Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 1086e1096

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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An investigation on blast-furnace stag as fine aggregate in alkali-

activated slag mortars subjected to elevated temperatures
Alaa M. Rashad a, *, Dina M. Sadek a, Hassan A. Hassan b
a
Building Materials Research and Quality Control Institute, Housing & Building National Research Center, HBRC, Cairo, Egypt
b
Raw Building Materials Technology and Processing Research Institute, Housing & Building National Research Center, HBRC, Cairo, Egypt

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

Article history: In this study, the possibility of using granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS) as partial or full natural silica
Received 29 November 2014 sand replacement in alkali-activated slag (AAS) mortar was investigated. The ratio of binder to fine
Received in revised form aggregate was 1:2. Natural sand was replaced with GBFS at levels of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, by
22 July 2015
weight. Compressive strength at ages of 7 and 28 d was measured. The behaviour of the investigated
Accepted 23 July 2015
Available online 31 July 2015
mortar mixtures after exposure to 200, 400, 600 and 800
C for 2 h was evaluated quantitatively by
measuring the residual compressive strength and qualitatively by visual inspection. The various
decomposition phases formed and the morphology of formed hydrates were identified by using X-ray
Keywords:
Activated slag
diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy
Fine aggregate dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results indicated that the compressive strength of the mortar
GBFS specimens before and after firing increased with increasing GBFS sand content.
Elevated temperature © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Residual compressive strength

1. Introduction
Concrete is the most widely used construction material which
still depends on Portland cement (PC) as a binder. PC was found to
be the primary source of CO2 emissions generated by typical
commercially produced concrete mixtures, being responsible for
74e81% of total CO2 emissions. The next major source of CO2
emissions in concrete was found to be coarse aggregate, being
responsible for 13e20% of total CO2 emissions, whilst production of
1 t of fine aggregate was found to generate 30e40% of the CO2
emissions generated by the production of 1 t of coarse aggregate
(Flower and Sanjayan, 2007). Approximately 3.6 billion t of cement
is produced globally each y. A conservative estimate for every 1 kg
of cement produced gives about of 0.9 kg of CO2 (Imbabi et al.,
2012), this equates to about 3.24 billion t of CO2 per y. Among the
greenhouse gases, CO2 contributes about 65% of the global warm-
ing, of which cement production could represent approximately
10% of total global warming CO2 emissions in the near future (Topçu
et al., 2014). The scientific community reported that the global
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ20 1228527302 (mobile); fax: þ20 2 33351564,
þ20 2 33367179.
E-mail addresses: alaarashad@yahoo.com, a.rashad@hbrc.edu.eg (A.M. Rashad).
mean temperature is likely to rise by 1.4e5.8
C over the next 100 y
(Rehan and Nehdi, 2005). This is particularly serious in the current
context of climate change caused by CO2 emissions worldwide,
causing a rise in sea level which associated to loss coastal area
(Benhelal et al., 2013) and the occurrence of natural disasters and
being responsible for future meltdown in the world economy
(Rashad, 2014). The energy demand associated with PC production
is about 1700e1800 MJ t clinker (Rashad, 2014), which is the third
largest use of energy, after that of aluminium and steel
manufacturing industries. In addition, PC production consumes
considerable amounts of virgin materials, producing each t of PC of
which about 1.5 t of raw materials is needed (Rashad, 2015a).
Alternative binders to PC have been proposed to reduce green-
house gas emission as blended cements (Crossin, 2015). Blended
cements can reduce CO2 emissions (Yang et al., 2015) by approxi-
mately 13e22% (Flower and Sanjayan, 2007), although this esti-
mate can vary depending on local conditions at the source of raw
materials, binder quantity and amount of PC replacement, type of
manufacturing facilities, climate, energy sources and trans-
portation distance. Another effective alternative binder is the use of
alkali-activated materials such as slag, fly ash (FA), burned clay and
other aluminosilicate materials. The CO2 emission reduction rate of
alkali-activated concrete relative to PC concrete commonly ranges
between 55% and 75%, although the CO2 reduction of alkali-

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.07.127
0959-6526/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 A.M. Rashad et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 1086e1096 1087

activated concrete is somewhat dependent on the type, concen- Table 1

tration and dosage of the added alkali activators (Yang et al., 2013). Chemical composition of slag.

