Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Observations on the rheological response of alkali activated fly ash suspensions: the role of activator type and concentration

  • Original Contribution
  • Published:
Rheologica Acta Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper reports the influence of activator type and concentration on the rheological properties of alkali-activated fly ash suspensions. A thorough investigation of the rheological influences (yield stress and plastic viscosity) of several activator parameters, including: (i) the cation type and concentration of alkali hydroxide and (ii) the alkali-to-binder ratio (n) and silica modulus (Ms), and (iii) the volume of the activation solution, on the suspension rheology is presented. The results indicate a strong dependence on the cation and its concentration in the activation solution. The viscosity of the activation solution and the volumetric solution-to-powder ratio are shown to most strongly influence the plastic viscosity of the suspension. The suspension yield stress is predominantly influenced by the changes in fly ash particle surface charge and the ionic species in the activator. A shift from non-Newtonian to Newtonian flow behavior is noted in the case of silicate-based suspensions for Ms ≤ 1.5. This behavior, which is not observed at higher MS values, or when the fly ash is dispersed in hydroxide solutions or pure water, is hypothesized to be caused by colloidal siliceous species present in this system, or surface charge effects on the fly ash particles. Comparisons of the rheological response of alkali-activated suspensions to that of portland cement-water suspensions are also reported.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

n:

Ratio of Na2O in the activator to the total fly ash content

Ms :

Ratio of SiO2-to-Na2O in the activator

(as/p)v :

Activation solution-to-powder ratio, by volume (Refer to the definition of activation solution in 2.1

(as/b)v :

Activation solution-to-binder ratio, by volume; binder implying fly ash here

(w/s)m :

Water-to-solids ratio, mass-based (Refer to the definition of solids in 2.1)

w/c:

Water-to-cement ratio, mass-based, for OPC systems

τ:

Shear stress, Pa

τy :

Yield stress, Pa

ηp :

Plastic viscosity, Pa.s

ηa :

Apparent viscosity, Pa.s

\( \dot{\gamma} \) :

Shear rate, s−1

References

  • ASTM C109-13 (2013) Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Hydraulic Cement Mortars Using 2-in. Cube Specimens.

  • ASTM C1738 - 11a (2011) Standard Practice for High-Shear Mixing of Hydraulic Cement Paste.

  • Atzeni C, Massidda L, Sanna U (1985) Comparison between rheological models for portland cement pastes. Cem Concr Res 15:511–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banfill PFG (2006) Rheology of fresh cement and concrete. Rheol Rev 2006:61

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnes HA (1989) Shear-thickening (“dilatancy”) in suspensions of nonaggregating solid particles dispersed in Newtonian liquids. J Rheol 33:329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes HA (1999) The yield stress—a review or “παντα ρει”—everything flows? J Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech 81:133–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes HA, Non-Newtonian I of, Mechanics F (2000) A handbook of elementary rheology. Univ. of Wales, Institute of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics

  • Bentz DP, Ferraris CF, Galler MA, Hansen AS, Guynn, JM (2012) Influence of particle size distributions on yield stress and viscosity of cement–fly ash pastes. Cem Concr Res 42:404–409

  • Bernal SA, Mejía de Gutiérrez R, Provis JL (2012) Engineering and durability properties of concretes based on alkali-activated granulated blast furnace slag/metakaolin blends. Constr Build Mater 33:99–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bijen J (1996) Benefits of slag and fly ash. Constr Build Mater 10:309–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bingham EC (1922) Fluidity and plasticity

  • Brady JF (1993) The rheological behavior of concentrated colloidal dispersions. J Chem Phys 99:567–581

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgos-Montes O, Palacios M, Rivilla P, Puertas F (2012) Compatibility between superplasticizer admixtures and cements with mineral additions. Constr Build Mater 31:300–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaghan PT (2008) Rheo NMR and shear banding. Rheol Acta 47:243–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng DC-H (1986) Yield stress: a time-dependent property and how to measure it. Rheol Acta 25:542–554

