%. The fineness of fly ash determines its’ ability to activate GGBFS hydration, and influence soundness of the binder, early strength development, sulfate resistance and efflorescence behavior. The present article is a continuation of authors’ work, previously published in MSA, Vol. 14, 240-254.

Fly Ash-based Geopolymers:Effect of Slag Addition on Efflorescence

Blended fly ash/blast-furnace slag geopolymers are focused on due to their excellent mechanical and chemical resistant properties. We investigated the effect of slag partial substitution for fly ash on the efflorescence of the resulting geopolymers. The efflorescence of geopolymer binders was inspected and evaluated through leaching tests. The efflorescence deposits on surface of the geopolymer binders were analyzed using XRD and SEM-EDS. The results showed that sodium and calcium cations leached from geopolymer binders reacted with the atmospheric CO2 and formed the crystal deposits, gaylussite and calcite, in the forms of granular and angular crystal particles. The slag addition led to a refinement of the pore structure of fly ash-based geopolymers, but an increment in the concentration of alkali leaching. The crystal deposits gradually developed in the pore volume of the binders, and finally exceeded the capacity of pore volume. The extent of efflorescence on the surface of specimens increased with the slag substitution. The visible efflorescence is therefore a result of available alkalis and pore sizes and volumes. Higher concentration of available alkalis and smaller pores （and volume） will lead to more intensive efflorescence.

Comparison of Hydration Properties between Cement-GGBS-fly ash Blended Binder and Cement-GGBS-steel slag Blended Binder

The hydration properties of cement-GGBS-fly ash blended binder and cement-GGBS-steel slag blended binder were compared. The experimental results show that the hydration rate of cement-GGBS- steel slag blended binder is higher than that of cement-GGBS-fly ash blended binder within 28 days, but lower than the latter after 28 days. The hydration of cement-GGBS-steel slag blended binder tends to produce more Ca（OH）2 than the hydration of cement-GGBS-fly ash blended binder, especially at late ages. Cement-GGBS- steel slag mortar exhibits higher strength than cement-GGBS-fly ash mortar within 28 days, but at late ages, it exhibits similar compressive strength with eement-GGBS-fly ash mortar and even slightly lower bending strength than cement-GGBS-fly ash mortar. Cement-GGBS-steel slag paste has finer early pore structure but coarser late pore structure than cement-GGBS-fly ash paste. Cement-GGBS-steel slag paste can get satisfied late pore structure and cement-GGBS-steel slag mortar can get satisfied late strength as compared with pure cement paste and pure cement mortar, respectively.

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.

Surface Modification of Fly Ashes with Carbide Slag and Its Effect on Compressive Strength and Autogenous Shrinkage of Blended Cement Pastes

Surfaces of grade III fly ashes were modified through mixing with carbide slag and calcining at 850 ℃ for 1 h. Mineralogical compositions and surface morphology of fly ashes before and after modification were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, respectively. Effect of surface-modified fly ashes on compressive strength and autogenous shrinkage of blended cement pastes was investigated. Microstructures of cement pastes were examined by backscattered electron （BSE） imaging and mercury intrusion porosimetry （MIP）. The experimental results showed that β-C2S was formed on the surfaces of fly ashes after modification. Hydration ofβ-C2S on the surface-modified fly ashes densified interface zone and enhanced bond strength between particles of fly ashes and hydrated clinkers. In addition, surface modification of fly ashes tended to decrease total porosity and 10-50 nm pores of cement pastes. Surface modification of fly ashes increased compressive strength and reduced autogenous shrinkage of cement pastes.

Preparation of Reactive Powder Concrete Using Fly Ash and Steel Slag Powder

To decrease the cement and SF content of RPC by using ultra-fine fly ash （UFFA） and steel slag powder （SS）, the effect of these mineral admixtures on compressive strength of RPC were investigated. The experimental results indicate that the utilization of UFFA and SS in RPC is feasible and has prominent mechanical performance. The microstructure analysis （SEM and TG-DTG-DSC） demonstrated that the excellent mechanical properties of RPC containing SS and UFFA were mainly attributed to the sequential hydration filling effect of the compound system.

