Pore structure characterisation of sodium hydroxide activated slag paste

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Abstract

The alkali-activated slag (AAS) material addresses the energy and environmental
concerns associated with Portland cement production without compromise on the
properties and performance1. Pore structure, as an essential component of AAS
material, its volume (the total porosity), shape, size and tortuosity determine water and ionic transport. And thus, they govern the durability of AAS materials. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) has been widely used to study the pore structure in cement-based materials. However, the standard MIP test method cannot reveal the real pore structure because MIP test results show underestimation of large pores and overestimation of small pores due to ink-bottle pore effect. In order to overcome the ink-bottle pore effect, a recently developed pressurisation-depressurisation cycling mercury intrusion porosimetry (PDC-MIP) testing method was used2. In this study, the pore structures of AAS specimens activated with sodium hydroxide in terms of different dosages of Na2O and cured up to 1 year were tested using PDCMIP and compared with standard MIP. Through the PDC cycles the throat pore size
distribution and ink-bottle pore size distribution were determined. The influence of Na2O dosage as well as curing age on pore structure were discussed.

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