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Criado M, Palomo A, Fernández-Jiménez A, Banfill PFG (2009) Alkali activated fly ash: effect of admixtures on paste rheology. Rheol Acta 48:447–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyr M, Legrand C, Mouret M (2000) Study of the shear thickening effect of superplasticizers on the rheological behaviour of cement pastes containing or not mineral additives. Cem Concr Res 30:1477–1483

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidovits J (1999) Chemistry of geopolymeric systems, terminology. Proceedings of Geopolymer 99:9–40

  • Davidovits J (2005) Geopolymer chemistry and sustainable development. The poly (sialate) terminology: a very useful and simple model for the promotion and understanding of green-chemistry. Proc 2005 Geopolymer Conf. pp 9–15

  • Fernández-Jiménez A, Garcia-Lodeiro I, Palomo A (2007) Durability of alkali-activated fly ash cementitious materials. J Mater Sci 42:3055–3065

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferraris CF (1999) Measurement of the rheological properties of high performance concrete: State of the art report. J Res Natl Inst Stand Technol 104:461–478

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franks GV (2002) Zeta potentials and yield stresses of silica suspensions in concentrated monovalent electrolytes: Isoelectric point shift and additional attraction. J Colloid Interface Sci 249:44–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iler RK (1979) The chemistry of silica: solubility, polymerization, colloid and surface properties, and biochemistry

  • Jeffrey DJ, Acrivos A (1976) The rheological properties of suspensions of rigid particles. AIChE J 22:417–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kamal MR, Mutel A (1985) Rheological properties of suspensions in Newtonian and Non-Newtonian fluids. J Polym Eng 5:293–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krieger IM, Dougherty TJ (1959) A mechanism for non-Newtonian flow in suspensions of rigid spheres. Trans Soc Rheol 3:137–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lootens D, Hébraud P, Lécolier E, Van Damme H (2004) Gelation, shear-thinning and shear-thickening in cement slurries. Oil Gas Sci Technol 59:31–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowke D (2009) Interparticle Forces and Rheology of Cement Based Suspensions. Nanotechnol. Constr. 3. Springer, pp 295–301

  • Mannheimer RJ (1983) Effect Of Slip On The Flow Properties Of Cement Slurries. Annu Meet Pap Div Prod

  • Mikanovic N, Jolicoeur C (2008) Influence of superplasticizers on the rheology and stability of limestone and cement pastes. Cem Concr Res 38:907–919

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller S, Llewellin EW, Mader HM (2010) The rheology of suspensions of solid particles. Proc R Soc Math Phys Eng Sci 466:1201–1228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nägele E (1986) The zeta-potential of cement: Part II: Effect of pH-value. Cem Concr Res 16:853–863

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nägele E, Schneider U (1989) The zeta-potential of blast furnace slag and fly ash. Cem Concr Res 19:811–820

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nehdi M, Rahman M-A (2004) Effect of geometry and surface friction of test accessory on oscillatory rheological properties of cement pastes. ACI Mater J 101:

  • Palacios M, Houst YF, Bowen P, Puertas F (2009) Adsorption of superplasticizer admixtures on alkali-activated slag pastes. Cem Concr Res 39:670–677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palomo A, Grutzeck MW, Blanco MT (1999) Alkali-activated fly ashes: a cement for the future. Cem Concr Res 29:1323–1329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papo A, Piani L (2004) Effect of various superplasticizers on the rheological properties of Portland cement pastes. Cem Concr Res 34:2097–2101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pasquino R, Nicodemi F, Vanzanella V et al (2013) A rheological phase diagram of additives for cement formulations. Rheol Acta 52:395–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poulesquen A, Frizon F, Lambertin D (2013) Rheological behavior of alkali-activated metakaolin during geopolymerization. Cem.-Based Mater Nucl Waste Storage. Springer, pp 225–238

  • Provis JL, Van Deventer JSJ (2009) Geopolymers: Structure, processing, properties and industrial applications. Woodhead Cambridge, UK

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Provis JL, Muntingh Y, Lloyd RR et al (2007) Will Geopolymers Stand the Test of Time? Dev Porous Biol Geopolymer Ceram Ceram Eng Sci Proc 235

