Materials and Design 85 (2015) 324–331

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Materials and Design

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Alkali-activated cements and mortars based on blast furnace slag and red
clay brick waste
Nailia R. Rakhimova ⁎, Ravil Z. Rakhimov
Department of Building Materials, Kazan State University of Architecture and Engineering, 420043 Kazan, Zelenaya Str. 1, Russian Federation

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study investigates the effects of adding various concentrations, sources and compositions of ground red clay
Received 7 February 2015 brick waste (RCBW) on the properties of fresh and hardened pastes and mortars of alkali-activated slag. The
Received in revised form 27 April 2015 method used to grind the granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) and RCBW (separate and conjoint) is also assessed,
Accepted 23 June 2015
along with the fineness (300–900 m2/kg) of the blended alkali-activated GBFS-RCBW cement, the alkali activator
Available online 11 July 2015
(sodium carbonate or sodium silicate) and the curing conditions (normal conditions or steam curing). The water
Keywords:
requirement and setting time for the fresh pastes are also considered; and in the case of the hardened paste and
Granulated blast-furnace slag mortar, the water absorption, density and compressive/flexural strength are measured after 1, 3, 7 and 28 days of
Alkali-activated cements aging. From the results obtained, it is demonstrated that the addition of 40% RCBW improves the 7- and 28-day
Red clay brick waste strength of blended alkali-activated slag pastes and mortars, and can replace up to 60% of the slag without losing
Waste management strength.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction an aluminosilicate precursor and an alkaline activator, with a variety of

Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is one of the most important and
widely used building materials, and in the nearly two centuries since
its invention, has remained more popular than other mineral binders.
This popularity is expected to continue well into the future, but this
poses a problem in that OPC production consumes large amounts of nat-
ural raw materials and energy. As this does not meet modern ecological
standards for building materials and technologies [1], there are a num-
ber of key trends being considered to ensure a more sustainable future
for the cement industry. These include: (i) reducing the volume of
waste associated with Portland clinker production, (ii) increasing the
production of Portland cement blends, and (iii) increasing the produc-
tion of low clinker, non-clinker and low-emission alternative cements
[2–4]. Note that in all three cases there is a focus on increasing the use
of various mineral wastes as an alternative to OPC. The chemical and
mineralogical composition of ceramic wastes, in particular their com-
patibility with different binders, makes them a particularly attractive
material for use in landscaping and road-building [5], as a fine or coarse
aggregate in the production of structural and non-structural concrete/
mortar [6–8], a raw material for OPC clinker production [9–11], a
supplementary cementitious material [12–14], or a raw material for
alkali-activated cements (AAC) [15–18].
The ecological and technical advantages of AAC have seen them at-
tract significant from both the scientific and industrial communities
worldwide [19–23]. Such materials usually consist of two components,
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: rahimova.07@list.ru (N.R. Rakhimova).
industrial by-products and aluminosilicate solids having been used as
the raw materials. These include: granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS),
granulated phosphorus slag, steel slag, coal fly ash, volcanic glass,
zeolite, metakaolin, silica fume, and non-ferrous slag [4], but this list is
continuously expanding as new mineral resources are identified. The
significant point is that the chemical–mineralogical composition of
ground ceramic wastes, in combination with the presence of an amor-
phous phase, allows for the geopolymerisation via alkali activation
needed to convert them to AACs. The chemical composition of ceramic
wastes identified in previous reports, and the characteristics of AACs
produced from them, are listed in Tables 1 and 2. This demonstrates
that the compressive strength of AACs can vary from 13 to as much as
71.1 MPa depending on the alkali content and curing conditions.
The widespread use and application of OPC would not have been
possible had improvements not been made to its microstructure and
long-term performance through the use supplementary cementitious
materials, be they single or multicomponent mineral admixtures. Simi-
larly, research and development into blending AACs has identified a va-
riety of additives that can improve AACs. Particularly good results
[19–22,24–26] have been achieved through with blending with calcium
or low-calcium aluminosilicate minerals, which respectively produce
C–(A)–S–H [27–29] and N–A–S–H [29,30] binder gels as the main reac-
tion product; combining these gives an intermediate Ca-blended sys-
tem. The stable coexistence of the hydration-reaction products means
that these binders are expected to provide good synergy between
mechanical strength and durability [4,31]. Moreover, by using a suitable
alkali and blending with a more reactive calcium sources (which can in-
clude OPC clinker), it may be possible to use aluminosilicate-rich waste

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2015.06.182
0264-1275/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 N.R. Rakhimova, R.Z. Rakhimov / Materials and Design 85 (2015) 324–331 325

Table 1
The chemical composition of ceramic wastes.

