Setting time and strength monitoring of alkali-activated cement mixtures by ultrasonic testing

Alkali-activated cement (AAC) is a promising binder that replaces ordinary Portland cement (OPC). In this study, the development of setting time and strength of AAC mixes were studied using ultrasonic testing method. The test results were compared with traditional Vicat setting time and compressive and flexural strengths. The findings showed that setting times and strengths have a strong correlation with ultrasonic velocity curve. The initial setting time corresponds well with the ultrasonic velocity curve's dormant period, and the final setting time with the time it takes to reach the velocity curve's maximum acceleration. Both setting times also showed a correlation with the value of the maximum acceleration. An exponential relation was found between the ultrasonic velocity and the compressive and flexural strengths. The effect of binder content, alkaline solid to binder ratio (AS/B), sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide solids ratio (SS/SH), and total water to total solid binder ratio (TW/TS) on the strength and setting time are also studied using Taguchi method of experimental design. AS/B ratio showed a significant influence on the setting time of AAC while TW/TS ratio showed only a minor effect. The ultrasonic velocities were able to capture the effect of the different parameters similar to the compressive strength. The velocity decreased mainly with the increase of TW/TS ratio and binder content, while AS/B and SS/SH ratios showed a lower influence

Freeze–thaw resistance and sorptivity of fine-grained alkali-activated cement concrete

The paper investigates the freeze–thaw resistance and sorptivity behavior of fine-grained alkali-activated concrete cured at ambient temperature. A blended binder system containing fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, and silica fume was used. A combination of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate was used as an activator. The freeze–thaw resistance was evaluated based on mass loss (scaling), and the extent of internal damage was assessed by testing the ultrasonic time at different cycles. Initial and secondary sorptivity coefficients were calculated based on the cumulative water absorption values at different time intervals. Alkali content, sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide ratio, and water to binder ratio were investigated. The experimental results showed that water to binder ratio is the most significant parameter for the scaling; higher ratios result in higher scaling. In terms of internal damage, alkali content is the most significant. The increase of alkali increased the amount of internal damage in the concrete. The initial sorptivity coefficient increased with the water and alkali content and decreased with the silicate content. The secondary sorptivity coefficient showed no significant change with the investigated parameters. © 2022 The Authors. Structural Concrete published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Federation for Structural Concrete

Effect of corrosion on the bond behavior of steel-reinforced, alkali-activated slag concrete

Alkali-activated slag concrete (ASC) is regarded as one of the most promising sustainable construction materials for replacing ordinary Portland cement concrete (OPC) due to its comparable strength and outstanding durability in challenging environments. In this study, the corrosion of steel bars embedded in ASC and OPC was studied by means of an electrically accelerated corrosion test of steel bars in concrete. Meanwhile, the bond performance of the corroded steel bars embedded in ASC was tested and compared with corresponding OPC groups. The results showed that ASC and OPC behaved differently in terms of bond deterioration. The high chemical resistance of ASC decreased the corrosion of steel bars and, thus, increased the residue bond strength and the bond stiffness. © 2023 by the authors

Global injury morbidity and mortality from 1990 to 2017 : results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Correction:Background Past research in population health trends has shown that injuries form a substantial burden of population health loss. Regular updates to injury burden assessments are critical. We report Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 Study estimates on morbidity and mortality for all injuries. Methods We reviewed results for injuries from the GBD 2017 study. GBD 2017 measured injury-specific mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) using the Cause of Death Ensemble model. To measure non-fatal injuries, GBD 2017 modelled injury-specific incidence and converted this to prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs). YLLs and YLDs were summed to calculate disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Findings In 1990, there were 4 260 493 (4 085 700 to 4 396 138) injury deaths, which increased to 4 484 722 (4 332 010 to 4 585 554) deaths in 2017, while age-standardised mortality decreased from 1079 (1073 to 1086) to 738 (730 to 745) per 100 000. In 1990, there were 354 064 302 (95% uncertainty interval: 338 174 876 to 371 610 802) new cases of injury globally, which increased to 520 710 288 (493 430 247 to 547 988 635) new cases in 2017. During this time, age-standardised incidence decreased non-significantly from 6824 (6534 to 7147) to 6763 (6412 to 7118) per 100 000. Between 1990 and 2017, age-standardised DALYs decreased from 4947 (4655 to 5233) per 100 000 to 3267 (3058 to 3505). Interpretation Injuries are an important cause of health loss globally, though mortality has declined between 1990 and 2017. Future research in injury burden should focus on prevention in high-burden populations, improving data collection and ensuring access to medical care.Peer reviewe

Review and experimental investigation of retarder for alkali-activated cement

Alkali-activated cement (AAC) cured at ambient temperature conditions have a wider application area compared to heat cured AAC. High calcium precursor materials such as ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) are commonly used to achieve ambient curing behavior. However, the GGBS results in a short setting time. Hence setting adjustment is critical in such AAC systems. This paper reviews state-of-the-art in the area of retarders for AAC systems. The most promising prospective retarders such as zinc salts, borax, sucrose, and phosphates are investigated. The retarder’s effect is dependent on the precursor materials and alkaline activators used. Consequently, in the review, these are identified for each retarder discussed. Some of the retarders were then tested in AAC with a blended precursor system containing fly ash (FA) and GGBS activated with sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate. The results showed that each borax percentage, with respect to the total solid binder, increases the setting time by about 50% of the mix without borax. Sucrose, sodium acetate, acetic, and phosphoric acids have no significant effect on the investigated AAC’s setting time. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Parametric study on bond of GFRP bars in alkali-activated cement concrete

