Supplementary Cementitious Materials for Concrete: Characterization Needs

peer reviewedA wide variety of materials are currently used as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) for concrete, including natural materials and byproducts from various industries. Historically, natural SCMs, mostly derived from volcanic deposits, were common in concrete. In recent years, the dominant SCMs have been industrial by-products such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), and silica fume. There is currently a resurgence of research into historic and natural SCMs, as well as other alternative SCMs for many reasons. The primary benefits of SCM use in improvement of long-term mechanical performance, durability, and sustainability are widely accepted, so local demand for these materials can exceed supply. This paper describes some of the SCMs that are attracting attention in the global research community and the properties and characteristics of these materials that affect their performance. Special attention is paid to the importance and demands of material characterization. Many SCMs do not necessarily lend themselves to characterization methods used in standardized test methods, which sometimes fail to describe the properties that are most important in predicting reactivity

Characterization of supplementary cementitious materials by thermal analysis

Working Group 1 of RILEM TC 238-SCM ‘Hydration and microstructure of concrete with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs)’ is defining best practices for the physical and chemical characterization of SCMs, and this paper focusses on their thermal analysis. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) can provide valuable data on the chemical and mineralogical composition of SCMs. Loss-on-ignition (LOI) testing is a commonly used, standardized, but less sophisticated version of TGA that measures mass at endpoints only, with heating generally in air. In this paper we describe the use of TGA and LOI to characterize Portland cement with limestone additions, coal combustion fly ashes, ground-granulated blast furnace slag, calcined clays, and natural pozzolans. This paper outlines the value and limitations of TGA and LOI (in the formats defined in different standards regimes) for material characterization, and describes testing methods and analysis. TGA testing parameters affect the mass loss recorded at temperatures relevant for LOI measurements (700–1000 °C) of slags and fly ashes, mainly associated with oxidation reactions taking place upon heating. TGA of clays and natural pozzolans is utilized to identify optimal calcination conditions leading to dehydroxylation and consequent structural amorphization, particularly for kaolinite. However, dehydroxylation and amorphization do not occur at similar temperatures for all clays, limiting the applicability of TGA for this purpose. Although TGA is widely utilized for characterization of SCMs, the testing parameters significantly affect the results obtained, and TGA results require careful interpretation. Therefore, standardization of TGA testing conditions, particularly for LOI determination of slags and fly ashes, is required

Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag

International audienceSince the discovery of the latent hydraulic reactivity of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (ggbfs) by Emil Langen at the end of the 19th century, this material has been used successfully as cement and concrete addition. This chapter includes all relevant information about this valuable material—from production and processing to the effect, which ggbfs additions have on the concrete performance. In this context, light is shed on decisive performance parameters of ggbfs. Of special interest nowadays is certainly also the information given about trace element contents in ggbfs and their leachability. Here and throughout the entire chapter, the latest insights from research and development work are included. Last but not least, the chapter contains very practical information when it comes to the use of ggbfs in concrete, including insights on rheological effects, concrete color and “greening”, and adequate curing. Moreover, an overview about relevant norms and standards on ggbfs as concrete addition is given. © RILEM 2018