Ceramic waste type SiO2 Al2O3 CaO MgO Fe2O3 K2O Na2O SO3 LOI Reference

Ceramic wastes 60.3–67.3 16.1–18.0 6.5–9.92 0.42–3.07 1.1–5.32 2.09–4.31 0.62–1.72 0.05–0.13 0.29–0.48 [11]
Red clay brick 49.9 16.6 9.7 5.5 6.5 4.4 0.5 3.3 2.4 [15]
Ceramic waste 65.52 21.00 6.00 1.95 1.11 3.31 0.36 0.17 0.14 [17]
Red clay brick 50.96 16.92 9.92 5.62 6.68 4.33 0.55 3.37 1.65 [18]
Porcelain stoneware 71.35 19.37 0.51 0.59 1.09 1.73 4.68 0.02 0.67 [18]

Table 2
The characteristics of AACs obtained from the ceramic wastes.

Ceramic waste type Alkali component and concentration Compressive strength, MPa Curing conditions Reference

Ceramic wastes Na2O·nSiO2·mH2O + NaOH (6 M NaOH) Up to 13 8 days at 40 °C [11]

Red clay brick Na2O·nSiO2·mH2O + NaOH (Na+ 7.0 m) Up to 50 7 days at 65 °C [15]
Ceramic waste Na2O·nSiO2·mH2O + NaOH Up to 71.1 28 days at 65 °C [17]
Red clay brick, porcelain stoneware Na2O·nSiO2·mH2O + NaOH (Na+ 6.0–9.0 Mol kg−1) 22–41 7 days at 65 °C [18]

products that would otherwise be insufficiently reactive to develop
good strength when activated alone, thereby giving value to these
materials [21]. The blending of low-calcium aluminosilicate with calcium
aluminosilicate can also improve the binder performance; for example,
the addition of fly ash to GBFS has been reported to improve is resistance
to acidic, sulfate and seawater environments, as well as its strength and
pore structure characteristics [31–37].
Blended AACs can be considered a compositional system with its
own unique features and properties, which are influenced by many
more factors than those influencing the properties of OPC. There are,
for instance, the influencing factors common to all powdered binders
to consider, such as the chemical and mineralogical composition, fine-
ness, water to binder ratio and curing conditions. In addition, there are
also factors related to the alkali component, such as its composition
and concentration, which can also have a significant effect on the prop-
erties and structure of AACs [26].
The chemical and phase composition of GBFS has seen it widely
studied as a calcium source for AACs, and along with fly ash, it is con-
sidered one of the most suitable aluminosilicate solids for the com-
mercialization of AACs [21]. The advantage of GBFS, however, is that
the resulting alkali-activated slag cement (AASC) requires a much
lower alkali activator concentration (2–8%) than fly ash and
metakaolin-based AACs (5–20%) [38]. Considering the cost and demand
of ground GBFS (GGBFS) in the cement industry, the development of
blended AASC with reduced GGBFS content is promising, though blends
of ground GBFS and red clay brick waste (RCBW) do not have been ex-
plored. This study therefore aims to evaluate the properties of fresh and
hardened pastes of AAC and mortars based on a blend of GBFS and
RCBW and how they are affected by changes in various factors relating
to processing (separate or conjoint grinding, curing conditions), the
mineral matrix (type of alkali activator, fineness of blended AAC), and
the raw materials (composition and origin of RCBW).
2. Experimental details
An overview of the experimental steps and influencing factors con-
sidered as variables in this investigation is shown schematically in Fig. 1.

Influencing factors of blended AAC

Influencing factors of Processing factor:

IInfluencing factor of
mineral matrix:
* alkali activator
- sodium carbonate
- sodium silicate
blending material: * grinding method
* percentage up to 100% - separate grinding
* specific surface area of - conjount grinding
blended AAC * curing conditions
- 300 m2/kg - normal conditions
- 600 m2/kg - steam curing
- 900 m2/kg

Fig. 1. Factors influencing the properties of blended AAC.