Heath et al. (2014) reported that the alkali activation materials can Oxide composition (%)
reduce the global warning potential by 30e40%. The cementless SiO2 36.95
materials have many practices in the field of civil engineering such Al2O3 10.01
as manufacturing non-bearing masonry units (Horpibulsuk et al., Fe2O3 1.48
2014; Phetchuay et al., 2014), manufacturing railway sleepers CaO 33.07
MgO 6.43
(Shojaei et al., 2015), resisting elevated temperature (Rashad,
Na2O 1.39
2015b), resisting freeze/thaw cycles (Topçu et al., 2014), etc. K2O 0.74
Today the focus is no longer on obtaining new binders, but on SO3 3.52
developing materials with sustainably high mechanical strength, TiO2 0.52
P2O5 0.1
fire resistance, higher durability and other characteristics. One
MnO2 0.52
option to improve some especial properties of AAS concrete/mortar Cl 0.05
is to replace part/full of natural fine aggregate by such materials L.O.I. 0
that can contribute to preservation of the environment since they
recycle by-products and reduce the consumption of the natural fine
aggregate as GBFS.
The worldwide consumption of natural sand as fine aggregate in 400, 600 and 800
C for 2 h was evaluated quantitatively by
concrete and mortar production is too high and several developing measuring the residual compressive strength and qualitatively by
countries have encountered some problems in supplying natural visual inspection. Because waste materials as slag and GBFS
sand in order to meet the increasing needs of infrastructural replaced PC and natural sand, this means that the PC will be
development (Joel, 2010). In other areas, there is a current or eliminated and the consumption of natural sand will be eliminated.
developing need to use replacements for natural sand in concrete/ Consequently, the CO2 emission caused by thermal decomposition
mortar to reduce energy consumption through transportation and during sintering process of Portland clinker will be reduced and the
preserve the natural resources. Furthermore, in the last 15 y, it has consumption of natural raw materials will be reduced. In addition,
become clear that the availability of good quality natural sand is the disposal of GBFS will be eliminated, the natural sand will be
decreasing. So, there is a large demand for alternative materials saved and the CO2 emissions resulted from the production of nat-
employed as fine aggregate instead of natural sand in construction ural sand will be reduced, of which the aggregate and sand ac-
industry. This large demand has opened the possibility for the use counting for approximately 30% of all emissions during production
of cementitious materials (Rashad, 2013) or by-products, such as of traditional concrete (Duxson and Provis, 2008). Therefore, this
GBFS, to replace part of natural sand. In traditional PC system, there study aims to respond extra four issues namely lower emission of
are abundant of studies that investigated the effect of replacing part pollutants into atmosphere, reduction in consumption of natural
of natural sand with GBFS on compressive strength (Escalante- resources, reduction in the fuel and eliminate GBFS disposal.
Garía et al., 2009), elevated temperature resistance (Yüksel et al., However, this investigation will therefore add valuable knowledge
2007), durability (Binici et al., 2012), permeability properties to the alkali activation system.
(Bilir, 2012) and shrinkage cracking (Topçu and Bilir, 2010).
On the other hand, although there is no published literature 2. Experimental details
studied the possibility of replacing natural sand with GBFS in alkali
activation system, there are few publications that studied some 2.1. Materials
properties of AAS system containing natural sand replacement.
Yang et al. (2010) replaced natural sand aggregate with expanded GBFS which generated as a by-product from Helwan steel fac-
clay up to 100% to produce lightweight mortars. The results showed tory (in CairoeEgypt) was used. Part of GBFS was then finely ground
a reduction in the compressive strength with increasing replace- in a laboratory ball mill to obtain a Blaine surface area of 300 m2/kg
ment level. Zuda et al. (2008a) studied the effect of thermal treat- (named ground granulated blast-furnace slag which shortened to
ment up to 1200
C on the thermal properties of AAS mortars slag) which was used as a source material for alkali activation. Its
containing electrical porcelain filler. The ratio of slag:electrical specific gravity was 2.9. The chemical composition of the slag was
porcelain was 1:3. The results showed that this material exhibited
good potential for future high temperature applications. Some au-
thors studied fire performance of dried sodium silicate AAS mortars
up to 1200
C using electrical porcelain (Rovnanik et al., 2006) and
natural sand (Zuda et al., 2006) as aggregates. The results showed
that the AAS natural sand mortar exhibited a residual strength of
87% of its original strength, after exposure to 1200
C, whilst AAS
electrical porcelain mortar experienced a doubling of its original
strength, after exposure to the same temperature. Other authors
(Zuda et al., 2010) employed lightweight aggregate as fine aggre-
gate in AAS mortars.
Indeed, there is no published literature on the performance of
AAS mortar containing GBFS as partial or full substitution of natural
sand, which was used as fine aggregate. In this investigation, the
possibility of using GBFS as partial or full substitution of natural
sand in AAS mortar was studied. Natural sand was replaced with
GBFS at levels of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, by weight.
Compressive strength at ages of 7 and 28 d was measured. The
behaviour of mortars with or without GBFS after exposure to 200, Fig. 1. XRD pattern of slag.
1088 A.M. Rashad et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 1086e1096

