Abstract
Alkali-activated materials, especially when activated by water glass, exhibit substantial drying shrinkage that hinders their broader industrial application. The effect of shrinkage-reducing admixtures (SRA), based on polypropylene glycol, on drying shrinkage of alkali-activated blast furnace slag (BFS) mortars was examined. The determination of SRA efficiency and the influence of potassium alkali activators with varying silicate modulus on drying shrinkage characteristics were studied. It was observed that a high amount of alkalis positively affected the effect of SRA. The higher the amount of alkalis was, the lower was the drying shrinkage. The paper further discusses and underlines the role of the amount of alkali ions on the properties of alkali-activated BFS systems.
Highlights
High energy consumption and increased emissions along with ageing infrastructure have a harmful impact on the environment
Many scientific studies have revealed that some kinds of activated materials (AAMs) are distinguished by superior durability and lower heat of hydration compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) binder, high resistance to aggressive environments (Hossain et al, 2015) and good performance in high temperatures (Bernal et al, 2015)
Containing the reference sample and the others containing PPG 425 in the mass concentrations of 0·05, 0·10, 0·25, 0·50, 1·00 and 2·00 wt% related to the mass of blast furnace slag (BFS), the amount of which corresponded to the amount of activator used that was necessary for alkali activation
Summary
High energy consumption and increased emissions along with ageing infrastructure have a harmful impact on the environment. Many scientific studies have revealed that some kinds of AAM are distinguished by superior durability and lower heat of hydration compared to OPC binder, high resistance to aggressive environments (Hossain et al, 2015) and good performance in high temperatures (Bernal et al, 2015). Another advantage could be better behaviour under freeze–thaw cycles (Cai et al, 2013). These materials exhibit drying and autogenous shrinkage (Bilek et al, 2016), the subsequent formation of microcracks and higher formation of salt efflorescence, which are the major drawbacks that hinder these materials’ broader industrial application
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
