Sulfate Resistance of Clay-Portland Cement and Clay High-Calcium Fly Ash Geopolymer
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 27, Issue 5
Abstract
This paper examines the short-term resistance ability of two different cementitious systems prepared using silty clay as a major component against 5 wt% sodium sulfate and 5 wt% magnesium sulfate solutions. The two cementitious systems are clay–portland cement and clay-high calcium fly ash (FA) geopolymer. The 28-day strength of the clay-FA geopolymer is up to 1.2 times higher than that of clay-cement. The results show that the physical performance of clay-FA geopolymer when exposed to sulfate solution is better than that of clay-cement. While the geopolymer phase is prominent in the clay-FA geopolymer system, gypsum, and ettringite phases are present in both systems especially in the clay-cement system. The strength reduction in clay-cement with duration of sulfate exposure is caused by the formation of ettringite and crystallization of gypsum (observed by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction) as well as the decalcification of CSH phases. There is no major change in the microstructure and pH of clay-FA geopolymer when exposed to sulfate solutions, and hence the strength reduction is insignificant. The exposure to magnesium sulfate solution causes more degradation in both clay-FA geopolymer and clay-cement system than the exposure to sodium sulfate because the CSH phases react with magnesium sulfate solution to form ettringite. The disappearance of CSH phases in both systems is observed by XRD analysis. Overall, clay-FA geopolymer show better resistance to sulfate attack than clay-cement. The clay-FA geopolymer can be considered as a green construction and building material in sulfate-rich areas.
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Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the Thailand Research Fund under the TRF Senior Research Scholar program Grant No. RTA5680002 and the Ph.D. Royal Jubilee program Grant No. 0198/2551. The financial support from the Higher Education Research Promotion and National Research University Project of Thailand, Office of Higher Education Commission as well as facilities and equipment from Australian Catholic University and Suranaree University of Technology are very much appreciated.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 27 • Issue 5 • May 2015
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© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 2, 2013
Accepted: Apr 22, 2014
Published online: Jul 30, 2014
Discussion open until: Dec 30, 2014
Published in print: May 1, 2015
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