Table 3
Chemical composition of the starting materials.

Starting material Chemical composition (mass % as oxide)

SiO2 Al2O3 CaO MgO Fe2O3 FeO K2O Na2O TiO2 MnO P2O3 SO3 LOI

GBFS 37.49 11.58 36.22 8.61 0.16 – 0.95 0.68 1.80 0.50 0.01 2.00 –
RCBW1 77.43 9.27 2.89 1.36 3.9 0.1 2.26 0.8 0.62 0.06 0.1 0.11 0.91
RCBW2 73.83 12.94 1.67 1.36 5.52 0.13 2.18 0.9 0.84 0.08 0.09 0.12 0.24
RCBW3 77.52 9.85 2.03 1.15 4.4 0.27 2.28 0.84 0.63 0.06 0.1 0.07 0.64
RCBW4 72.83 12.01 2.95 1.7 5.73 0.26 1.94 0.99 0.72 0.09 0.1 0.09 0.45
326 N.R. Rakhimova, R.Z. Rakhimov / Materials and Design 85 (2015) 324–331

separate grinding (water adsorption) conjoint grinding (water adsorption)

Table 4
separate grinding (density) conjoint grinding (density)
Mineralogical composition of RCBWs.

Starting material Mineralogical composition (mass %) 25 1.9

Quartz Feldspars Hematite Cristobalite Amorphous phase 1.85

RCBW1 67 12 4 5 12 20
1.8

Water adsorption (%)

RCBW2 48 17 5 2
RCBW3 63 12 3 4
RCBW4 46 14 5 2
2.1. Materials
Table 3 shows the chemical composition of the ground GBFS
(Chelyabinsky factory) and four different types of RCBWs used as
starting materials. These RCBWs are characterized by a higher SiO2
content and lower Al2O3 content than the ceramic wastes listed in
Table 1, and this is believed to be a result of differences in the chemical
composition of the original raw clay. Table 4 gives the mineralogical
composition of the RCBWs, which were sourced as either fragments
from construction and demolition (RCBW1 and RCBW2), or from brick-
making plants in Kazan (RCBW3) or Arsk (RCBW4) in the Russian
Federation.
Taking into consideration the individual effects of the raw materials
and binder gel, as well as the structural and physical properties of
AASCs, a new classification system was proposed that defines supple-
mentary materials as being either: (1) nucleation seeds, (2) chemically
active, (3) physically active, or (4) physically active and reactive [26].
Chemically active supplementary materials are characterized by an
amorphous structure, which forms cementitious hydration products
and modifies the composition of the binder gel. Physically active supple-
mentary materials, on the other hand, have a crystalline and/or chemi-
cally inert structure that does not modify the composition of the binder
gel, but does affect the physical structure of the mixed binder. Physically
active and reactive supplementary materials combine both of these
effects. The RCBWs used as additives in this study exhibit different activ-
ities in an alkali medium, with quartz and hematite phases being phys-
ically active, feldspars physically active and reactive, and cristobalite
and amorphous phases chemically active. RCBW3 is expected to have
the worst activity due to its lower chemically active amorphous content,
that is why it has been mostly used in this study to determine the low
level characteristics of hardened pastes based on GGBFS and RCBW.
The AAC mortars were prepared using river sand with a fineness
modulus of 2.5, bulk density of 2540 kg/m3 and absorption of 2%. The
GBFS and RCBWs were separately and conjointly ground in a laboratory
planetary mill to a specific surface area (Ssp) of 300, 600 or 900 m2/kg
separate grinding
140
Compressive strength (MPa)
Density (g/cm3)
28
18
15 1.75
33
1.7
10 1.65
1.6
5
1.55
0 1.5
0/100 20/80 40/60 60/40 80/20 100/0
Ratio RBCW3/GGBFS (%)
Fig. 3. Density and water adsorption of hardened AAC pastes with different RCBW/GBFS
ratios and grinding methods.
(Blaine). Alkaline activation of the mixed cements was then carried
out using commercial sodium silicate and sodium carbonate solutions
to give a silica modulus (Ms = molar SiO2/Na2O ratio) of 1.5 by
adjusting the addition of alkali activator to 5% (by Na2O) by weight.
Note that as the alkaline component increases the final cost of AASC,
its concentration was not increased by more than 5%; the activation of
GGBFS-RCBW blends with Na2O additions of less than 5% proving to
be unsuccessful.
The mineralogical composition of the RCBWs was determined using
a D8 ADVANCE X-ray diffractometer (XRD) with CuKα radiation op-
erating at 40 kV and 30 mA. Quantitative analysis of the RCBWs was
performed using a method based on mineral intensity factors and dif-
fraction peaks determination. The experimentally obtained interplanar
spacings and relative intensities of the diffraction peaks were compared
against standard radiographical data in the form of an international
PDF-2 data file [39]. The particle size distribution and Ssp of the powders
were determined using a laser particle-size analyser (Fritsch Parti-
cle Sizer, ANALYSETTE 22) and a Blaine air-permeability apparatus,
respectively.
2.2. Methods
Vicat tests were carried out in accordance with EN 196–3 standards
to establish the effect of varying the RCBW used on the setting time and
standard consistency of fresh AASC pastes. The AAC pastes were
conjoint grinding prepared in cubic molds (2 × 2 × 2 cm). The AAC mortars were prepared
in prismatic molds (4 × 4 × 16 cm). The compressive and flexural
strength of each sample type was measured after 1, 3, 7 and 28 days of

