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Enhancing thixotropy and structural build-up of alkali-activated slag/fly ash pastes with nano clay

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Abstract

This study investigates the influence of nano clay on the rheological properties of alkali-activated cement pastes having different GGBFS/FA ratios. The thixotropic index, structural build-up, dynamic yield stress and heat evolution of fresh AAC pastes with addition of nano clay are studied. Test results showed that nano clay had a strong influence on the thixotropy/structural build-up and dynamic yield stress of AAC pastes depending on the GGBFS/FA ratio of the mixture. It was found that the pastes with lower GGBFS/FA ratio exhibited higher thixotropic index, but lower dynamic yield stress in the presence of nano clay. This study reveals the importance of GGBFS/FA ratio in the presence of nano clay for obtaining AAC mixtures with low dynamic yield stress for a better flowability and high thixotropy/structural build-up for stability.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is the result of research actions performed in the framework of the FWO-EOS project 30439691 ‘INTERdisciplinary multiscale Assessment of a new generation of Concrete with alkali- activated maTerials’ (INTERACT). The financial support by FWO-EOS is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Xiaodi Dai, Qiang Ren, Serdar Aydın, Mert Yücel Yardımcı, Karel Lesage & Geert De Schutter

  2. Key Laboratory of Advanced Civil Engineering Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 4800 Cao’an Road, Shanghai, 201804, China

    Qiang Ren

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Dokuz Eylül University, Buca, 35160, Izmir, Turkey

    Serdar Aydın

  4. Department of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Okan University, Tuzla, 34959, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mert Yücel Yardımcı

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  1. Xiaodi Dai
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  2. Qiang Ren
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  3. Serdar Aydın
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  4. Mert Yücel Yardımcı
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  5. Karel Lesage
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  6. Geert De Schutter
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Contributions

Xiaodi DAI: Methodology, Investigation, Writing–original draft; Qiang Ren: Investigation, Writing–review editing; Serdar AYDIN: Methodology, Conceptualization, Writing–review editing; Mert Yücel YARDIMCI: Validation, Writing–review editing; Karel LESAGE: Supervision, Writing–review editing; Geert De SCHUTTER: Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing—review & editing.

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Correspondence to Geert De Schutter.

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Dai, X., Ren, Q., Aydın, S. et al. Enhancing thixotropy and structural build-up of alkali-activated slag/fly ash pastes with nano clay. Mater Struct 54, 163 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-021-01760-4

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