Abstract
The substantial use of fly ash as cement replacement to reduce carbon emissions is identified as the primary goal, 50 % of the cement was substituted with fly ash and in order to avoid the low early stage mechanical properties of the composite, varying doses of sodium sulfate were used as an activator of fly ash. Additionally, sisal fibers were chosen to enhance the flexural strength. The results indicate that sodium sulfate significantly enhances the early stage mechanical performance of the cementitious composites and the matrix exhibits the optimal mechanical performance at 4 wt% sodium sulfate dosage (4SS). The addition of sisal fibers resulted in an enhancement of the flexural performance of the material. The collaboration between sodium sulfate and sisal fibers results in an improvement in the initial flexural performance of the material while preserving its compressive strength. The single-fiber pullout test further confirmed that adding sodium sulfate enhances the fiber-matrix interface and bonding. Microstructural investigations by XRD, TGA, MIP, and SEM-EDS revealed accelerated hydration and early formation of a large amount of ettringite due to the addition of sodium sulfate. Ettringite acts as a gel nucleation seed, promoting the formation of a dense gel structure and effectively improving the early mechanical properties of the composite. Furthermore, with curing age, sodium sulfate also effectively improves the pore structure of the matrix in the late hydration stage.
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