Strain-hardening alkali-activated fly ash/slag composites with ultra-high compressive strength and ultra-high tensile ductility

Jian Cong Lao; Bo Tao Huang; Yi Fang; Ling Yu Xu; Jian Guo Dai; Surendra P. Shah

doi:10.1016/j.cemconres.2022.107075

Strain-hardening alkali-activated fly ash/slag composites with ultra-high compressive strength and ultra-high tensile ductility

Jian Cong Lao, Bo Tao Huang^*, Yi Fang, Ling Yu Xu, Jian Guo Dai, Surendra P. Shah

^*Corresponding author for this work

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

130 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study designed and developed strain-hardening alkali-activated fly ash/slag composites (SH-AAFSC) with both ultra-high compressive strength and ultra-high tensile ductility for the first time. The developed SH-AAFSC showed a compressive strength of 94.4–180.7 MPa and a tensile strain capacity of 8.1–9.9 %, which successfully pushed the performance envelope of alkali-activated materials. A multi-scale investigation was conducted to get an in-depth understanding of the obtained mechanical properties. Results showed that higher GGBS content increased the Ca/Si ratio of C(N)ASH, leading to a further refined microstructure with reduced porosity. As w/p ratio decreased from 0.27 to 0.22, the compressive strength significantly increased but the tensile ductility slightly decreased. Notably, a strong linear relationship was observed between fiber-bridging strength and the average elastic modulus of matrix obtained from nanoindentation. The study provided an avenue to produce SH-AAFSC towards ultra-high compressive strength and tensile ductility, which are promising for resilient and sustainable infrastructures.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	107075
Journal	Cement and Concrete Research
Volume	165
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2022.107075
State	Published - Mar 2023

Funding

This study was supported by the Guangdong Province R&D Plan for Key Areas (No. 2019B111107002 ), and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University through the Research Institute of Land and Space (No. 1-CD7D ) and the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (No. 1-BBWE ). Jian-Cong Lao and Bo-Tao Huang would like to acknowledge the support by the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Fund (No. ITS/077/18FX ) through the Research Talent Hub.

Keywords

Alkali-activated composites
Alkali-activated fly ash/slag
Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC)
Engineered Geopolymer Composites (EGC)
Geopolymer
Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites (SHCC)
Strain-Hardening Geopolymer Composites (SHGC)
Ultra-High-Performance Geopolymer Concrete (UHPGC)

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Building and Construction
General Materials Science

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10.1016/j.cemconres.2022.107075

Cite this

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title = "Strain-hardening alkali-activated fly ash/slag composites with ultra-high compressive strength and ultra-high tensile ductility",

abstract = "This study designed and developed strain-hardening alkali-activated fly ash/slag composites (SH-AAFSC) with both ultra-high compressive strength and ultra-high tensile ductility for the first time. The developed SH-AAFSC showed a compressive strength of 94.4–180.7 MPa and a tensile strain capacity of 8.1–9.9 %, which successfully pushed the performance envelope of alkali-activated materials. A multi-scale investigation was conducted to get an in-depth understanding of the obtained mechanical properties. Results showed that higher GGBS content increased the Ca/Si ratio of C(N)ASH, leading to a further refined microstructure with reduced porosity. As w/p ratio decreased from 0.27 to 0.22, the compressive strength significantly increased but the tensile ductility slightly decreased. Notably, a strong linear relationship was observed between fiber-bridging strength and the average elastic modulus of matrix obtained from nanoindentation. The study provided an avenue to produce SH-AAFSC towards ultra-high compressive strength and tensile ductility, which are promising for resilient and sustainable infrastructures.",

keywords = "Alkali-activated composites, Alkali-activated fly ash/slag, Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC), Engineered Geopolymer Composites (EGC), Geopolymer, Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites (SHCC), Strain-Hardening Geopolymer Composites (SHGC), Ultra-High-Performance Geopolymer Concrete (UHPGC)",

author = "Lao, {Jian Cong} and Huang, {Bo Tao} and Yi Fang and Xu, {Ling Yu} and Dai, {Jian Guo} and Shah, {Surendra P.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 Elsevier Ltd",

year = "2023",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1016/j.cemconres.2022.107075",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "165",

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AU - Lao, Jian Cong

AU - Huang, Bo Tao

AU - Fang, Yi

AU - Xu, Ling Yu

AU - Dai, Jian Guo

AU - Shah, Surendra P.

PY - 2023/3

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N2 - This study designed and developed strain-hardening alkali-activated fly ash/slag composites (SH-AAFSC) with both ultra-high compressive strength and ultra-high tensile ductility for the first time. The developed SH-AAFSC showed a compressive strength of 94.4–180.7 MPa and a tensile strain capacity of 8.1–9.9 %, which successfully pushed the performance envelope of alkali-activated materials. A multi-scale investigation was conducted to get an in-depth understanding of the obtained mechanical properties. Results showed that higher GGBS content increased the Ca/Si ratio of C(N)ASH, leading to a further refined microstructure with reduced porosity. As w/p ratio decreased from 0.27 to 0.22, the compressive strength significantly increased but the tensile ductility slightly decreased. Notably, a strong linear relationship was observed between fiber-bridging strength and the average elastic modulus of matrix obtained from nanoindentation. The study provided an avenue to produce SH-AAFSC towards ultra-high compressive strength and tensile ductility, which are promising for resilient and sustainable infrastructures.

AB - This study designed and developed strain-hardening alkali-activated fly ash/slag composites (SH-AAFSC) with both ultra-high compressive strength and ultra-high tensile ductility for the first time. The developed SH-AAFSC showed a compressive strength of 94.4–180.7 MPa and a tensile strain capacity of 8.1–9.9 %, which successfully pushed the performance envelope of alkali-activated materials. A multi-scale investigation was conducted to get an in-depth understanding of the obtained mechanical properties. Results showed that higher GGBS content increased the Ca/Si ratio of C(N)ASH, leading to a further refined microstructure with reduced porosity. As w/p ratio decreased from 0.27 to 0.22, the compressive strength significantly increased but the tensile ductility slightly decreased. Notably, a strong linear relationship was observed between fiber-bridging strength and the average elastic modulus of matrix obtained from nanoindentation. The study provided an avenue to produce SH-AAFSC towards ultra-high compressive strength and tensile ductility, which are promising for resilient and sustainable infrastructures.

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KW - Engineered Geopolymer Composites (EGC)

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KW - Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites (SHCC)

KW - Strain-Hardening Geopolymer Composites (SHGC)

KW - Ultra-High-Performance Geopolymer Concrete (UHPGC)

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Strain-hardening alkali-activated fly ash/slag composites with ultra-high compressive strength and ultra-high tensile ductility

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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