Fig. 3. Compressive strength development versus GBFS content.

fine aggregate ratio was fixed for all mixtures at 1: 2. The mixture
proportions are given in Table 2.

Fig. 2. Particle size distribution of the GBFS.

2.3. Methods

Solid ingredients, including source slag and fine aggregate,

determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry and the re-
sults are reported in Table 1. Obviously it can be noted from Table 1
that the used slag has reasonable content of SiO2 and CaO which
could react with the additional SiO2 from the activator to produce
CSH (I). Fig. 1 shows the mineral compositions of the slag. The other
part of GBFS, which was employed as natural sand replacement,
was sieved to be in agreement with the medium grading zone of
fine aggregate according to the ES 1109/2002 (Fig. 2). Its specific
gravity, unit weight and % absorption was 2.5, 1.52 t/m3 and 2%.
Local available natural river sand (silica sand) conforming with the
medium grading zone of the ES 1109/2002 was employed as fine
aggregate. Its specific gravity, unit weight and % absorption was
2.65, 1.65 t/m3 and 0.5%. A Commercial liquid sodium silicate which
had a density of 1.41 g/cm3 and a composition comprising 13.5%
Na2O, 31.4% SiO2 and 54.1% H2O, by mass, was used as alkali acti-
vator. The silica modulus of the solution (Ms molar SiO2/Na2O ratio)
was 2.4.
2.2. Mixture proportions
Five alkali-activated mortar mixtures were prepared. The first
mixture containing AAS mortar which was manufactured from
natural sand (was designated as GB0). The other mixtures were
prepared by substitution of natural sand with GBFS in different
proportions of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, by weight, of which they
were designated as GB25, GB50, GB75 and GB100. Fixed concen-
tration of sodium silicate dosage of 4% Na2O, from slag weight, was
used to activate the various mortar mixtures. The water/binder (w/
b) ratio was fixed for all mixtures at 0.3, by slag weight. The slag:
were added to the mechanical mixer with working speed of
80 rpm and mixed for approximately 4 min to ensure homoge-
neous mixing. The solution of sodium silicate which previously
dissolved in mixing water was then added and mixed with the
solid materials for approximately 5 min period followed by
approximately 2 min resting. The unmixed solids were scraped
from the sides and paddle into the mixing bowl. Further 5 min
mixing was continued before casting. After mixing, the fresh
mortar was immediately poured into 25 mm cube moulds (24
cubes per mixture) and vibrated for 1 min to remove air voids.
Immediately after casting, the moulds were covered with poly-
ethylene sheet to prevent any evaporation. The specimens were
cured at 50 ± 1
C and 80 ± 5% RH. After 24 h from casting, the
specimens were removed from the moulds and the same curing
was continued up to testing date.
The compressive strength of the specimens was determined
after 7 and 28 curing d in fourfold in according with BS EN
1961:2005. The tested specimens in compression after 28 d of
curing without exposure to elevated temperatures were named
the reference or the control specimens. After curing for 28 d, 16
cubes per mixture were transferred to an electrical symmetrical
oven for drying at 105 ± 1
C for 24 h. After drying, the

Table 2
Details of mortar mixture proportions.