120 storage under normal conditions (room temperature, relative humidity

100
Table 5
28-day compressive strength of hardened AAC pastes with different alkali activators
80
RCBW/GGBFS ratios and RCBW types.

60 RCBW type Alkali activator Compressive strength (MPa)

RCBW/GGBFS ratio
40
0/100 20/80 40/60 60/40 80/20 100/0
20
RCBW1 Sodium silicate 97 115 112 91 75 0
RCBW2 Sodium silicate 97 115 114 95 77 0
0
RCBW3 Sodium silicate 97 111 111 89 71 0
0/100 20/80 40/60 60/40 80/20 100/0 RCBW4 Sodium silicate 97 119 120 93 77 0
RCBW3/GGBFS ratio (%) RCBW1 Sodium carbonate 61 70 68 52 31 0
RCBW2 Sodium carbonate 61 72 77 57 32 0
RCBW3 Sodium carbonate 61 69 69 54 26 0
Fig. 2. 28-day compressive strength of hardened AAC pastes with different RCBW/GBFS
RCBW4 Sodium carbonate 61 74 77 59 35 0
ratios and grinding methods.
 N.R. Rakhimova, R.Z. Rakhimov / Materials and Design 85 (2015) 324–331 327

120

100

final setting time

Setting time, min

80 (sodium silicate)
initial setting time
60 (sodium silicate)
final setting time
40 (sodium carbonate)
initial setting time
20 (sodium carbonate)

0
300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Ssp m 2 /kg)
(

Fig. 4. Variation in setting time of sodium silicate and sodium carbonate activated fresh BAAC paste with Ssp.

(RH) = 95%), and after steam curing (4 h preset, 3 h of heating, 6 h at
a constant temperature of 90–95 °C, then 3 h of cooling). All values repre-
sent an average obtained from six samples.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Influence of grinding method on the strength of AAC pastes
Fig. 2 shows the effect of using either separate or conjoint grinding of
GBFS and RCBW3 to an Ssp of 300 m2/kg on the compressive strength of
hardened, blended sodium silicate-activated AAC pastes. As can be seen,
conjoint grinding is the more effective of the two options, with the
60/40 GGBFS/RCBW3 sample exhibiting a 22.6% higher compressive
strength than the reference sample. The introduction of separately
ground RCBW3 to ground GBFS, on the other hand, failed to provide
any significant improvement in strength. The strength of the 40/60
GBFS/RCBW3 AAC sample is the same as that of the reference, but this
can be attributed to an increase in the porosity of the hardened paste.
The complete lack of compressive strength observed with low alkali
content indicates that adding RCBW3 alone is insufficient to ensure
the hardening of AAC.
From the fact that the conjointly ground blended AAC has a higher
density and lower water adsorption (Fig. 3), it can be surmised that
the surface energy of the GBFS and RCBW3 particles is increased by
this process. This, in turn, would ensure a more effective reaction with
the alkaline component, resulting in a stronger and denser hardened
AAC paste than if the two components are separately ground. On the
WR(sodium silicate)
strength of this evidence, all further experiments were carried out
using AAC obtained by conjoint grinding.
3.2. Effect of RCBW composition on the compressive strength of hardened
blended AAC pastes
The results in Table 5 show that there is a good compatibility
between GBFS and RCBW, in that the composition and origin of the
RCBW has minimal influence on the strength of the hardened AAC
paste; the compressive strength increasing from 97 to 125 MPa and
from 61 to 82 MPa with sodium and sodium carbonate activation, re-
spectively. The fact that RCBW2 and RCBW4 exhibited the greatest in-
crease in strength can be explained by the higher concentration of
amorphous phase in these samples. The improvement in strength pre-
sumably represents the sum of the effects that each component of
RCBW has on the composition and structure of hardened AASC paste.
Indeed, previous studies have suggested that the main constituents of
RCBW are able to improve the strength of hardened AASC paste, with
Rashad et al. [40] and Rakhimova et al. [41] demonstrating the strength-
ening effect of quartz powder. Interestingly, this is not caused by any ef-
fect on the composition of the binder gel, but rather the fact that quartz
can act as a nucleation site for reaction products, thereby restricting
deformation of the mineral matrix by mechanical constraint and ensur-
ing the formation of a strong interfacial transitional zone between the
BAAC40/60 (sodium silicate)
BAAC40/60 (sodium carbonate)
150
WR(sodium carbonate)
140
Compressive strength (MPa)

