scholarly journals Flexural Fatigue Life Reliability of Alkali-Activated Slag Concrete Freeze-Thaw Damage in Cold Areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Bin Chen ◽  
Jun Wang

Studying the application of alkali-activated slag concrete for roads in cold areas is of great significance for promoting and developing green building materials. In this study, the effect of freeze-thaw damage on the flexural fatigue properties of alkali-activated slag concrete was studied and the fatigue life of alkali-activated slag concrete with various degrees of damage after freeze-thaw cycles was studied through a three-point flexural test. The results show that the flexural fatigue life decreases with freeze-thaw cycles from 0 to 150 times. Through a distribution fitting test and K-S test results, the flexural fatigue life followed both the two-parameter and three-parameter Weibull distributions. Between them, the three-parameter Weibull distribution fitting had a higher accuracy and better test results. The results of the reliability analysis show that the curves of alkali-activated slag concrete samples with various degrees of freeze-thaw damage for various failure probabilities have good correlation under different stresses, and the correlation correlations were greater than 0.81. The flexural fatigue life of alkali-activated slag concrete samples with various degrees of freeze-thaw damage was more sensitive to freeze-thaw damage under high stresses. It is suggested that the fatigue design of alkali-activated slag concrete should consider the adverse effects of cold areas, and the reliability should be improved accordingly.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigi Coppola ◽  
Denny Coffetti ◽  
Elena Crotti ◽  
Gabriele Gazzaniga ◽  
Tommaso Pastore

The paper assesses the durability of one-part alkali-activated slag-based mortars (AAS) in different aggressive environments, such as calcium chloride- and magnesium sulphate-rich solutions, in comparison with traditional cementitious mortars at equal water to binder ratio. Moreover, the freezing and thawing resistance was evaluated on mortars manufactured with and without air entraining admixture (AEA). Experimental results indicate that the alkali content is a key parameter for durability of AAS: the higher the alkali content, the higher the resistance in severe conditions. In particular, high-alkali content AAS mortars are characterized by freeze–thaw resistances similar to that of blast furnace cement-based mixtures, but lower than that of Portland cement-mortars while AAS with low activators dosages evidence a very limited resistance in cold environment. The effectiveness of AEA in enhancement of freeze–thaw resistance is confirmed also for AAS mortars. Moreover, AAS mixtures are quasi-immune to expansive calcium oxychloride formation in presence of CaCl2-based deicing salts, but they are very vulnerable to magnesium sulphate attack due to decalcification of C-S-H gel and gypsum formation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 276 ◽  
pp. 15-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Rovnaník ◽  
Maria Míková ◽  
Ivo Kusák ◽  
Patrik Bayer

Alkali-activated slag is known as a building material for more than sixty years and is considered an alternative to Portland cement based binders. Compared to Portland cement it exhibits some superior properties such as higher resistance against chemical attack and exposure to elevated temperatures. Aluminosilicate binders are generally electrical insulators; however, electrical properties of building materials gain the importance in the new field of applications such as self-sensing or self-heating materials. This paper brings a comparison of the electrical properties, especially resistance and capacitance, between Portland cement and alkali-activated slag mortars. The measurements revealed that alkali-activated slag shows enhanced conducting properties due to the presence of mobile hydrated sodium ions and metallic iron microparticles.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Fulin Wang ◽  
Guoliang Chen ◽  
Lu Ji ◽  
Zhengping Yuan

Backfilling disposal based on cement solidification is one of the ways to solve the environmental and safe problems of uranium tailing surface stacking. Alkali-activated slag, especially sodium silicate activated geopolymer, has become the preferred cementing material for the uranium tailing backfilling system because of its advantages of corrosion resistance and high strength. In this paper, uranium tailings and slag are taken as research objects, and the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) is taken as the main quality index. The preparation method of the cemented uranium tailing backfill based on alkali-activated slag was studied, hereinafter referred to as CUTB. The effects of additive amount, activator amount and activator modulus on the strength of CUTB were investigated. The results show that alkali-activated slag is an effective cementing material for the backfilling system of uranium tailing aggregate. The maximum UCS of 28 d age in the test groups is 16.45 MPa. Quicklime is an important additive for preparing CUTB. When the amount of quicklime is 0%, the early and late strengths of the filling body cannot be measured or at a very low level. At the age of 7 d, the order of each factor is additive amount > activator modulus > activator amount, but at the age of 28 d, the order of each factor is additive amount > activator amount > activator modulus. The test results can provide a basis for choosing cementitious materials for backfilling disposal of uranium tailings.


Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 2812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeong-Ki Kim ◽  
Keum-Il Song ◽  
Jin-Kyu Song ◽  
Jeong Gook Jang

The effect of carbonation on the abrasion resistance of alkali-activated slag (AAS) was investigated. Various activator sets were selected for synthesizing AAS specimens, and the compressive strength was measured before and after carbonation. The abrasion resistance of the specimens was measured in accordance with the ASTM C944 test method. The relationship between the mass loss caused by abrasion and compressive strength was analyzed to understand the effect of matrix strength on abrasion resistance. Test results showed that the decrease in compressive strength of AAS specimens by carbonation reduced their abrasion resistance. In addition, the abrasion resistance of AAS before and after carbonation was sensitively influenced by activator type. It can be concluded that additional caution is required when using AAS where abrasion may have occurred.


2013 ◽  
Vol 668 ◽  
pp. 65-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heng Shu

The main structure materials of tunnel lining are concrete and steel, and the concrete frost damage is a typical degradation phenomenon of the tunnel linings in cold regions. Alkali-activated slag concrete (ASC) has a better freeze-thaw resistance, which can be used for tunnel lining in severe frigid regions. Freeze-thaw resistance, performance mechanism of ASC and microstructure were investigated by freeze-thaw cycle, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. The experimental results show that, ASC has excellent freeze-thaw resistance, and hydration products of ASC are mostly C-S-H, alkaline aluminosilicate. ASC has a good compact degree and uniformity of structure, and its high compressive strength also makes high freeze-thaw resistance. ASC may be selected as tunnel lining production materials in severe frigid regions because of the less reduction in the dynamic elastic modulus and mass loss of concrete.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1124 ◽  
pp. 219-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Libor Topolář ◽  
Kristýna Timcakova ◽  
Petr Misák

The acoustic emission phenomenon is directly associated with nucleation of cracks in building materials, therefore the changes result from the volumetric expansion causing formation micro and macro cracking in structure, which we can recognize. The main aim of the article is to compare four ways of curing alkali activated slag mortars by method of acoustic emission. A comprehension of microstructure−performance relationships is the key to true understanding of material behaviour. The results obtained in the laboratory are useful to understand the various stages of micro-cracking activity during the hardening process in quasi-brittle materials such as alkali activated slag mortars and extend them for general practice


2017 ◽  
Vol 908 ◽  
pp. 100-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Rovnaník ◽  
Maria Míková ◽  
Ivo Kusák

Building materials with enhanced electrical properties gain the importance in the new field of applications such as self-sensing or self-heating materials. In this paper, 3 mm long carbon fibres were used as a conductive admixture to alkali-activated slag mortar in order to reduce its resistivity. The amount of carbon fibres was ranging from 0.5 to 4.0% of the slag mass and the effect of the conductive admixture on the mechanical properties, electrical impedance, specific conductivity, and microstructure of alkali-activated slag composite was investigated. Only 0.5% of carbon fibres caused a significant decrease in impedance of alkali-activated slag composite and the addition of 4% reduced the impedance by one order of magnitude for low AC frequencies. However, due to problematic dispersion and higher demand of mixing water, the mechanical properties were deteriorated, especially at higher content of carbon fibres.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Bin Chen ◽  
Jun Wang

A freeze-thaw resistance is an important indicator of the durability of alkali-activated slag concrete, which causes structural failure when the performance is low, especially in severely cold areas. In this study, solid sodium aluminate and sodium silicate were used as composite alkaline activators, while slag was used as the raw material to prepare alkali-activated slag concrete, whose freeze-thaw resistance, as well as that of ordinary cement concrete, was experimentally studied by varying the freeze-thaw cycles. The effects of the mass, compressive strength, and dynamic elastic modulus of the sample were investigated by considering the influence of different water-to-slag ratios and slag contents, while the damage variables and model were also analyzed. The results showed that alkali-activated slag concrete had an excellent freeze-thaw resistance, which was significantly affected by the water-to-slag ratio and compressive strength; specifically, the higher the water-to-slag ratio, the lower the freeze-thaw resistance, and the higher the compressive strength, the better the freeze-thaw resistance. The freeze-thaw durability, microstructure, and damage mechanism were studied via microscopic analysis. When analyzed via the microstructure test, crack pores and microcracks with narrow spaces and large surface areas were generated under freeze-thaw damage conditions, but the dense hydration structure and high-bonding-strength hydration products led to a better freeze-thaw resistance. The damage model was established using compressive strength and relative dynamic elastic modulus as damage variables, and the attenuation exponential and accumulative damage power function model had a high accuracy, which could better reflect the freeze-thaw damage law and damage degree and predict the lifetime of alkali-activated slag concrete.


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