Compatibility of Fly Ash and Slag from Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler for Concrete Beam

The applications of fly ash and slag from circulating fluidized bed boiler were studied as mineral admixture and aggregate for steel reinforced concrete beam.The results show that the concrete beam with fly ash and slag from circulating fluidized bed boilers has a similar ultimate cracking load coefficient as the ordinary cement concrete and a higher bending moment limit.Under the same load,it has a smaller deformation than the ordinary concrete.

Comparative Studies on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Granulated Blast Furnace Slag and Fly Ash Reinforced AA 2024 Composites

Composites are most promising materials of recent interest. Metal matrix composites (MMCs) possess significantly improved properties compared to unreinforced alloys. There has been an increasing interest in composites containing low density and low cost reinforcements. In view of the generation of large quantities of solid waste by products like fly ash and slags, the present expensive manner in which it is discarded, new methods for treating and using these solid wastes are required. Hence, composites with fly ash and granulated blast furnace (GBF) slag as reinforcements are likely to overcome the cost barrier for wide spread applications in automotive and small engine applications. In the present investigation, AA 2024 alloy-5 wt% fly ash and GBF slag composites separately were made by stir casting route. Phase identification and structural characterization were carried out on fly ash and GBF slag by X-ray diffraction studies. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy EDS was used for microstructure analysis. The hardness and compression tests were carried out on all these alloy and composites. The SEM studies reveal that there was a uniform distribution of fly ash and GBF slag particles in the matrix phase and also very good bonding existed between the matrix and reinforcement. Improved hardness and mechanical properties were observed for both the composites compared to alloy;this increase is higher for Al-fly ash composite than Al-GBF slag composite.

Dry Mix Slag—High-Calcium Fly Ash Binder. Part One: Hydration and Mechanical Properties

High-calcium fly ash (HCFA)—a residue of high-temperature coal combustion at thermal power plants, in combination with sodium carbonate presents an effective hardening activator of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS). Substitution of 10% - 30% of GGBFS by HCFA and premixing of 1% - 3% Na2CO3 to this dry binary binder was discovered to give mortar compression strength of 10 - 30 to 30 - 45 MPa at 7 and 28 days when moist cured at ambient temperature. High-calcium fly ash produced from low-temperature combustion of fuel, like in circulating fluidized bed technology, reacts with water readily and is itself a good hardening activator for GGBFS, so introduction of Na2CO3 into such mix has no noticeable effect on the mortar strength. However, low-temperature HCFA has higher water demand, and the strength of mortar is compromised by this factor. As of today, our research is still ongoing, and we expect to publish more data on different aspects of durability of proposed GGBFS-HCFA binder later.

Prediction Model of Compressive Strength of Fly Ash-Slag Concrete Based on Multiple Adaptive Regression Splines

Accurate prediction of compressive strength of concrete is one of the key issues in the concrete industry. In this paper, a prediction method of fly ash-slag concrete compressive strength based on multiple adaptive regression splines (MARS) is proposed, and the model analysis process is determined by analyzing the principle of this algorithm. Based on the Concrete Compressive Strength dataset of UCI, the MARS model for compressive strength prediction was constructed with cement content, blast furnace slag powder content, fly ash content, water content, reducing agent content, coarse aggregate content, fine aggregate content and age as independent variables. The prediction results of artificial neural network (BP), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), extreme learning machine (ELM), and multiple nonlinear regression (MnLR) were compared and analyzed, and the prediction accuracy and model stability of MARS and RF models had obvious advantages, and the comprehensive performance of MARS model was slightly better than that of RF model. Finally, the explicit expression of the MARS model for compressive strength is given, which provides an effective method to achieve the prediction of compressive strength of fly ash-slag concrete.