  • Puertas F, Fernández-Jiménez A (2003) Mineralogical and microstructural characterisation of alkali-activated fly ash/slag pastes. Cem Concr Compos 25:287–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qing-Hua C, Sarkar SL (1994) A study of rheological and mechanical properties of mixed alkali activated slag pastes. Adv Cem Based Mater 1:178–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ravikumar D, Neithalath N (2012) Reaction kinetics in sodium silicate powder and liquid activated slag binders evaluated using isothermal calorimetry. Thermochim. Acta

  • Ravikumar D, Neithalath N (2012b) Effects of activator characteristics on the reaction product formation in slag binders activated using alkali silicate powder and NaOH. Cem Concr Compos 34:809–818

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saak AW, Jennings HM, Shah SP (2001) The influence of wall slip on yield stress and viscoelastic measurements of cement paste. Cem Concr Res 31:205–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santamarı´a-Holek I, Mendoza CI (2010) The rheology of concentrated suspensions of arbitrarily-shaped particles. J Colloid Interface Sci 346:118–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scales PJ, Johnson SB, Healy TW, Kapur PC (1998) Shear yield stress of partially flocculated colloidal suspensions. AIChE J 44:538–544

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schall P, van Hecke M (2009) Shear bands in matter with granularity. Annu Rev Fluid Mech 42:67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Škvára F, Kopecký L, Šmilauer V, Bittnar Z (2009) Material and structural characterization of alkali activated low-calcium brown coal fly ash. J Hazard Mater 168:711–720

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stebbins JF, Farnan I, Xue X (1992) The structure and dynamics of alkali silicate liquids: a view from NMR spectroscopy. Chem Geol 96:371–385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svensson IL, Sjöberg S, Öhman L-O (1986) Polysilicate equilibria in concentrated sodium silicate solutions. J Chem Soc Faraday Trans 1(82):3635–3646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweeny KH, Geckler RD (1954) The rheology of suspensions. J Appl Phys 25:1135–1144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Termkhajornkit P, Nawa T (2004) The fluidity of fly ash-cement paste containing naphthalene sulfonate superplasticizer. Cem Concr Res 34:1017–1024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tognonvi MT, Massiot D, Lecomte A et al (2010) Identification of solvated species present in concentrated and dilute sodium silicate solutions by combined 29Si NMR and SAXS studies. J Colloid Interface Sci 352:309–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vance, Kirk (2014) Early Age Characterization and Microstructural Features of Sustainable Binder Systems for Concrete. PhD Dissertation, Arizona State University

  • Vance K, Kumar A, Sant G, Neithalath N (2013) The rheological properties of ternary binders containing Portland cement, limestone, and metakaolin or fly ash. Cem Concr Res 52:196–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wijnen P, Beelen TPM, De Haan JW et al (1989) Silica gel dissolution in aqueous alkali metal hydroxides studied by 29Si NMR. J Non-Cryst Solids 109:85–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Science Foundation (CMMI 1068985) and Arizona State University for the partial support of this research. The materials for this research were provided by Headwaters Resources and PQ Corporation, and are acknowledged. K.V. also acknowledges the Dean’s Fellowship from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU). This research was conducted in the Laboratory for the Science of Sustainable Infrastructural Materials (LS-SIM) at ASU and the authors gratefully acknowledge the support that has made this laboratory possible. The contents of this paper reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein, and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the funding agency, nor do the contents constitute a standard, specification, or a regulation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    Kirk Vance, Akash Dakhane & Narayanan Neithalath

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Gaurav Sant

  3. California Nanosystems Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Gaurav Sant

Authors
  1. Kirk Vance
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Akash Dakhane
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gaurav Sant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Narayanan Neithalath
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Narayanan Neithalath.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vance, K., Dakhane, A., Sant, G. et al. Observations on the rheological response of alkali activated fly ash suspensions: the role of activator type and concentration. Rheol Acta 53, 843–855 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00397-014-0793-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00397-014-0793-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation