Materials and Design 85 (2015) 324331

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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

Article history:
Received 7 February 2015
Received in revised form 27 April 2015
Accepted 23 June 2015
Available online xxxx
Keywords:
Granulated blast-furnace slag
Alkali-activated cements
Red clay brick waste
Waste management

a b s t r a c t
This study investigates the effects of adding various concentrations, sources and compositions of ground red clay
brick waste (RCBW) on the properties of fresh and hardened pastes and mortars of alkali-activated slag. The
method used to grind the granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) and RCBW (separate and conjoint) is also assessed,
along with the neness (300900 m2/kg) of the blended alkali-activated GBFS-RCBW cement, the alkali activator
(sodium carbonate or sodium silicate) and the curing conditions (normal conditions or steam curing). The water
requirement and setting time for the fresh pastes are also considered; and in the case of the hardened paste and
mortar, the water absorption, density and compressive/exural strength are measured after 1, 3, 7 and 28 days of
aging. From the results obtained, it is demonstrated that the addition of 40% RCBW improves the 7- and 28-day
strength of blended alkali-activated slag pastes and mortars, and can replace up to 60% of the slag without losing
strength.
2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
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 natural raw materials and energy. As this does not meet modern ecological
standards for building materials and technologies [1], there are a number 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 production of low clinker, non-clinker and low-emission alternative cements
[24]. 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 compatibility with different binders, makes them a particularly attractive
material for use in landscaping and road-building [5], as a ne or coarse
aggregate in the production of structural and non-structural concrete/
mortar [68], a raw material for OPC clinker production [911], a
supplementary cementitious material [1214], or a raw material for
alkali-activated cements (AAC) [1518].
The ecological and technical advantages of AAC have seen them attract signicant from both the scientic and industrial communities
worldwide [1923]. Such materials usually consist of two components,
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: rahimova.07@list.ru (N.R. Rakhimova).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2015.06.182
0264-1275/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

an aluminosilicate precursor and an alkaline activator, with a variety of

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 y ash, volcanic glass,
zeolite, metakaolin, silica fume, and non-ferrous slag [4], but this list is
continuously expanding as new mineral resources are identied. The
signicant point is that the chemicalmineralogical composition of
ground ceramic wastes, in combination with the presence of an amorphous phase, allows for the geopolymerisation via alkali activation
needed to convert them to AACs. The chemical composition of ceramic
wastes identied 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. Similarly, research and development into blending AACs has identied a variety of additives that can improve AACs. Particularly good results
[1922,2426] have been achieved through with blending with calcium
or low-calcium aluminosilicate minerals, which respectively produce
C(A)SH [2729] and NASH [29,30] binder gels as the main reaction product; combining these gives an intermediate Ca-blended system. 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 include OPC clinker), it may be possible to use aluminosilicate-rich waste

N.R. Rakhimova, R.Z. Rakhimov / Materials and Design 85 (2015) 324331

325

Table 1
The chemical composition of ceramic wastes.
Ceramic waste type

SiO2

Al2O3

CaO

MgO

Fe2O3

K2O

Na2O

SO3

LOI

Reference

Ceramic wastes
Red clay brick
Ceramic waste
Red clay brick
Porcelain stoneware

60.367.3
49.9
65.52
50.96
71.35

16.118.0
16.6
21.00
16.92
19.37

6.59.92
9.7
6.00
9.92
0.51

0.423.07
5.5
1.95
5.62
0.59

1.15.32
6.5
1.11
6.68
1.09

2.094.31
4.4
3.31
4.33
1.73

0.621.72
0.5
0.36
0.55
4.68

0.050.13
3.3
0.17
3.37
0.02

0.290.48
2.4
0.14
1.65
0.67

[11]
[15]
[17]
[18]
[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
Red clay brick
Ceramic waste
Red clay brick, porcelain stoneware

Na2OnSiO2mH2O + NaOH (6 M NaOH)

Na2OnSiO2mH2O + NaOH (Na+ 7.0 m)
Na2OnSiO2mH2O + NaOH
Na2OnSiO2mH2O + NaOH (Na+ 6.09.0 Mol kg1)

