Mitigating the autogenous shrinkage of alkali-activated slag by metakaolin

Zhenming Li*, Marija Nedeljković, Boyu Chen, Guang Ye

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

88 Citations (Scopus)
62 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of metakaolin (MK)in mitigating the autogenous shrinkage of alkali-activated slag (AAS). It is found that the autogenous shrinkage of AAS paste can be reduced by 40% and 50% when replacing 10% and 20% slag with MK, respectively. By providing additional Si and Al, and decreasing the pH of the pore solution, the incorporation of MK retards the formation of aluminium-modified calcium silicate hydrate (CASH)gels, the main reaction products in the studied pastes. The chemical shrinkage and pore refinement are consequently mitigated, resulting in a substantial reduction in the pore pressure. Meanwhile, the elastic modulus of AAS paste is only slightly influenced after MK addition. As a result, the autogenous shrinkage of AAS is significantly mitigated by incorporating MK. In addition, the introduction of MK would extend the setting time, slightly decrease the compressive strength, but greatly increase the flexural strength of AAS.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)30-41
Number of pages12
JournalCement and Concrete Research
Volume122
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Bibliographical note

Accepted Author Manuscript

Keywords

  • Mechanical properties
  • Metakaolin
  • Mitigation
  • Shrinkage
  • Slag

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