Low-grade fly ash in portland cement blends: A decoupling approach to evaluate reactivity and hydration effects

Fly ash with low glass content is often prohibited from use in concrete due to the low reactivity and/or the inclusion of contaminants. However, the scarcity of high-quality fly ash promotes the evaluation of the feasibility of using fly ash with low glass content (e.g., low-grade fly ash) in concre...

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Main Authors: Qingxu Jin, Wenyu Liao, Xiaoqiang Ni, Hongyan Ma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Cement
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666549224000288
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author Qingxu Jin
Wenyu Liao
Xiaoqiang Ni
Hongyan Ma
author_facet Qingxu Jin
Wenyu Liao
Xiaoqiang Ni
Hongyan Ma
author_sort Qingxu Jin
collection DOAJ
description Fly ash with low glass content is often prohibited from use in concrete due to the low reactivity and/or the inclusion of contaminants. However, the scarcity of high-quality fly ash promotes the evaluation of the feasibility of using fly ash with low glass content (e.g., low-grade fly ash) in concrete. This study proposes a decoupling method to quantitatively estimate the degree of reaction of fly ash with extremely low glass content, which partially replaces cement, and the degree of hydration of the hosting cement, simultaneously. The estimation is derived from the contents of calcium hydroxide and chemically bonded water in hydrated binary cement pastes, which can be determined by thermogravimetric analysis-based experiments and theoretically validated stoichiometric parameters. The results exhibit that the fly ash tends to retard the early-age hydration of cement but promotes its later-age hydration, resulting in a higher ultimate degree of reaction of cement than the reference paste. The microstructural and porosity evaluation shows that the fly ash, though has relatively low degrees of reaction due to its low glass content, can result in a more tortuous pore network of the hydrated pastes, which could be potentially more resistant to the penetration of water and aggressive chemicals.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 2666-5492
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Cement
spelling doaj-art-6e89b497622943ffab1d96745fd8d30c2024-12-15T06:17:09ZengElsevierCement2666-54922024-12-0118100119Low-grade fly ash in portland cement blends: A decoupling approach to evaluate reactivity and hydration effectsQingxu Jin0Wenyu Liao1Xiaoqiang Ni2Hongyan Ma3Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USADepartment of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65401, USADepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USADepartment of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65401, USA; Corresponding author.Fly ash with low glass content is often prohibited from use in concrete due to the low reactivity and/or the inclusion of contaminants. However, the scarcity of high-quality fly ash promotes the evaluation of the feasibility of using fly ash with low glass content (e.g., low-grade fly ash) in concrete. This study proposes a decoupling method to quantitatively estimate the degree of reaction of fly ash with extremely low glass content, which partially replaces cement, and the degree of hydration of the hosting cement, simultaneously. The estimation is derived from the contents of calcium hydroxide and chemically bonded water in hydrated binary cement pastes, which can be determined by thermogravimetric analysis-based experiments and theoretically validated stoichiometric parameters. The results exhibit that the fly ash tends to retard the early-age hydration of cement but promotes its later-age hydration, resulting in a higher ultimate degree of reaction of cement than the reference paste. The microstructural and porosity evaluation shows that the fly ash, though has relatively low degrees of reaction due to its low glass content, can result in a more tortuous pore network of the hydrated pastes, which could be potentially more resistant to the penetration of water and aggressive chemicals.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666549224000288Fly ashCementReaction kineticsThermogravimetric analysisDecoupling methodHydration
spellingShingle Qingxu Jin
Wenyu Liao
Xiaoqiang Ni
Hongyan Ma
Low-grade fly ash in portland cement blends: A decoupling approach to evaluate reactivity and hydration effects
Cement
Fly ash
Cement
Reaction kinetics
Thermogravimetric analysis
Decoupling method
Hydration
title Low-grade fly ash in portland cement blends: A decoupling approach to evaluate reactivity and hydration effects
title_full Low-grade fly ash in portland cement blends: A decoupling approach to evaluate reactivity and hydration effects
title_fullStr Low-grade fly ash in portland cement blends: A decoupling approach to evaluate reactivity and hydration effects
title_full_unstemmed Low-grade fly ash in portland cement blends: A decoupling approach to evaluate reactivity and hydration effects
title_short Low-grade fly ash in portland cement blends: A decoupling approach to evaluate reactivity and hydration effects
title_sort low grade fly ash in portland cement blends a decoupling approach to evaluate reactivity and hydration effects
topic Fly ash
Cement
Reaction kinetics
Thermogravimetric analysis
Decoupling method
Hydration
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666549224000288
work_keys_str_mv AT qingxujin lowgradeflyashinportlandcementblendsadecouplingapproachtoevaluatereactivityandhydrationeffects
AT wenyuliao lowgradeflyashinportlandcementblendsadecouplingapproachtoevaluatereactivityandhydrationeffects
AT xiaoqiangni lowgradeflyashinportlandcementblendsadecouplingapproachtoevaluatereactivityandhydrationeffects
AT hongyanma lowgradeflyashinportlandcementblendsadecouplingapproachtoevaluatereactivityandhydrationeffects