Up to 13
Up to 50
Up to 71.1
2241

8 days at 40 C
7 days at 65 C
28 days at 65 C
7 days at 65 C

[11]
[15]
[17]
[18]

products that would otherwise be insufciently 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 y 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 [3137].
Blended AACs can be considered a compositional system with its
own unique features and properties, which are inuenced by many
more factors than those inuencing the properties of OPC. There are,
for instance, the inuencing factors common to all powdered binders
to consider, such as the chemical and mineralogical composition, neness, 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 signicant effect on the properties 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 y ash, it is considered 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 (28%) than y ash and
metakaolin-based AACs (520%) [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 explored. 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, neness of blended AAC), and
the raw materials (composition and origin of RCBW).

2. Experimental details
An overview of the experimental steps and inuencing factors considered as variables in this investigation is shown schematically in Fig. 1.

Influencing factors of blended AAC

Influencing factors of
blending material:
* percentage up to 100%
* specific surface area of
blended AAC

IInfluencing factor of
mineral matrix:
* alkali activator
- sodium carbonate
- sodium silicate

Processing factor:

* grinding method
- separate grinding
- conjount grinding
* curing conditions
- normal conditions
- steam curing

- 300 m2/kg
- 600 m2/kg
- 900 m2/kg
Fig. 1. Factors inuencing the properties of blended AAC.

Table 3
Chemical composition of the starting materials.
Starting material

GBFS
RCBW1
RCBW2
RCBW3
RCBW4

Chemical composition (mass % as oxide)

SiO2

Al2O3

CaO

MgO

Fe2O3

FeO

K2O

Na2O

TiO2

MnO

P2O3

SO3

LOI

37.49
77.43
73.83
77.52
72.83

11.58
9.27
12.94
9.85
12.01

36.22
2.89
1.67
2.03
2.95

8.61
1.36
1.36
1.15
1.7

0.16
3.9
5.52
4.4
5.73

0.1
0.13
0.27
0.26

0.95
2.26
2.18
2.28
1.94

0.68
0.8
0.9
0.84
0.99

1.80
0.62
0.84
0.63
0.72

0.50
0.06
0.08
0.06
0.09

0.01
0.1
0.09
0.1
0.1

2.00
0.11
0.12
0.07
0.09

0.91
0.24
0.64
0.45

N.R. Rakhimova, R.Z. Rakhimov / Materials and Design 85 (2015) 324331

separate grinding (water adsorption)
separate grinding (density)

Table 4
Mineralogical composition of RCBWs.

conjoint grinding (water adsorption)

conjoint grinding (density)

25

Starting material Mineralogical composition (mass %)

1.9

Quartz Feldspars Hematite Cristobalite Amorphous phase

67
48
63
46

12
17
12
14

4
5
3
5

5
2
4
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 brickmaking 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 classication system was proposed that denes supplementary 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 modies the composition of the binder gel. Physically active supplementary materials, on the other hand, have a crystalline and/or chemically 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 activities in an alkali medium, with quartz and hematite phases being physically 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 neness
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 specic surface area (Ssp) of 300, 600 or 900 m2/kg

separate grinding

conjoint grinding

140

Compressive strength (MPa)

1.85

20

12
28
18
33

120
100

Water adsorption (%)

RCBW1
RCBW2
RCBW3
RCBW4

1.8
1.75

15

1.7

10

1.65
1.6

1.55

0
0/100

1.5

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 nal 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 CuK radiation operating at 40 kV and 30 mA. Quantitative analysis of the RCBWs was
performed using a method based on mineral intensity factors and diffraction 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 le [39]. The particle size distribution and Ssp of the powders
were determined using a laser particle-size analyser (Fritsch Particle Sizer, ANALYSETTE 22) and a Blaine air-permeability apparatus,
respectively.
2.2. Methods
Vicat tests were carried out in accordance with EN 1963 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
prepared in cubic molds (2 2 2 cm). The AAC mortars were prepared
in prismatic molds (4 4 16 cm). The compressive and exural
strength of each sample type was measured after 1, 3, 7 and 28 days of
storage under normal conditions (room temperature, relative humidity
Table 5
28-day compressive strength of hardened AAC pastes with different alkali activators
RCBW/GGBFS ratios and RCBW types.