Mix Composition

GB0 Slag: fine aggregate ¼ 1:2 (100% natural sand)

GB25 Slag: fine aggregate ¼ 1:2 (75% natural sand þ25% GBFS)
GB50 Slag: fine aggregate ¼ 1:2 (50% natural sand þ50% GBFS)
GB75 Slag: fine aggregate ¼ 1:2 (25% natural sand þ75% GBFS)
GB100 Slag: fine aggregate ¼ 1:2 (100% GBFS)
Fig. 4. Residual compressive strength profile of hardened AAS mortars.
 A.M. Rashad et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 1086e1096 1089

Fig. 5. Photographs of hardened GB0 and GB100 mortars at room temperature and after exposure to elevated temperature.

specimens were placed in an electrical symmetrical furnace and
the temperature was increased to 200, 400, 600 and 800
C at a
heating rate of 6.67
C/min and held at each temperature for a
period of 2 h. After exposure to elevated temperatures, the
specimens were left in the furnace to cool gradually to room
temperature so as to avoid any temperature shock. The speci-
mens were then brought out from the furnace, weighed and then
tested in compression, in fourfold, to determine the residual
compressive strength by means of an unstressed compression
test (Phan, 1996).
After the compression test at age of 28 d and after firing,
selected fragments from the crushed cubes were stored in acetone
for 3 d in order to stop the hydration. The fragments were then
filtered from the acetone and dried under vacuum in desiccators. A
1090 A.M. Rashad et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 1086e1096
Fig. 6. X-ray patterns of hardened mortars after 28 d of hydration.
part of the dried samples was ground in an agate mortar. Particles
passing a 63 mm sieve were used for the XRD and TGA/DTG ana-
lyses. Selected pieces were also used for SEM and EDS
investigations.
Fig. 7. X-ray patterns of GB0 after exposure to elevated temperature.
Fig. 8. X-ray patterns of GB25 after exposure to elevated temperature.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Compressive strength
The compressive strength of different hardened mortar speci-
mens were measured at ages of 7 and 28 d. As shown in Fig. 3 the
compressive strength of the hardened mortars improved by
replacing natural sand with GBFS at levels of 25%, 50%, 75% and
100%. In all cases and ages, the specimens containing GBFS sand
exhibited higher compressive strength in comparison with the
control mortar. Comparing the compressive strength results, it can
be observed that the compressive strength of the mortar specimens
significantly increased by replacing portion of natural sand with
GBFS sand at levels of 25% and 50%. On the other hand, marginal
enhancement in the compressive strength was observed by
replacing natural sand with GBFS sand at levels of 75% and 100%
Fig. 9. X-ray patterns of GB50 after exposure to elevated temperature.
 A.M. Rashad et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 1086e1096 1091

Fig. 12. TGA/DTG for GB0 and GB25 after 28 d of hydration.

