Novel geopolymeric material cured at room temperature

Alkali activated binders are a new class of binding material with comparable or enhanced performance to Portland cement. These binding materials are obtained by a chemical reaction between an alumino-silicate material and a highly alkaline solution. In most cases, the setting-hardening process of this binder is performed at high curing temperatures. In this paper, alkali activated mortars based on Vitreous Calcium Aluminosilicate (VCAS) cured at room temperature are evaluated. Mechanical strength development and microstructural analysis (scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction and mercury intrusion porosimetry) of these materials are performed. Mortars yielded compressive strength around 89 MPa after 360 days. This is the first time that VCAS is used as alumino-silicate source material in the production of alkali activated mortars cured at room temperature.