EFFECTS OF SILICA MODULUS AND ALKALI CONCENTRATION ON ACTIVATION OF BLAST-FURNACE SLAG

Abstract: The use of alkali-activated cementitious materials especially over the past decades has significantly been increased. The goal of this research is to investigate the effects of silica modulus and alkali concentration on alkali-activation of blast-furnace slag. In this research, the most important physical characteristics of cementitious systems, i.e. the 28-day compressive strength and final setting time, were studied by changing influencing parameters such as silica modulus, i.e. SiO2/Na2O, (0.44, 0.52, 0.60, and 0.68) and Na2O concentration (4, 6, 8 and 10% by weight of dry binder) at a constant water-to-dry binder ratio of 0.25. Final setting time of the studied systems varies in the range between 55-386 minutes. The obtained results show that systems cured at an atmosphere of more than 95% relative humidity at room temperature exhibit relatively high 28-day compressive strengths up to 107 MPa.