Investigation of the Pore Structures and Water Absorbency of Foamed Alkali-Activated Binders
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 3
Abstract
Water absorbency of foamed alkali-activated binders (FAABs) with various pore distributions were investigated in this study, where the pore structures were characterized and analyzed quantitatively to expound the mechanism of water absorption. Initially, workability consisting of fluidity and the aerating procedure of fresh FAABs pastes were studied, which revealed the fluidity evolution of the pastes and volume development with respect to time. On this basis, the effect of hydrogen peroxide () dosages on pore distributions was elaborated and a numerical model was proposed to assess the porosity in the kernel part of a sample. Two bubble stabilizers, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and calcium stearate (CS), were employed to improve the pore structures of FAABs. It was found that the fractions of small pores increased in the bubble stabilizer-modified FAABs and the fractions of independent pores increased markedly. Tests on water absorption indicated that CS was able to decrease the moisture content attributed to its hydrophobicity as well as the redistribution of pores in the FAABs. However, SDS failed to control the water absorption of the FAABs due to the difference in chemical 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 upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The study was jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52102016, 52178196, and 51872064); Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Human Resources; and Social Security (Grant No. LBH-Z20137).
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Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 3 • March 2024
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Jan 17, 2023
Accepted: Aug 10, 2023
Published online: Dec 26, 2023
Published in print: Mar 1, 2024
Discussion open until: May 26, 2024
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