Mechanical Properties of Alkali-Activated Concrete Subjected to Impact Load
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 30, Issue 5
Abstract
Drop-weight tests are conducted to study the dynamic flexural properties of alkali-activated concrete (AAC) under four different impact velocities, corresponding to strain rates of 15, 35, 55, and . The effect of low temperature () is also observed at the strain rate of . The replacement ratio of fly ash with slag, alkali concentration, modulus of alkali activator, and water:binder ratio are selected as parameters to study the strain rate effect of AAC. The quasi-static compressive strength, flexural strength, and elastic modulus are evaluated. For comparison, one mixture of ordinary portland cement concrete (OPCC) is also studied. The results show that, similar to OPCC, AAC is a strain rate–sensitive material; the flexural strength, energy consumption, and deformation at failure increase with the loading rate; the dynamic increase factor (DIF) of flexural strength is related to its quasi-static strength, and a lower quasi-static strength leads to a higher DIF; and the energy dissipation capacity of AAC increases almost linearly with the strain rate regardless of its quasi-static strength. In addition, different from OPCC, alkali-activated slag concrete (AASC) is found to exhibit less sensitivity to low temperature in terms of the flexural property, which might be attributed to the refinement of the microstructure, high proportion of micropores, and high concentration of pore solution in AASC.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the financial support received from the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Project No. 51638008 and Construction Industry Council Fund (Project code: K-ZJK2). They are also grateful for a Ph.D. studentship awarded to the first author by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 30 • Issue 5 • May 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 13, 2017
Accepted: Oct 27, 2017
Published online: Feb 22, 2018
Published in print: May 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jul 22, 2018
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