40
38 130
Water requirement (%)

36 120
34
110
32
30 100

28 90
26
80
24
22 70

20 60
300 400 500 600 700 800 900 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Ssp (m2/kg) Ssp (m2/kg)

Fig. 5. Variation in water requirement of sodium silicate-activated and sodium carbonate- Fig. 6. Variation in 28-day compressive strength of hardened BAAC pastes with Ssp and
activated fresh BAAC pastes with Ssp. alkali activator type.
328 N.R. Rakhimova, R.Z. Rakhimov / Materials and Design 85 (2015) 324–331

W (%) (sodium silicate) Table 6

W (%) (sodium carbonate) Characteristic parameters of GGBFS powders with different Ssp [46].
ρ (g/cm3) (sodium silicate)
ρ (g/cm3) (sodium carbonate) Ssp of GGBFS, m2/kg Characteristic particle size, μm Uniformity index n

15 2 300 25.78 0.8773

600 20.9 0.943
14 900 15.2 0.9082

13 1.95
Water adsorption (%)

Density (g/cm 3)
12 from 300 to 900 m2/kg reduces the initial setting time from 35 to
1.9
11 10 min, and the final setting time from 110 to 28 min. Similarly, a
with fresh sodium silicate-activated BAAC paste, the initial setting
10 time is reduced from 10 to 4.5 min and the final setting time is reduced
1.85
9 from 22 to 7 min. This is accompanied by an increase in the water re-
quirement from 26 to 33.2% in the case of sodium carbonate activated
8 1.8 fresh pastes, and from and 26.1 to 34.2% with sodium silicate (Fig. 5).
7

6 1.75 3.4. Influence of Ssp and alkali activator type on the properties of hardened
300 400 500 600 700 800 900 BAAC paste
Ssp (m 2/kg)
From the variation in the 28-day compressive strength of hardened
Fig. 7. Variation in 28-day density and water adsorption of hardened BAAC pastes with Ssp. BAAC pastes with Ssp seen in Fig. 6, it is evident that the compressive
strength of both the sodium carbonate and sodium silicate activated
hardened BAAC pastes peaks at an Ssp of 600–700 m2/kg. Note that
quartz powder particles and the AASC paste [41]. Meanwhile, the inter- this also coincides with the maximum density and minimum water
action of aluminosilicate glass and feldspars in RCBW with the alkaline adsorption, as shown in Fig. 7.
component results in the formation of reaction products with binding According to Puertas [45], the optimal fineness of GBFS used for the
properties [42,43]. Amorphous silica can also increases the compressive production of alkali-activated materials is in the range of 400–550 m2/kg,
and flexural strength of hardened AASC pastes through the formation of though Isozaki et al. have shown that the strength of AASCs increases
calcium silicate hydrates [44]. linearly with Ssp up to 650 m2/kg (Blaine) [46]. Wang et al. [47] found
that the critical GBFS surface area at which the strength of a hardened
3.3. Influence of Ssp and alkali activator type on the properties of fresh AASC paste is reduced varies from 500 to 600 m2/kg (Blaine) depending
BAAC paste on the basicity of the slag: 550 for “neutral”, where C + M/A + S =
0.95–1.05; 500 for “basic” (N 1.05) and 600 for “acid” (b0,95). The results
The results in Fig. 4 show that increasing the Ssp of a fresh sodium obtained in the present study agree with previously published data [48];
carbonate-activated blended AAC based on GGBFS and RCBW3 (BAAC) and as shown in Fig. 8, are related to the hardened strength of sodium car-
bonate and sodium silicate activated AASCs. However, it is the particle
a) 10.5 2.1 size distribution of the GBFS with an Ssp 600–700 m2/kg that creates a
10 maximum packing density in the AASC paste, and therefore a maximum
strength and minimal water absorption.
Water adsorption (%)

