Experimental Laboratory Evaluation of Durability Properties of Alkali-Activated Concrete Based on Blast Furnace Slag Used in Road Pavement

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Ph.D. in Civil, Department of Civil Engineering, Chalous Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chalous, Iran

Abstract

The use of concrete in road pavements has always been of interest to civil engineering scientists due to its numerous benefits. In recent decades, production of alkali-activated concrete, which is environmentally friendly concrete, has attracted the attention of researchers. In this paper, a mix design of ordinary concrete containing 500 kg/m3 of Portland cement and a mix design of alkali-activated concrete containing blast furnace slag were made and the durability properties of the concrete were evaluated under water permeability and capillary water absorption tests at 7, 28 and 90 days of curing. Increasing the curing age of the concrete improved the results in all tests. In this regard, in ordinary concrete, the lowest permeability and capillary water absorption were obtained at 90 days of curing, with a height of 29 mm and a value of 0.13 cm/s1/2, respectively, which resulted in an improvement of 19.44 and 27.77 percent compared to the 7-day curing age, respectively. In geopolymer concrete, the lowest capillary permeability and water absorption values were obtained at curing age of 90 days, with a height of 23 mm and a value of 0.071 cm/s1/2, respectively, which resulted in an improvement of 14.81 and 35.45 percent, respectively, compared to the 7-day curing age of concrete. At a curing age of 90 days (as the optimal age), the capillary permeability and water absorption values in alkali-activated concrete were improved by 20.68 and 45.38 percent, respectively, compared to conventional concrete. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of concrete samples overlapped with other tests in this study.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