Characterization of Size and Density Separated Fractions of a Bituminous Coal as a Feedstock for Entrained Slagging Gasification

Coal is one of the main sources of energy in many parts of the world and has one of the largest reserves/production ratios amongst all the non-renewable energy sources. Gasification of coal is one among the advanced technologies that has potential to be used in a carbon constrained economy. However, gasification availability at several commercial demonstrations had run into problems associated with fouling of syngas coolers due to unpredictable flyash formation and unburnt carbon losses. Computer models of gasifiers are emerging as a powerful tool to predict gasifier performance and reliability, without expensive testing. Most computer models used to simulate gasifiers tend to model coal as a homogenous entity based on bulk properties. However, coal is a heterogeneous material and comminution during feedstock preparation produces particle classes with different physical and chemical properties. It is crucial to characterize the heterogeneity of the feedstocks used by entrained flow gasifiers. To this end, a low ash US bituminous coal that could be used as a gasifier feedstock was segregated into density and size fractions to represent the major mineral matter distributions in the coal. Float and sink method and sieving were employed to partition the ground coal. The organic and inorganic content of all density fractions was characterized for particle size distribution, heating value, ultimate analysis, proximate analysis, mineral matter composition, ash composition, and petrographic components, while size fractions were characterized for heating value, ash composition, ultimate and proximate analysis. The proximate, ultimate and high heating value analysis showed that variation in these values is limited across the range of size fractions, while the heterogeneity is significant over the range of density fractions. With respect to inorganics, the mineral matter in the heavy density fractions contribute significantly to the ash yield in the coal while contributing very little to its heating value. The ash yield across the size fractions exhibits a bimodal distribution. The heterogeneity is also significant with respect to the base-to-acid ratio across the size and density fractions. The results indicate that the variations in organic and inorganic content over a range of density and size classes are significant, even in the low ash, vitrinite rich coal sample characterized here. Incorporating this information appropriately into particle population models used in gasifier simulations will significantly enhance their accuracy of performance predictions.

基于响应曲面法的三元地聚合物注浆材料耐久性能研究

为满足复杂地层条件下隧道同步注浆材料耐久性能要求,以粉煤灰、矿渣、偏高岭土等材料制备三元地聚合物注浆材料,并对其耐久性能进行研究。在探究原料物化性质的基础上,采用响应曲面法中Box-Behnken设计耐久性试验,对试验结果进行显著性分析、方差分析以及三维响应曲面分析,结合XRD、SEM和EDS分析地聚合物结石体的微观形貌和水化产物。结果表明:粉煤灰、偏高岭土和矿渣能形成性能互补效应,三者相互作用对注浆材料的侵蚀系数影响显著,可有效增强其抗硫酸盐离子侵蚀能力;预测确定系数R_(pred)^(2)为0.9328,试验相对误差为0.71%,模型精确度高,通过优化获得最佳配合比参数为水泥45.183%(质量分数,下同)、粉煤灰20%、偏高岭土20%、矿渣14.817%;地聚合物注浆材料水化产物主要为方解石、C-A-S-H和N-A-S-H凝胶等物质,这些物质紧密交接,交错生长,形成致密的三维空间网络结构支撑体系,有效增强了材料的耐久性能。研究结果可为三元地聚合物注浆材料耐久性能的后续研究及生产应用提供参考。

地聚物混凝土干燥收缩性能及活性氧化镁补偿收缩研究

制备粉煤灰-矿渣基地聚物混凝土,并进行地聚物混凝土28 d抗压强度和干燥收缩测试,探究分析活性氧化镁含量、水玻璃模数、碱当量和矿渣含量对其抗压强度和干燥收缩的影响机理。结果表明:随着活性氧化镁掺量增大,地聚物混凝土28 d抗压强度下降,干燥收缩变形显著减小;与0%(质量分数,下同)活性氧化镁混凝土相比,掺量为3%、6%和9%时混凝土28 d抗压强度分别下降8.0%、8.2%和18.2%,干燥收缩分别减小21.5%、26.4%和38.2%,此外,当活性氧化镁掺量为3%和6%时,不仅有效补偿了干燥收缩,且抗压强度损失较小;随着水玻璃模数升高,地聚物混凝土28 d抗压强度和干燥收缩变形增大;随着碱当量升高,地聚物混凝土28 d抗压强度下降、干燥收缩变形增大;随着矿渣含量增加,地聚物混凝土28 d抗压强度增大、干燥收缩变形减小。综合考虑抗压强度及收缩的要求,建议实际应用中选择高活性、大掺量氧化镁,掺量宜控制在3%~6%。