9.5 2.05
Density (g/cm 3)

9 The granulometric composition of a material can be described by a

W (curing)
8.5
2 mathematical model based on the Rosin–Rammler–Sperling–Bennet
W (28d) (RRSB) function of:
8
1.95 ρ (curing)
7.5
ρ (28d)
R ¼ 100 e−ðxe Þ ;
n
7 1.9
x

6.5
6 1.85
300 400 500 600 700 800 900 GGBFS/RCBW (60/40) GGBFS
Ssp of GGBFS (m 2/kg)

>50 µm
b)
160
Compressive strength (MPa)

140 20-500 µm
Particle size

120 sodium silicate (curing)

100 10-20 µm
sodium silicate (28d)
80
60 sodium carbonate
(curing) 5-10 µm
40 sodium carbonate (28d)
20
< 5 µm
0
300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Ssp (m2/kg)
0 10 20 30
Content (%)
Fig. 8. Variation in (a) bulk density and water adsorption (steam curing, sodium silicate
solution) and (b) compressive strength of AASC paste as a function of the GGBF Ssp [46]. Fig. 9. Particle size distribution of GBFS and GBFS/RCBW (60/40) with an Ssp of 600 m2/kg.
 N.R. Rakhimova, R.Z. Rakhimov / Materials and Design 85 (2015) 324–331 329

a) 140

120

Compressive strength (MPa)

100

80
300 m2/kg
60 600 m2/kg
900 m2/kg
40

20

0
0 7 14 21 28
Age (days)

b) 140

120
Compressive strength (MPa)

100

80
300 m2/kg
60 600 m2/kg

900 m2/kg
40

20

0
0 7 14 21 28
Age (days)

Fig. 10. Compressive strength development of hardened (a) sodium carbonate and (b) sodium silicate activated BAAC pastes with different Ssp.

where R is the fraction of particles (by mass) with a diameter greater
than x, and xв is the size which 36.8% of particles exceeds [49]. This
can therefore be used to obtain either a characteristic size (i.e., the fine-
ness of grinding), or the uniformity of the particle size distribution, as
shown in Table 6.
As can be seen in Table 6, GBFS with an Ssp of 600 m2/kg is the
most uniform in terms of particle size, being very similar to pure
AASC with the same Ssp. The similarities in particle size distribution
(Fig. 9) and characteristic variations of BAAC (Figs. 6 and 7) and
AASC (Fig. 8) lead to the conclusion that the maximum packing

1.96

1.94

1.92
Density (g/cm3)

1.9

1.88
300 m2/kg
1.86
600 m2/kg
1.84
900 m2/kg
1.82

1.8

1.78
0 7 14 21 28
Age (days)

Fig. 11. Variation in the density of hardened sodium silicate activated BAAC pastes with Ssp.
330 N.R. Rakhimova, R.Z. Rakhimov / Materials and Design 85 (2015) 324–331