replacement of natural sand. Binici et al. (2008) reported higher

compressive strength of concretes, cured in seawater for 1, 2, and
3 y, containing 40%, 60% and 80% GBFS as natural sand replacement.
Fig. 10. X-ray patterns of GB75 after exposure to elevated temperature.
Other authors such as Topçu and Bilir (2010) reported that 40%
GBFS as natural sand replacement in mortars exhibited the opti-
(Fig. 3). The enhancement in the compressive strength with the mum content for compressive strength.
inclusion of 25% and 50% GBFS sand was 24.87% and 56.78% at age
of 7 d and was 21.64% and 86.33% at age of 28 d. When the
3.2. The response of hardened mortar mixtures to thermal loads
replacement levels increased to 75% and 100%, however, the
enhancement in the compressive strength reached 69.49% and
Generally, hardened mortar mixtures of both reference and
84.62% at age of 7 d and reached 92.73% and 98.39% at age of 28 d.
GBFS mixtures did not contain portlandite and expected to show
However, the higher compressive strength values of GBFS mortars
better performance after exposure to elevated temperatures. The
indicated better bonding properties between binder material and
results of the residual compressive strength are given in Fig. 4. From
GBFS sand in comparison with that of natural sand.
the viewpoint of strength, there were four temperatures of which
The previous studies in the literature of traditional PC system
the strength loss or gain was different between each of these
also reported that the inclusion of GBFS as natural sand replace-
temperatures, where each temperature showed a distinct pattern
ment at levels of 5%, 10% and 15% increased the compressive
of strength loss or gain. However, at 200
C, the compressive
strength of concrete pipes (Binici et al., 2012). Escalante-Garía et al.
strength of the hardened natural sand mortar (GB0) slightly
(2009) reported that replacing silica sand with GBFS sand in mor-
increased. The residual compressive strength reached 21.93 MPa
tars when the ratios of aggregate: binder were 2.3:1, 3:1 and 4:1
and its relative compressive strength reached 105.1% referred to its
was more effective in terms of strength, good properties and
original before exposure.
environmentally friendly. Ramesh et al. (2013) reported higher
Replacing part of natural sand with 25% and 50% GBFS (GB25,
compressive strength of concretes by partially replacing river sand
GB50), led to an increase in the residual compressive strength
with 5% or 10% furnace slag. Zeghichi (2006) reported higher
value. The residual compressive strength reached 26.16 MPa for
compressive strength of concrete containing 30% GBFS as a partial
GB25 and 38.38 MPa for GB50. These values are still higher than
that of GB0 by approximately 19.31% and 79.62%. Replacing natural
sand with 75% and 100% GBFS, produced mortar mixtures with
further enhancement in the residual strength value. The enhance-
ment in the residual strength for GB75 and GB100 was 89.73% and

Fig. 11. X-ray patterns of GB100 after exposure to elevated temperature. Fig. 13. TGA/DTG for GB0 and GB100 after 28 d of hydration.
1092 A.M. Rashad et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 1086e1096
Fig. 14. SEM micrograph of GBFS.
100.95% in comparison with that of GB0 at 200
C. The main feature
of the previous results is that the residual strength of all hardened
mortar specimens increased at 200
C. The residual strength
increased with increasing GBFS sand content.
With further increasing in temperature up to 400
C, both of
GB0 and GB25 showed an increase in the residual strength, of
Fig. 15. SEM micrographs of fracture of GB0, GB50 and GB100 mortars after hydration of 28 d.
which their relative strength reached 108.5% and 107.9%. On the
other hand, GB50, GB75 and GB100 approximately did not affect by
temperature, of which their relative strength was 95.69%, 96.78%
and 99.88%. Although, the relative strength of GB0 is higher than
that of GB25, GB50, GB75 and GB100, the residual strength of these
mortars (i.e. GB25, GB50, GB75 and GB100) is still higher than that
of GB0. The enhancement in the residual strength of GB25, GB50,
GB75 and GB100 over that of GB0 was 20.89%, 64.28%, 71.86% and
82.58%. The main feature of this part of the results is even though
the specimens being exposed to 400
C, the residual strength of
GB0 and GB25 is still superior their originals, whilst GB50, GB75
and GB100 approximately did not affect by the temperature, but
showed higher residual strength than GB0. Also, the residual
strength increased with increasing GBFS sand content.
At 600
C, the hardened mortar specimens showed deteriora-
tion in the residual compressive strength. The loss of strength
reached 9.99%, 8.05%, 27.34%, 23.9% and 21.55% for GB0, GB25,
GB50, GB75 and GB100 related to their originals before heating.
However, the residual strength of GB25, GB50, GB75 and GB100 are
1.24, 1.5, 1.63 and 1.73 times greater than that of GB0. The main
reaction for the residual strength reduction in mortars containing
natural sand was probably the transition of SiO2 in the aggregate
from b-form to a-form which takes place at 573
C accompanied by
volume changes (Zuda et al., 2006). Exposing mortar specimens to
the highest level of temperature (i.e. 800
C) caused a further
reduction in the residual strength. The residual strength of GB0
reached, only, 10.31 MPa, of which its relative strength was 49.42%.
On the other hand, the residual strength of GB25, GB50, GB75 and
 A.M. Rashad et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 1086e1096 1093