80
60

RCBW type

Alkali activator

Compressive strength (MPa)

RCBW/GGBFS ratio

40
20
0
0/100

Density (g/cm3)

326

20/80

40/60

60/40

80/20

100/0

RCBW3/GGBFS ratio (%)

Fig. 2. 28-day compressive strength of hardened AAC pastes with different RCBW/GBFS
ratios and grinding methods.

RCBW1
RCBW2
RCBW3
RCBW4
RCBW1
RCBW2
RCBW3
RCBW4

Sodium silicate
Sodium silicate
Sodium silicate
Sodium silicate
Sodium carbonate
Sodium carbonate
Sodium carbonate
Sodium carbonate

0/100

20/80

40/60

60/40

80/20

100/0

97
97
97
97
61
61
61
61

115
115
111
119
70
72
69
74

112
114
111
120
68
77
69
77

91
95
89
93
52
57
54
59

75
77
71
77
31
32
26
35

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

N.R. Rakhimova, R.Z. Rakhimov / Materials and Design 85 (2015) 324331

327

120

Setting time, min

100

final setting time

(sodium silicate)
initial setting time
(sodium silicate)
final setting time
(sodium carbonate)
initial setting time
(sodium carbonate)

80
60
40
20
0
300

400

500

600

Ssp

700

800

900

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 9095 C, then 3 h of cooling). All values represent an average obtained from six samples.

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

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Inuence 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 signicant 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 insufcient 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

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 inuence 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, respectively. The fact that RCBW2 and RCBW4 exhibited the greatest increase in strength can be explained by the higher concentration of
amorphous phase in these samples. The improvement in strength presumably 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 strengthening effect of quartz powder. Interestingly, this is not caused by any effect 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 ensuring the formation of a strong interfacial transitional zone between the

BAAC40/60 (sodium silicate)

BAAC40/60 (sodium carbonate)
150

WR(sodium carbonate)

Compressive strength (MPa)

WR(sodium silicate)
40

Water requirement (%)

38
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20

140
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Ssp (m2/kg)
Fig. 5. Variation in water requirement of sodium silicate-activated and sodium carbonateactivated fresh BAAC pastes with Ssp.

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Ssp (m2/kg)
Fig. 6. Variation in 28-day compressive strength of hardened BAAC pastes with Ssp and
alkali activator type.

328

N.R. Rakhimova, R.Z. Rakhimov / Materials and Design 85 (2015) 324331

W (%) (sodium silicate)

W (%) (sodium carbonate)
(g/cm3) (sodium silicate)
(g/cm3) (sodium carbonate)

Table 6
Characteristic parameters of GGBFS powders with different Ssp [46].

15

Characteristic particle size, m

Uniformity index n

300
600
900

25.78
20.9
15.2

0.8773
0.943
0.9082

1.95

13
12

1.9

11
10

1.85

9
8

Density (g/cm 3)

Water adsorption (%)

14

Ssp of GGBFS, m2/kg

1.8

from 300 to 900 m2/kg reduces the initial setting time from 35 to
10 min, and the nal setting time from 110 to 28 min. Similarly, a
with fresh sodium silicate-activated BAAC paste, the initial setting
time is reduced from 10 to 4.5 min and the nal setting time is reduced
from 22 to 7 min. This is accompanied by an increase in the water requirement from 26 to 33.2% in the case of sodium carbonate activated
fresh pastes, and from and 26.1 to 34.2% with sodium silicate (Fig. 5).