碱激发矿渣粉煤灰地质聚合物力学性能改性及其混凝土性能

这是一篇陶瓷及复合材料领域的论文。碱激发矿渣粉煤灰地质聚合物(ASFG)具有早期强度高、耐酸碱等优异性能,但脆性大、韧性差等缺陷影响其推广应用。为改善ASFG的性能且拓宽可应用于ASFG改性的矿物掺合料种类,以偏高岭土、沸石粉、膨润土、硅灰石粉、轻质碳酸钙和硅灰六种矿物掺合料作为改性材料,研究了其对ASFG力学性能的改性效果,并确定了硅灰为较佳改性材料。为深入探索硅灰对ASFG力学性能的改善作用,研究了硅灰掺量对ASFG力学性能的影响,并确定了硅灰的较佳掺量。最后,制备了碱激发矿渣-粉煤灰-硅灰地质聚合物混凝土(ASFSGC),并研究了其工作性、准静态力学性能和抗渗性。结果表明:膨润土、硅灰石粉、轻质碳酸钙、硅灰四种矿物掺合料对ASFG的抗折强度具有明显增强效果。硅灰石粉、硅灰两种矿物掺合料对ASFG的抗压强度具有明显增强效果。对ASFG而言,硅灰是一种优质矿物掺合料。随着硅灰掺量的增大,ASFG的力学性能先增大后减小,硅灰的较佳掺量为4%。ASFSGC具有良好的工作性、优异的抗渗性能,且ASFSGC的延性较普通硅酸盐水泥混凝土提高了14.1%。

铁尾矿-矿渣基地聚合物的制备及其性能

我国铁尾矿产生量较高,但利用率仍较低,为了高附加值资源化利用铁尾矿,将铁尾矿、高炉矿渣与粉煤灰混合后作为硅铝原料,通过机械粉磨和碱性激发剂来激发其反应活性,制备地聚合物胶凝材料。探讨了高炉矿渣与铁尾矿的配比、碱激发剂水玻璃的掺量对地聚合物试样抗压强度的影响,分析了地聚合物胶凝材料形成机理。结果表明:将铁尾矿和高炉矿渣采用机械粉磨活化时,粉磨时间超过60 min后其比表面积提高幅度变小,综合考虑原料活性和成本,机械粉磨时间定为60 min。当粉煤灰掺量为10%、高炉矿渣与铁尾矿的配比为5∶3、碱性激发剂水玻璃掺量为10%时,所制得的地聚合物试样3、7、28 d龄期的抗压强度分别为10.7、18.9、32.9 MPa。地聚合物试样在养护过程中,随着养护时间的延长,试样的结构越来越致密,尤其是28 d龄期的试样结构更加致密,生成的凝胶产物填充在原料颗粒之间的空隙,并将未反应的原料颗粒包裹,与相邻的凝胶产物相互胶结,形成一整体,从而有利于试样抗压强度的提高。

无机胶凝材料改性脱硫建筑石膏性能研究

循环流化床(CFB)灰渣具有良好的火山灰性,以脱硫建筑石膏为主要胶凝材料,电石渣为碱激发剂,CFB灰渣和粉煤灰为矿物掺和料,研究CFB灰渣对脱硫建筑石膏流动度、凝结时间、抗压强度、膨胀率等性能的影响规律,并借助X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)等手段分析其水化产物和微观形貌。结果表明,掺入CFB灰渣可以有效提高脱硫建筑石膏的力学性能和耐水性能,但对工作性能和膨胀性能有负面影响。经20%(质量分数)CFB飞灰、5%(质量分数)电石渣复合改性后,脱硫建筑石膏的1、28 d绝干抗压强度分别为20.53、22.37 MPa,较脱硫建筑石膏基样分别增加了28.6%、35.9%。CFB灰渣水化生成的水化硅酸钙(C-S-H)凝胶和钙矾石(AFt)包裹并填充于二水石膏晶体表面及空隙中,使硬化体内部结构更加密实,从而提高了脱硫建筑石膏的力学性能和耐水性能。