GB100 is still higher than that of GB0 by 33.45%, 51.91%, 69.49% and
90%.
As reported before and as shown in Fig. 4, the lowest residual
strength for all mixtures was obtained at 800
C. This seemed to be
similar to the previous results of AAS mortars containing natural
sand activated with dried sodium silicate (Zuda et al., 2006), AAS
mortars containing electrical porcelain filler activated with dried
sodium silicate (Zuda et al., 2008b), AAS lightweight mortars con-
taining electrical porcelain and expanded vermiculite activated
with dried sodium silicate (Zuda et al., 2010), AAS pastes activated
with dry powdered sodium metasilicate (Guerrieri et al., 2010), AAS
pastes blended with silica fume (SF) activated with sodium silicate
(Rashad and Khalil, 2013), AAS pastes activated with sodium silicate
(Rovnaník et al., 2013), and slag pastes activated with sodium sul-
phate (Rashad et al., 2012).
The previous studies in the literature related to traditional PC
system also reported higher residual compressive strength of
mortars containing GBFS as fine aggregate compared to that con-
taining natural sand after exposure to 600
C for 2 h, when the
specimens were left in the furnace or at air to cool gradually (Shoaib
et al., 2001).

3.3. Visual inspection

The main visual observation of the selected hardened mortars

before and after exposure to elevated temperatures is shown in
Fig. 5. The specimens of GB0 before exposure to elevated temper-
atures seemed to have dark grey colour (or earthy colour), whilst
the specimens of GB100 seemed to have darker colour in compar-
ison with that of GB0. After exposure to elevated temperature of
400
C, the specimens of GB0 showed a change in its original colour
to pink colour. Further increase in temperature up to 600
C, the
specimens of GB0 showed lighter pink colour. The colour of the
specimens of GB100 after exposure to 400
C and 600
C seemed to
be similar to that of GB0 after exposure to the same temperatures,
but with darker colour. Increasing the temperature up to 800
C, led
to a completely change in GB0 and GB100 colours. The GB0 and
GB100 colours were changed to light grey. It is worth mentioning
that all specimens did not have any visual cracks on their surface
after exposure to elevated temperatures.