7
6

1.75
300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Ssp (m 2/kg)
Fig. 7. Variation in 28-day density and water adsorption of hardened BAAC pastes with Ssp.

quartz powder particles and the AASC paste [41]. Meanwhile, the interaction of aluminosilicate glass and feldspars in RCBW with the alkaline
component results in the formation of reaction products with binding
properties [42,43]. Amorphous silica can also increases the compressive
and exural strength of hardened AASC pastes through the formation of
calcium silicate hydrates [44].
3.3. Inuence of Ssp and alkali activator type on the properties of fresh
BAAC paste
The results in Fig. 4 show that increasing the Ssp of a fresh sodium
carbonate-activated blended AAC based on GGBFS and RCBW3 (BAAC)

a)

10.5

2.1
2.05

9.5
9

8.5
8

1.95

7.5
7

Density (g/cm 3)

Water adsorption (%)

10

W (curing)
W (28d)

From the variation in the 28-day compressive strength of hardened

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 600700 m2/kg. Note that
this also coincides with the maximum density and minimum water
adsorption, as shown in Fig. 7.
According to Puertas [45], the optimal neness of GBFS used for the
production of alkali-activated materials is in the range of 400550 m2/kg,
though Isozaki et al. have shown that the strength of AASCs increases
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
AASC paste is reduced varies from 500 to 600 m2/kg (Blaine) depending
on the basicity of the slag: 550 for neutral, where C + M/A + S =
0.951.05; 500 for basic (N 1.05) and 600 for acid (b0,95). The results
obtained in the present study agree with previously published data [48];
and as shown in Fig. 8, are related to the hardened strength of sodium carbonate and sodium silicate activated AASCs. However, it is the particle
size distribution of the GBFS with an Ssp 600700 m2/kg that creates a
maximum packing density in the AASC paste, and therefore a maximum
strength and minimal water absorption.
The granulometric composition of a material can be described by a
mathematical model based on the RosinRammlerSperlingBennet
(RRSB) function of:

(curing)
(28d)

R 100 exe ;
x

1.9

6.5
6

3.4. Inuence of Ssp and alkali activator type on the properties of hardened
BAAC paste

1.85
300

400

500

600

700

800

900

GGBFS/RCBW (60/40)

GGBFS

Ssp of GGBFS (m 2/kg)

>50 m
160
140
120

sodium silicate (curing)

100
sodium silicate (28d)

80

sodium carbonate
(curing)
sodium carbonate (28d)

60
40
20

Particle size

Compressive strength (MPa)

b)

20-500 m
10-20 m
5-10 m
< 5 m

0
300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Ssp (m2/kg)
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].

10

20

30

Content (%)
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) 324331

Compressive strength (MPa)

a)

329

140
120
100
80
300 m2/kg
60

600 m2/kg
900 m2/kg

40
20
0
0

14

21

28

Age (days)

b)

140

Compressive strength (MPa)

120
100
80
300 m2/kg
60

600 m2/kg
900 m2/kg

40
20
0
0

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 x is the size which 36.8% of particles exceeds [49]. This
can therefore be used to obtain either a characteristic size (i.e., the neness 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

Density (g/cm3)

1.92
1.9
1.88

300 m2/kg
1.86

600 m2/kg

1.84

900 m2/kg

1.82
1.8
1.78
0

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) 324331

Water adsorption (%)

14
12
10
8
300 m2/kg

600 m2/kg

900 m2/kg

2
0
0

14

21

28

Age (days)
Fig. 12. Variation in the water adsorption of hardened sodium silicate activated BAAC
pastes with Ssp.

inferior to those based on AASC. This reduced early strength can be

attributed to the lower reaction rate of RCBW, and the reduction in
products produced by the reaction between GBFS and the alkali component. After 28 days, however, the compressive and exural strength of
mortars based on BAAC with Ssp values of 600 and 900 m2/kg is higher
than that of AASC-based mortars aged for the same period of time, or
steam cured. Sodium carbonate-activated BAAC mortars also have no
strength after 1 day of aging, but after three days show a notable improvement in compressive and exural strength relative to AASCbased mortars aged for 28 days or steam cured. The extent to which
various factors affect the strength of hardened pastes and mortars
based on BAAC strength can therefore be concluded to vary in the
following order: alkali activator type N concentration of RCBW N grinding method N curing conditions N composition and origin of RCBW.
3.6. Inuence of GBFS and GBFS/RCBW grinding time