Bond behaviour plays an important role in the design and performance of reinforced-concrete structures. In this study, finite-element modelling is used to perform a parametric study. The bond between the glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bar and alkali-activated cement concrete is modelled by surface-based cohesive behaviour. The accuracy of the model is validated by comparing model predictions with experimental results. The effect of concrete cover, bar diameter, compressive strength, lead length, embedment length and GFRP elastic modulus on bond behaviour is investigated. Each of these parameters are varied based on a range of applicable values to study their influence on bond behaviour. The parametric study showed that bond behaviour is mainly affected by concrete cover, bar diameter, embedment length and the compressive strength of the concrete. The effect of the elastic modulus of the GFRP bar is not as pronounced as that of the other parameters, while the influence of lead length can be avoided by providing enough unbonded length at the loaded end. The parametric study is further used to calibrate a well-known bond equation and develop a new regression equation for predicting the maximum bond stress. The predicted results from these equations showed a good agreement with the experimental results as well as those of the finite-element model

Alkali activated cement mixture at ambient curing : strength, workability, and setting time

The success of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) comes at a risk to the environment because of the large carbon dioxide emissions associated with cement manufacturing. This has led the scientific community to look for alternative cementitious materials with lower environmental impact. Alkali activated cement (AAC) is an excellent alternative to this end. In this study, the effect of binder content, alkaline solid to binder ratio (AS/B), sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide solids ratio (SS/SH), and total water content to total solid binder ratio (TW/TB) on the strength, setting time and flowability of ambient cured AAC mixtures are studied using Taguchi method of experimental design. Binder content was varied from 550 to 750 kg/m3, AS/B ratio from 0.14 to 0.22, SS/SH ratio from 1.5 to 2.5, and TW/TB ratio from 0.29 to 0.39. The study results showed that within the investigated range, an increase in binder content has a minor effect on strength but resulted in a considerable increase in setting time and flowability. An increase in the AS/B ratio resulted in increased flowability and setting time and a decrease in strength. Moreover, the study also investigated the relationship between compressive strength and flexural strength. © 2021 The Authors. Structural Concrete published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Federation for Structural Concrete

Rheology of alkali-activated blended binder mixtures

Alkali-activated cement (AAC) is an alternative cement that has been increasingly studied over the past decades mainly because of its environmental benefits. However, most studies are on heat-cured AACs and are focused on mechanical properties. There is a lack of research on the fresh properties of ambient-cured AAC systems. This study investigates the rheological properties of ambient-temperature-cured alkali-activated blended binder mixtures activated with sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide solutions. The influence of binder amount, alkaline solid to binder ratio (AS/B), sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide solids ratio (SS/SH), and total water content to total solid (from the binding materials) ratio (TW/TS) on the rheological properties are investigated. The effect of borax as an admixture and silica fume as a replacement for fly ash is also investigated. The results showed that both the yield stress and plastic viscosity are mainly affected by the binder content and TW/TS ratio decreasing with the increase of each parameter. The yield stress increased with the increase of the SS/SH ratio. Borax significantly reduced the yield stress, while silica fume’s effect was dependent on its dosage

Bond behaviour of GFRP reinforced geopolymer cement concrete

Bond plays a key role in the performance of reinforced concrete structures. Glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforcing bar and Geopolymer cement (GPC) concrete are promising alternative construction materials for steel bars and Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete respectively. In this study, the bond behaviour between these two materials is investigated by using beam-end specimen tests. The bond behaviour of 15.9 mm diameter sand-coated GFRP bar was investigated. An embedment length of six and nine times the bar diameter were used. The free end and the loaded end bond-slip-relationships, the bond failure mode and the average bond stress were used to analyse each of the specimens. Additionally, the distribution of tensile and bond stress along the embedment length was investigated by installing strain gauges along the embedment length in some of the specimens. Test results indicate that a significant difference exists between the free end and loaded end bond-slip curves, which is due to the lower elastic modulus of the GFRP bars. Furthermore, it was found that the tensile and bond stress distribution along the embedment length is nonlinear and the nonlinearity changes with the load

Bond induced concrete splitting failure in textile-reinforced fine-grained concrete

•Compaction improves splitting resistance of vertically cast specimens.•Top-cast specimens have a lower splitting resistance than bottom-cast specimens.•Higher splitting stress is generated orthogonal to the plane of the textile.•The main cause of splitting failure is the fiber strand’s varying cross-section.•Bond distribution depends on the cross-section variation along the fiber strand. Textile-reinforced concrete is an innovative combination of high-performance fine-grained concrete and textile reinforcements. This combination allows the production of thin, efficient, and durable structural elements. Impregnation is commonly used to improve the textile's mechanical performance. When stiff impregnation materials are used, a fiber strand with high transverse stiffness is formed. Textile-reinforced concrete structures with such fiber strands are prone to splitting failures. This paper investigates splitting failure in textile reinforced concrete experimentally and numerically. In the experimental part, the effect of concrete compaction, casting method, and position are studied as parameters. Finite element analysis is performed to investigate failure mode, tensile and bond stress distributions, and the effect of the varying cross-section of the fiber strand. Compaction improved the splitting resistance for the vertically cast specimens. The compacted vertically cast specimens showed a higher splitting resistance than their horizontally cast equivalents. The finite element model indicated that the main cause of splitting failure is the textile reinforcement's varying cross-section coupled with its flat elliptical shape. The model also showed that the bond stress distribution depends on the fiber strand's geometric configuration