3.4. Crystalline phases

XRD technique was used to acquire a better understanding of

the possible transformations underway in the original material as
well as the samples exposed to elevated temperatures. Figs. 6e11
present the XRD traces of different mortar samples before and af-
ter exposure to elevated temperatures. The XRD analysis of the
mortar samples, with or without different contents of GBFS, prior to
exposure to elevated temperatures shows amorphous hump cen-
tred between ~30 and 35
2q indicates that the AAS are relatively
amorphous with clearly lack of long-rang order. This amorphous
hump increased with increasing GBFS sand content, of which it can
be barely distinguished this hump for GB25 and GB50, but it can be
clearly distinguished it for GB75 and GB100 (Fig. 6). This increment
in the amorphous hump may be a part of the reason why higher
compressive strength was obtained with higher content of GBFS.
The semi-crystalline calcium silicate hydrate CSH (I)
(CaO$SiO2$nH2O) overlapping with calcite (CaCO3) was formed as
hydration reaction product. The strengthening in the binder may be
resulted from coexist of the amorphous CSH with the crystalline
CSH that played an essential role in binding the non-reacted and
partially reacted particles into cohesive masses. Predominant
crystalline phase of quartz (SiO2) was detected. This crystalline
phase decreased with increasing GBFS sand content. Minor
Fig. 16. EDS image of spots in Fig. 15 labelled 1.
1094 A.M. Rashad et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 1086e1096
reflections for calcite (CaCO3), gehlenite (Ca2Al(Al(AlSiO7))),
hydrotalcite (Mg6Al2CO3(OH)16$4H2O), merwinite (Ca3Mg(SiO4)2)
and akermanite (Ca2Mg(Si2O7)) were detected.
Figs. 7e11 present XRD of all studied mortar samples after
exposure to different temperatures. Overall, the peaks identifica-
tions of the samples after being exposed to elevated temperature
up to 600
C did not show significant changes in their phase
compositions in comparison with their references that was pre-
sented in Fig. 6. On the other hand, the identification of peaks of the
samples which heated at 800
C comprised some changes in the
phase compositions. Weak phase of akermanite peaks can be
observed. Similar phase has been reported by Zuda et al. (2006)
when AAS mortar was heated at 800
C and by Rashad et al.
(2012) when sodium sulphate activated slag paste was heated at
the same temperature.
3.5. Thermogravimetric analysis
Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and derivative thermog-
ravimetry (DTG) may be used to assess the rates of water evapo-
ration in a system or identify the mechanism by which a material
loses weight as a result of controlled heating. The weight loss and
derivative weight loss curves in the range of 20e1000
C for GB0,
GB25, GB75 and GB100 are presented in Figs. 12 and 13. The main
DTG peaks centred at approximately 90
C are caused by the
maximum rate of hydration from CSH. The small DTG peaks at
approximately 570
C and 655
C are due to decarbonation of
calcite (CaCO3). It is appropriate to emphasize that no endothermic
peak at around 450
C caused by the dehydration of Ca(OH)2 was
Fig. 17. SEM micrographs of fracture surfaces of hardened GB0 and GB100 mortars at different temperatures.
detected, which represents that no Ca(OH)2 formed in the AAS
mortars. These results are in agreement with that obtained by XRD.
3.6. Microstructural analysis
Raw GBFS sand which was employed as fine aggregate as well as
selected samples taken from the core of the specimens were
examined by SEM. Fig. 14 shows the particle shape of GBFS sand.
The particle shape of GBFS sand is irregular jagged or angular with
uneven surface. This irregularity enables the GBFS sand good bond
with the binder paste. This may be a part of the reason why higher
compressive strength was obtained in GBFS mortars compared to
the natural sand mortar.
Fig. 15 shows SEM micrographs of fracture surface of the hard-
ened GB0, GB50 and GB100 mortars after hydration for 28 d. As
shown in Fig. 15 the microstructures of the samples have some fully
hydrated slag grains, partially hydrated slag and the others are un-
reacted slag. As shown in Fig. 15a, the microstructure of the sample
prepared from the natural sand exhibited considerable microcracks
(presumably resulting from drying shrinkage or during specimen
preparation), low density, low cohesion and porous structure with
disconnected pores. These pores take place in the matrix as well as
in the matrix-aggregate interfacial transition zone (ITZ). In addi-
tion, the detachments of the grains are observed in the network
structure of GB0. Therefore, the formation of discrete grains and
area close to aggregate surfaces, microcracks, pores might be the
main causes in reducing the compressive strength value. The mi-
crographs in Fig. 15b, c reveal certain differences in the studied
mortar samples, where SEM micrographs of GB50 and GB100
showed better bonding properties in the interfacial zone between
 A.M. Rashad et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 1086e1096 1095

