Alkali-activated cements Opportunities and challenges

Hydration and properties of sodium sulfate activated slag

“…However, despite this use, the vast majority of slag is still disposed of in landfills [5,6] due to the reduction of early age compressive strength when PC is replaced with slag.…”

“…Much attention has been given to alkali-activated slag (AAS) systems [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], including their mechanisms of hydration, hydration products, the microstructure and activators [18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. It has generally been agreed that the strength development of AAS depends on the type and dosage of alkali activator, fineness of the slag and the temperature of curing [25][26].…”

Flexural Fatigue performance of Alkali Activated Slag Concrete mixes incorporating Copper Slag as Fine Aggregate

“…required for manufacture of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). With reduced consumption of energy and the associated reduction in CO 2 discharge in their manufacture, AASC mixes also have shown higher mechanical strengths at early ages, better resistance when exposed to either aggressive environments or elevated temperatures [1][2][3]. With such desirable properties, alkali-activated slag concretes can be considered as very promising alternatives to OPCC mixes from economical and technical points of view [3,4].…”

Flow and Compressive Strength of Alkali-Activated Mortars

“…It has been generally recognized [1][2][3][4][5] that fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS)-based alkali-activated (AA) binders are practically useful construction materials owing to their sound environmental performance such as recycling of by-product materials, low carbon dioxide emissions and low energy consumption. In addition, AA concrete has been known to have many beneficial properties compared with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete such as rapid high strength development, good durability and high resistance to chemical attack 1 .…”

“…It is also known 7,8 that alkali hydroxide (ROH), non-silicic salts of weak acids (R 2 CO 3 , R 2 S, RF), or silicic salts of R 2 O·(n)SiO 2 type can be used as effective activators, where R indicates an alkali metal ion such as Na, K or Li. Various important parameters affecting the activation mechanism of AA mortar are well evaluated as summarized in different review papers [2][3][8][9][10] . Although, numerous investigations 8,10 are published on the optimum mix design of mortar or concrete activated by alkaline solutions, very few test data 11 on concrete activated by powder type activators are available.…”