density of blended cement particles is achieved with BAAC with an

Ssp of 600 m2/kg.
The development of strength in hardened BAAC pastes shown in
Fig. 10 is also analogous to previously published results for AASCs [48].
Further analysis of these results, however, revealed differences in the
rate and level of strength development in the hardened pastes that
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
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.
As shown in Fig. 11, the highest strength of the hardened BAAC paste
with an Ssp of 900 m2/kg coincides with its highest density, with an
Ssp of 600 m2/kg producing a lower strength at the same age than the
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 maximum strength and bulk density, and lowest water adsorption (Figs. 11
and 12), after 28 days of aging, their stable strength development over
time providing an attractive combination of early strength and highest
nal strength when compared with using BAACs with Ssp values of
300 and 900 m2/kg.
3.5. Strength characteristics of AASC- and BAAC-based mortars
The variation in strength with Ssp, curing conditions and alkali activator type demonstrated in Table 7 shows that it is possible to achieve
good early and 28-day strength characteristics in BAAC-based mortars.
When the alkali component is sodium silicate, then mortars based on
BAAC with an Ssp of 300 m2/kg alone have no strength after 1-day of
aging. Furthermore, even if the GBFS is diluted with RCBW to increase
the Ssp to 600 or 900 m2/kg, the strength of the resulting mortar is still
Table 7
Variation in the strength of mortars based on AASC and BAAC with Ssp, curing conditions
and alkali activator type.
Binder
type

Ssp
(m2/kg)

Alkali
activator

Compressive strength/exural strength

(MPa)
Normal conditions

AASC
BAAC
AASC
BAAC
AASC
BAAC
AASC
BAAC
AASC
BAAC
AASC
BAAC

300
300
600
600
900
900
300
300
600
600
900
900

SS
SS
SS
SS
SS
SS
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC

1d

3d

28 d

10.2/2.2

25.6/4.1
20.5/3.8
45.2/6.2
36.1/5.5

13.2/5.5

34.3/3.6
17.2/3.0
58.1/5.8
38.6/5.5
61.2/7.9
56.0/6.4

12.1/4.3

25.4/6.0
18.6/5.2

70.2/8.1
80.2/8.9
90.3/10.3
104.3/11.5
85.5/9.2
98.5/10.0
40.2/6.1
49.3/6.2
50.1/7.6
61.1/7.7
43.2/6.8
53.7/7.0

Steam
curing
77.6/8.0
85.2/8.9
101.7/10.5
112.3/11.6
94.2/9.8
102.3/10.2
46.3/7.0
47.8/7.0
59.1/8.9
61.4/8.9
51.6/8.1
55.4/8.4

The grinding time required to produce GBFS with an Ssp value of 300,
600 or 900 m2/kg was determined to be 100, 300 or 600 s, respectively,
but these times decreased to 60, 130, and 170 s in the case of a 60/40
GBFS/RCBW blend. This represents a signicant reduction in grinding
time of between 1.73.5 times depending on the Ssp, meaning that the
cost of grinding is also reduced.
4. Conclusions
This study has demonstrated the feasibility of producing blended
alkali-activated slag cements from a ground blend of granulated blast
furnace slag and red clay brick waste; and in considering the effects of
various inuential factors, the following conclusions have been drawn.
1. RCBW is a chemically and physically active polymineralic additive
that can replace up to 60% of the GBFS in AASC pastes and mortars,
and can actually increase the strength after aging or steam curing.
2. The strength and density of hardened AAC pastes based on conjointly
ground GBFS and RCBW are higher than if the two components are
ground separately.
3. The strength of blended AASC is most affected by the type of alkali activator, followed in sequence by the concentration of RCBW, grinding
method, curing conditions and least of all the composition and origin
of the RCBW.
4. Increasing the Ssp of BAAC greatly reduces both the initial and nal
setting time of fresh sodium carbonate-activated BAAC paste, but
this can be further reduced with sodium silicate activation. In either
case, however, the water requirement is increased.
5. An increase in the Ssp of BAAC can improve the 28-day strength of
hardened BAAC pastes and mortars by up to 30%.
6. Hardened pastes and mortars based on BAAC with an Ssp of 600 m2/kg
exhibit stable strength development over time and provide an attractive combination of high strength, high density and minimal water
adsorption.
7. The grinding time of BAAC is 1.73.5 times less than that of a comparable AASC.
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