Metakaolin-Based Geopolymer Features Different Pore Structure Characteristics from Ordinary Portland Cement Paste: A Mechanistic Study
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34, Issue 12
Abstract
Metakaolin (MK)-based geopolymer is an emerging alterative to cement, but the quantitative understanding of its pore structure is lacking. Prior studies are limited to phenomenological investigations of the influence of activator modulus and concentration, liquid/solid ratio, or curing temperature. This study characterized the pore structure of a MK-based geopolymer using mercury intrusion porosimetry, gas adsorption, and scanning electron microscopy and revealed the quantitative correlation between its pore structure and geopolymerization degree. Most pores in the MK-based geopolymers were from 10 to 100 nm—noticeably smaller than that of OPC paste (). A denser microstructure can be achieved by increasing the degree of geopolymerization through lower activator modulus or higher activator concentration. The liquid/solid ratio and curing temperature also influenced the geopolymer microstructure mainly by changing the initial distance between MK particles and affecting the water loss during curing, respectively. These findings provide guidance for studying the shrinkage and chloride resistance of geopolymer concrete, among other properties.
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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 on reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
H. Peng and his team members thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project Nos. 51878068 and 52178186), the Science and Technology Innovation Program of Hunan Province (Project No. 2020RC2052), and the Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate (Project No. CX20210769) for their support. X. Shi acknowledges the support for his sabbatical leave by Washington State University, which made this collaboration possible.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34 • Issue 12 • December 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 11, 2021
Accepted: Mar 21, 2022
Published online: Sep 19, 2022
Published in print: Dec 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Feb 19, 2023
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