Strength Development of Metakaolin-Based Alkali-Activated Cement
Source abstract
Abstract
Alkali-activated materials, sometimes called geopolymers, can be used as alternative cementitious materials to conventional Portland cement. Currently, there is a significant interest in these materials due to their low CO2 footprint. The typical applications of alkali-activated materials are within civil engineering; however, potential applications as well cementing material within the oil and gas industry are also receiving emerging interest. This paper presents a systematic study of the compressive strength development from 1 to 28 days for metakaolin-based alkali-activated cement. The results show that the compressive strength is highly dependent upon the initial Si/Al ratio in the mix design, as well as the concentration of the activator solution. Furthermore, due to the relatively low initial reactivity of the metakaolin material used, different types of co-binders were included in the slurry composition to improve early strength development. The two different co-binders tested were another, more reactive metakaolin material and Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS). It was found that both these co-binders performed as intended, by ensuring early strength development via precipitation of K-A-S-H and C-A-S-H gels, respectively, and also by enabling subsequent strength development due to improved dissolution of the low-reactive metakaolin.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Concrete and Cement Materials Research · Magnesium Oxide Properties and Applications · Innovative concrete reinforcement materials
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Saferock AS, Skvadronveien 22, 4050 Sola, Norway
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Høgskoleringen 7A, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Funding
the Research Council of Norway
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