Abstract
Cellular concrete is an alternative to conventional concrete as a low-density and high-insulating building material. The eco-cellular concretes (ECCs) based on geopolymer technology have been recently introduced by the scientific community. A form of ECC was studied, in which the fluid catalytic cracking residue and the blast furnace slag were employed as precursors, the rice husk ash was utilized as an alternative silica source in the activator, and the aerating reagent was replaced with recycled aluminum foil. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, and ImageJ version 1.48 software (National Institutes of Health) were employed to characterize the void distribution. Bulk density and porosity were determined by hydric tests. The results revealed that lowest densities without strength loss were obtained when the cementing matrix had a homogeneous void system: similar spacing between pores, narrow size ranges, and nonconnected pores. A relationship was established between open and closed porosity with density and thermal conductivity.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) through internal project GEOCELPLUS. The authors are especially grateful to Dr. Josefa L. Roselló Caselles for the recycled aluminum foil, and also to the Electronic Microscopy Service of the UPV. Thanks also go to DACSA, BP Oil, and Cementval for supplying the raw materials.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 5 • May 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 15, 2020
Accepted: Sep 28, 2020
Published online: Feb 28, 2021
Published in print: May 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Jul 28, 2021
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