GBFS sand and slag paste. The formation of the dense and uniform
transition zone can be observed. As the GBFS sand content
increased, a gradual refinement of pores and improvement in the
matrix and matrix-aggregate interface increased, which are
consistent with enhancement in the compressive strength values.
Fig. 16 shows EDS images of the spots in Fig. 15 marked 1 (main
matrix). The main matrix is mostly CSH of which the EDS image
shows the dominant peaks for Ca and Si. Other minor peaks such
as S, Al, Mg and Na were also detected. However, as GBFS sand
content increased, CSH gel that formed from binder hydration
should connect to the surface of the aggregate to form mortar
structure. Depending on the chemical composition of the GBFS
sand and natural sand, the alkalinity increased more by the
addition of GBFS sand in comparison with that of natural sand
mortar. As known in AAS system, the alkalinity plays an important
role in the hydration process (Song et al., 2000) and the nature of
CSH hydration product formation (Song and Jennings, 1999), of
which some studies reported higher compressive strength in
activated slag system with higher alkalinity (Ferna
ndez-Jimenez
and Puertas, 2003; Rashad et al., 2013). Furthermore, the pres-
ence of Ca ions in the pore water would accelerate reactions that
taking place at the interface of CSH gel and the aggregate surface.
Therefore, with the inclusion of GBFS sand as fine aggregate
instead of natural sand, a stronger connection between aggregate
surface and hydration products can be formed. This may be a part
of the reason why higher compressive strength was obtained with
higher content of GBFS sand.
After exposure to 400
C, the microstructure of the mortar made
of natural sand (Fig. 17a) seems to be almost similar to the same
sample before heating which was presented in Fig. 15a, but with
little number of partially or un-reacted slag particles. This may be a
part of the reason why higher compressive of GB0 at 400
C
compared to its reference. Increasing temperature up to 800
C, led
to formation of a weak structure of what may have been porous
akermanite crystals (Fig. 17b). In addition, microcracks and loose
microstructure can be observed. Fig. 17c shows the microstructure
of the sample prepared with 100% GBFS sand (GB100) at 400
C.
This microstructure appears to be slightly similar to the sample
before heating which was presented in Fig. 15c. Further increase in Fig. 18. EDS image of spots in Fig. 17 labelled 1.
temperature up to 800
C, led to similar microstructure to that of
GB0 which was presented in Fig. 17b, but with less pores, less 4. Conclusions
microcracks and lower porosity as shown in Fig. 17d. These obser-
vations of porosity, microcracks and microstructure correlated well In the current investigation the authors studied the effect of
with the residual compressive strength results. It is worth replacing natural silica sand with GBFS on the compressive strength
mentioning that Yüksel et al. (2007) reported that the inclusion of before and after exposure to 200, 400, 600 and 800
C for 2 h.
10e50% GBFS as fine aggregate replacement in traditional PC con- Vision observations before and after heating was investigated.
cretes reduced the amount of surface cracks after exposure to Analysis by XRD, TGA/DTG, SEM and EDS were conducted. The main
800
C. conclusions of this study can be summarized as following:
Another logical reason which explains higher residual strength
at higher GBFS sand content may be related to the higher coefficient 1. It is possible to use GBFS as fine aggregate in AAS mortar system.
of thermal expansion of silica sand in comparison with that of GBFS 2. The replacement of natural silica sand with GBFS up to 100% in
sand. Higher coefficient of thermal expansion can cause deterio- alkali activation was found to be beneficial in the term of
ration of aggregate-paste contact during heating, which leads to the strength where the microstructures of GBFS mortars showed
loss of silica sand mortar integrity. This reason is confirmed by better bonding properties in ITZ between GBFS sand and paste.
more prominent cracks in sand mortar-paste contact than GBFS- 3. The amount of microcracks caused by elevated temperature can
paste contact. Anyway, Zuda and Cerný (2009) reported that the be reduced by replacing natural sand with GBFS sand.
thermal expansion properties of different aggregates were impor- 4. Higher residual compressive strength of GBFS mortars after
tant factor for the mechanical performance of aluminosilicates after exposure to different temperatures than natural sand mortar
exposure to elevated temperatures. Fig. 18 illustrates the EDS trace was obtained. As the GBFS sand content increased as the re-
of the spot marked 1 in Fig. 17b, d where the main elements that sidual strength increased.
were detected are Ca and Si with smaller amounts of Mg and Al and
a lesser extent of Si. The present of Si and Ca major peaks and a Acknowledgements
lesser amount of Mg suggests the presence of akermanite
(Ca2Mg(Si2O7)). These results are in agreement with that obtained The authors are grateful to the Housing & Building National
by XRD. Research Center (HBRC) for financial support. The authors would
1096 A.M. Rashad et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 1086e1096
like to thankful the facilities provided by Housing & Building Na-
tional Research Center (HBRC) Cairo, Egypt.
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