14
inferior to those based on AASC. This reduced early strength can be
12 attributed to the lower reaction rate of RCBW, and the reduction in
Water adsorption (%)

products produced by the reaction between GBFS and the alkali compo-
10
nent. After 28 days, however, the compressive and flexural strength of
8 mortars based on BAAC with Ssp values of 600 and 900 m2/kg is higher
300 m2/kg than that of AASC-based mortars aged for the same period of time, or
6
600 m2/kg steam cured. Sodium carbonate-activated BAAC mortars also have no
4 900 m2/kg strength after 1 day of aging, but after three days show a notable im-
2 provement in compressive and flexural strength relative to AASC-
based mortars aged for 28 days or steam cured. The extent to which
0
various factors affect the strength of hardened pastes and mortars
0 7 14 21 28
based on BAAC strength can therefore be concluded to vary in the
Age (days)
following order: alkali activator type N concentration of RCBW N grind-
ing method N curing conditions N composition and origin of RCBW.
Fig. 12. Variation in the water adsorption of hardened sodium silicate activated BAAC
pastes with Ssp.
3.6. Influence of GBFS and GBFS/RCBW grinding time

density of blended cement particles is achieved with BAAC with an The grinding time required to produce GBFS with an Ssp value of 300,
Ssp of 600 m2/kg. 600 or 900 m2/kg was determined to be 100, 300 or 600 s, respectively,
The development of strength in hardened BAAC pastes shown in but these times decreased to 60, 130, and 170 s in the case of a 60/40
Fig. 10 is also analogous to previously published results for AASCs [48]. GBFS/RCBW blend. This represents a significant reduction in grinding
Further analysis of these results, however, revealed differences in the time of between 1.7–3.5 times depending on the Ssp, meaning that the
rate and level of strength development in the hardened pastes that cost of grinding is also reduced.
were dependent on the Ssp of the BAAC used. For instance, BAAC with
an Ssp of 300 m2/kg produced a lower strength than BAAC with an Ssp 4. Conclusions
of 600 or 900 m2/kg at all stages of hardening, while BAAC with an Ssp
of 900 m2/kg produced the highest 1 and 3-day compressive strengths. This study has demonstrated the feasibility of producing blended
As shown in Fig. 11, the highest strength of the hardened BAAC paste alkali-activated slag cements from a ground blend of granulated blast
with an Ssp of 900 m2/kg coincides with its highest density, with an furnace slag and red clay brick waste; and in considering the effects of
Ssp of 600 m2/kg producing a lower strength at the same age than the various influential factors, the following conclusions have been drawn.
alkali-activated BAAC40/60 with an Ssp of 900 m2/kg. The hardened
pastes based on BAAC with an Ssp of 600 m2/kg achieved their maxi-
1. RCBW is a chemically and physically active polymineralic additive
mum strength and bulk density, and lowest water adsorption (Figs. 11
that can replace up to 60% of the GBFS in AASC pastes and mortars,
and 12), after 28 days of aging, their stable strength development over
and can actually increase the strength after aging or steam curing.
time providing an attractive combination of early strength and highest
2. The strength and density of hardened AAC pastes based on conjointly
final strength when compared with using BAACs with Ssp values of
ground GBFS and RCBW are higher than if the two components are
300 and 900 m2/kg.
ground separately.
3. The strength of blended AASC is most affected by the type of alkali ac-
3.5. Strength characteristics of AASC- and BAAC-based mortars
tivator, followed in sequence by the concentration of RCBW, grinding
method, curing conditions and least of all the composition and origin
The variation in strength with Ssp, curing conditions and alkali acti-
of the RCBW.
vator type demonstrated in Table 7 shows that it is possible to achieve
4. Increasing the Ssp of BAAC greatly reduces both the initial and final
good early and 28-day strength characteristics in BAAC-based mortars.
setting time of fresh sodium carbonate-activated BAAC paste, but
When the alkali component is sodium silicate, then mortars based on
this can be further reduced with sodium silicate activation. In either
BAAC with an Ssp of 300 m2/kg alone have no strength after 1-day of
case, however, the water requirement is increased.
aging. Furthermore, even if the GBFS is diluted with RCBW to increase
5. An increase in the Ssp of BAAC can improve the 28-day strength of
the Ssp to 600 or 900 m2/kg, the strength of the resulting mortar is still
hardened BAAC pastes and mortars by up to 30%.
6. Hardened pastes and mortars based on BAAC with an Ssp of 600 m2/kg
Table 7
Variation in the strength of mortars based on AASC and BAAC with Ssp, curing conditions
exhibit stable strength development over time and provide an attrac-
and alkali activator type. tive combination of high strength, high density and minimal water
adsorption.
Binder Ssp Alkali Compressive strength/flexural strength
type (m2/kg) activator (MPa)
7. The grinding time of BAAC is 1.7–3.5 times less than that of a compara-
ble AASC.
Normal conditions Steam
curing
1d 3d 28 d
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