Crack Self-Healing in NaOH-Activated Slag-Based Composites Incorporating Calcium Hydroxide
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33, Issue 4
Abstract
Geopolymers and alkali-activated materials (AAM) have emerged as a promising sustainable alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Although much effort has recently been devoted to a wide range of research on the self-healing of cracks in OPC-based composites, little is known about the self-healing potential of AAMs. Therefore, this study explores the crack self-healing capability of NaOH-activated slag composites using a portfolio of testing methods, including electrical conductivity, mercury intrusion porosimetry, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray microcomputed tomography. Experimental results indicate that alkali-activated slag-based composites incorporating calcium hydroxide achieved higher levels of self-healing than control specimens without calcium hydroxide. X-ray micro-computed tomography coupled with three-dimensional image analysis demonstrated that the observed self-healing was a surface mechanism that only occurred at surface cracks. Calcium carbonate was found to be the main self-healing product in all test specimens. Leaching experimental results indicated that the concentration of ions in the AAM matrix plays a critical role in calcium carbonate precipitation and, thus, in the self-healing potential.
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Data Availability Statement
All of the data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
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Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 4 • April 2021
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: May 6, 2020
Accepted: Aug 13, 2020
Published online: Jan 18, 2021
Published in print: Apr 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Jun 18, 2021
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