纤维地聚物改性粉质黏土无侧限抗压强度试验研究

通过对杭州市某隧道工程开挖产生的废弃粉质黏土添加不同改良剂后开展无侧限抗压强度(unconfined compression strength,UCS)试验,研究了不同矿渣掺量、矿渣-粉煤灰比例、聚丙烯纤维掺量条件下改良土样的抗压强度特性,并对抗压强度形成的机理进行了分析;同时,基于扫描电镜(scanning electron microscope,SEM)试验对表征土体孔隙特征的有关指标展开了定量分析。结果表明:在矿渣掺量为12%时UCS最大,为6738.04 kPa,较素土强度提高80.69倍;粉煤灰的掺入可提高试样后期强度,在K8F2(矿渣/粉煤灰比例80%∶20%)试样中最优;聚丙烯纤维的掺入能有效地改善材料的脆断性能,最优纤维掺量为0.4%。试样孔隙的定向频率在80°~100°区间内分布的概率最大,掺入粉煤灰后定向性较为均匀;孔隙率随着矿渣掺量的增加、地质聚合物中矿渣含量的增多均逐渐减小,在试样K12(矿渣掺量12%)和K8F2中出现最小值;而随着纤维掺量的增加,呈现先降低后升高的趋势,当纤维掺量为0.4%时其值最小,为6.204%;孔隙平均直径主要分布在0~1μm,矿渣掺量增多则小孔隙增多,大孔隙减少;孔隙丰度主要分布在0.4~0.6,孔隙形状主要为椭圆。

利用粉煤灰和高炉渣制备发泡陶瓷材料

这是一篇陶瓷及复合材料领域的论文。以粉煤灰和高炉渣为主要原料,外加碳化硅(SiC)为高温发泡剂,硼酸钠(Na_(2)B_(2)O_(7))为助熔剂,采用高温烧结法制备发泡陶瓷材料。主要研究了原料配比、SiC添加量及Na_(2)B_(2)O_(7)添加量对发泡陶瓷的气泡结构、体积密度、吸水率、抗压强度及导热系数的影响。实验结果表明:当粉煤灰含量为70%,高炉渣含量为30%,并额外添加0.3%SiC粉末和5%Na_(2)B_(2)O_(7),在烧成温度1100℃下保温40 min时,发泡陶瓷具有较佳的综合性能,其体积密度为0.516 g/cm^(3),吸水率为3.82%,抗压强度为3.62 MPa,导热系数为0.094 W/(m·K)。且该条件下样品的主要物相包括石英相(SiO_(2))、钙长石(CaAl_(2)Si_(2)O_(8))和辉石相(Ca(Mg,Al,Fe)Si_(2)O_(6)),大量晶体的析出促进了材料强度的提升。本研究为粉煤灰和高炉渣等工业固体废弃物转成高附加值的建筑保温材料提供一种新方法。

高温蒸汽养护复掺混凝土力学性能时变特性与模型研究

为研究高温蒸汽养护下粉煤灰-矿粉机制砂混凝土(简称复掺混凝土)力学性能时变特性与模型,本文结合某高速公路高温蒸汽养护复掺混凝土预制梁项目,设计了蒸汽-标准养护、蒸汽-自然养护和标准养护三种养护方式,测试了不同阶段复掺混凝土的抗压强度、劈裂抗拉强度和弹性模量,探究了抗压强度与劈裂抗拉强度、弹性模量的关系。结果表明:合适的蒸汽养护方式能促进复掺混凝土抗压强度、劈裂抗拉强度和弹性模量更快增长,其中对抗压强度形成作用最显著,后期的力学性能不倒缩;蒸汽养护恒温阶段复掺混凝土的力学性能具有最大的增长率,其次是升温阶段,降温阶段力学性能增长率最小;蒸汽-标准养护方式下复掺混凝土的抗压强度时变模型可取对数或对数与幂函数复合函数,劈裂抗拉强度、弹性模量时变模型可取幂函数。

循环流化床锅炉降低灰渣含碳量热态试验研究

针对循环流化床(CFB)锅炉燃用非设计煤种工况下,对总风量、一/二次风比例、床温、床压等参数进行热态调整试验,分析各参数对锅炉飞灰及底渣含碳量的影响规律。结果表明:在330 t/h负荷的基准工况下(不投飞灰再循环),通过适当提升床压及燃烧室温度,能使燃料充分燃烧,飞灰含碳量由调整前最高20.75%减少到15.97%左右,底渣含碳量从最高2.28%降低至0.40%左右,锅炉效率提高约1.5%以上。此外,飞灰再循环的投入能有效降低飞灰含碳量,建议在生产实践中尽量保证飞灰再循环的连续投入。