 
Abdolahzade, S. and Nili, M. 2019. “The influence of compound layers on the mechanical properties and frost resistance of roller compacted concrete pavement”. Concrete Res., 2(3): 17-28. doi: 10.22124/jcr.2019.7811.1207
Amouzadeh Omrani, M., Tahmouresi, G. and Piri, P. 2023. “Experimental study of the effect of steel slag and reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) on the properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC) pavement”. Concrete Res., 16(4): 95-108. doi: 10.22124/jcr.2023.23289.1604
Banthia, N., Biparva, A. and Mindess, S. 2005. “Permeability of concrete under stress”. Cement Concrete Res., 35: 1651-1655.
Bozkurt, N. and Yazicioglu, S. 2010. “Strength and capillary water absorption of lightweight concrete under different curing conditions”. Indian J. Eng. Mater. Sci., 17(2)
Deb, P., Nath, P. and Sarker, P. 2015. “Drying shrinkage of slag blended fly ash geopolymer concrete cured at room temperature”. Proc. Eng., 125: 594-600.
Du, H., Du, S. and Liu, X. 2014. “Durability performances of concrete with nano-silica”. Constr. Build. Mater., 73: 705-712.
Duan, P., Shui, Z., Chen, W. and Shenb, C. 2013. “Enhancing microstructure and durability of concrete from ground granulated blast furnace slag and metakaolin as cement replacement materials”. J. Mater. Res. Technol., 2(1): 52-59.
Hashemipoor, K. and Mohammadizadeh, M. R. 2023. “Study on the mechanical properties of porous concrete with high permeability using aluminum slag”. Concrete Res., 16(1): 73-83. doi: 10.22124/jcr.2023.2 1607.1557
Elawady, E., El Hefnawy, A. A. and Ibrahim, R.A. F. 2014. “Comparative study on strength, permeability and sorptivity of concrete and their relation with concrete durability”. Int. J. Eng. Innov. Technol. (IJEIT), 4(4): 123-131.
Katebi, B., Aghaei Araei, A., Salamat, A. and Hashemi Tabatabaei, S. 2018. “Use of steel slag mixed by fly ash as stabilization of road subgrade”. Buil. Eng. Housing Sci., 12(1): 13-19. [In Persian]
Mansourghanaei, M. and Biklaryan, M. 2022. “Comparison of modulus-elasticity of pavement alkali-activated concrete and normal concrete under high temperature based on XRD and SEM test”. J. Transport. Infrastruct. Eng., 8(3): 137-150. doi: 10.22075/jtie.2022.25524.1577
Mansourghanaei, M., Biklaryan, M. and Mardookhpour, A. 2022a. “Experimental study of the effect of high temperature on the passage speed of Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) in alkaline slag concrete used in pavement”. J. Transport. Infrastruct. Eng., 8(1): 119-131. doi: 10.22075/jtie.2022.25104.1572
Mansourghanaei, M., Biklaryan, M. and Mardookhpour, A. 2022b. “Experimental study of modulus of elasticity, capillary absorption of water and UPV in nature-friendly concrete based on geopolymer materials”. Int J. Adv. Struct. Eng., 12(2): 607-615.‏
Mansourghanaei, M. 2023a. “Investigating the mechanical and durability properties of geopolymer concrete based on granulated blast furnace slag as green concrete”. J. Civ. Eng. Res., 5(3): 24-34.‏
Mansourghanaei, M. 2023b. “Evaluation of mechanical properties and microstructure of pozzolanic geopolymer concrete reinforced with polymer fiber”. J. Civ. Eng. Res., 5(2): 1-13.‏
Mansourghanaei, M. and Mardookhpour, A. 2023. “Investigating the properties of environmentally friendly green concrete (Geopolymer) under high temperature”. Sustain. Earth Trends, 3(4): 62-69.‏
Mansourghanaei, M., Biklaryan, M. and Mardookhpour, A. 2023a. “Experimental study of properties of green concrete based on geopolymer materials under high temperature”. Civ. Eng Infrastruct. J., 56(2): 365-379.‏
Mansourghanaei, M., Biklaryan, M. and Mardookhpour, A. 2023b. “Experimental study of mechanical properties of slag geopolymer concrete under high temperature, used in road pavement”. Int. J. Transport. Eng., 11(1): 1371-1385.‏
Mansourghanaei, M. 2024. “Experimental evaluation of the impact resistance of alkali-activated slag concrete under high temperature”. J. Civ. Eng. Res., 6(3): 47-53.‏
Mansourghanaei, M. and Mardookhpour, A. 2024. “Analysis of the numerical results obtained from the experimental examination of the mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete”. Num. Meth. Civ. Eng., 9(1): 31-41.‏
Mansourghanaei, M., Biklaryan, M. and Mardookhpour, A. 2024a. “Durability and mechanical properties of granulated blast furnace slag based geopolymer concrete containing polyolefin fibers and nano silica”. KSCE J. Civ. Eng., 28(1): 209-219.‏
Mansourghanaei, M., Biklaryan, M. and Mardookhpour, A. 2024b. “Experimental study of the effects of adding silica nanoparticles on the durability of geopolymer concrete”. Austral. J. Civ. Eng., 22(1): 81-93.‏
Mehdipour, S., et al. 2020. “Mechanical properties, durability and environmental evaluation of rubberized concrete incorporating steel fiber and metakaolin at elevated temperatures”. J. Clean. Prod., 254: 120126.
Mehta, P. K. and Monteiro, P. J. M. 2014. “Concrete: Microstructure, Properties, and Materials”. McGraw-Hill Education.
Mirnezami, S., Hassani, A. and Bayat, A. 2024. “Evaluation of the effect of metallurgical aggregates (steel and copper slag) on mechanical properties of concrete in jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCP). J. Transport. Infrastruct. Eng., 10(3), 52-66. doi: 10.22075/jtie.2024.36172.1705
Mohammadi Janaki, A. and Hassani, A. 2019. “Durability of alkali-activated slag/silica fume (AASS) concrete pavement”. MCEJ, 19(4): 161-171. http://mcej.modares.ac.ir/article-16-24567-fa.html
Neupane, K., Des Chalmers and Kidd, P. 2018. “High-strength geopolymer concrete- properties, advantages and challenges”. Adv. Mater., 7(2): 15-25. doi: 10.11648/j.am.20180702.11
Nuaklong, P., Sata, V. and Chindaprasirt, P. 2016. “Influence of recycled aggregate on fly ash geopolymer concrete properties”. J. Clean. Prod., 112: 2300-2307.
Pachideh, G., Gholhaki, M. and Moshtagh, A. 2022. “The effect of adding different pozzolans on mechanical properties and water absorption of pervious concrete pavement”. J. Transport. Res., 19(3): 51-66. doi: 10.22034/tri.2022.68092
Pilehvar, S., DuyCao, V., Szczotok, A., Carmona, M., Valentini, L., Lanzón, M., . . and LenaKjøniksen, A. 2018. “Physical and mechanical properties of fly ash and slag geopolymer concrete containing different types of micro-encapsulated phase change materials”. Constr. Build. Mater., 173: 28-39.
Rezaei Lori, A. and Hassani, A. 2019. “Evaluation of the effect of copper slag on the improvement of the properties of pervious concrete”. J. Transport. Infrastruct. Eng., 4(4): 53-70. doi: 10.22075/jtie.2018.14580.1305
Ryu, G. S., et al. 2013. “The mechanical properties of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete with alkaline activators”. Constr. Build. Mater., 47: 409-418.
Siddique, R. and Kaur, D. 2012. “Properties of concrete containing ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) at elevated temperatures”. J. Adv. Res., 3(1): 45-51.
Singh, B., et al. 2015. “Geopolymer concrete: A review of some recent developments”. Constr. Build. Mater., 85: 78-90.
Taheri, V., Naseri Yalghouzaghaj, M. and Mohammadi, N. 2023. “Evaluation of the effect of micro-silica gel, polymer fibers, fly ash and RAP on the performance and durability of concrete pavers”. J. Transport. Infrastruct. Eng., 9(4): 83-103. doi: 10.22075/jtie.2024.32473.1658
Yüksel, İ., Siddique, R. and Özkan, Ö. 2011. “Influence of high temperature on the properties of concretes made with industrial by-products as fine aggregate replacement”. Constr. Build. Mater., 25(2): 967-972.
Zhuang, X.Y., et al. 2016. “Fly ash-based geopolymer: Clean production, properties and applications. J. Clean. Prod., 125: 253-267.

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 16 March 2025
  • Revise Date: 04 July 2025
  • Accept Date: 09 July 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics