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English
This study focuses on the investigation of compressive strength of geopolymer binders based on alkali-activated ash and slag waste from thermal power plant. It has been found that the significant factors affecting the mechanical strengths are the reactivity of the precursor and curing regimes of geopolymer binders. First of all, the quantity and the structural characteristics of amorphous phases in these materials play a crucial role in determining the mechanical performance. According to the X-ray data, both fly ash and slag as well as the geopolymers based on these precursors, demonstrate the presence of an amorphous hump. The quantity of amorphous phase in slag component (70.4%) is higher than in fly ash one (63.9%). Besides, compared to the original slag, the radius of the first coordination shell for the “low-angle” amorphous phase R1 = 7.3 Å is higher than that of the fly ash R1 = 7.0 Å. This indicates that the slag component demonstrates the presence of regions of increased free volume. On the other hand, the proportion of the crystalline phase in the original slag is 29.6% in comparison with fly ash (36.1%) and is represented primarily by silicon oxide along with minor amount of hematite and magnetite. It has been determined that a sharp decrease in the crystalline phase content with increasing the heating medium temperature and pressure for slag-based geopolymers is observed. The geopolymer obtained by autoclave curing contains only 1.8% crystalline inclusions. DTG analysis indicates that the peaks corresponding to the geopolymers cured under autoclave regimes (both based on fly ash and slag components) are deeper and broader in comparison with binders cured under elevated temperature and atmospheric pressure. The compressive strength of slag-based geopolymer samples is much higher than of ash-based ones regardless of the curing regime. This is due to the properties of slag component: improved reactivity – the higher proportion of amorphous phase and aluminum oxide, lower water demand – the proportion of loss on ignition is practically negligible.
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2. Klyuev S.V., Slobodchikova N.A., Saidumov M.S., Abumuslimov A.S., Mezhidov D.A., Khezhev T.A. Application of ash and slag waste from coal combustion in the construction of the earth bed of roads. Construction Materials and Products. 2024. 7 (6). 3. DOI: 10.58224/2618-7183-2024-7-6-3
3. Shekhovtsova J., Zhernovsky I., Kovtun M., Kozhukhova N., Zhernovskaya I., Kearsley E. Estimation of fly ash reactivity for use in alkali-activated cements – A step towards sustainable building material and waste utilization. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2018. 178. P. 22e33. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.270
4. Zuo Y., Chen Y., Liu C., Gan Y., Göbel L., Ye G., Provis J.L. Modeling and simulation of alkali-activated materials (AAMs): A critical review. Cement and Concrete Research. 2025. 189. P. 107769. DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconres.2024.107769
5. Shi C., Qu B., Provis J.L. Recent progress in low-carbon binders. Cement and Concrete Research. 2019. 122. P. 227 – 250. DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconres.2019.05.009
6. Murtazaev S-A.Yu., Salamanova M.Sh., Saidumov M.S., Gatsaev Z.Sh., Alaskhanov A.Kh., Murtazaeva T.S-A. Development of geopolymer binders. Construction Materials and Products. 2024. 7 (6). 4. DOI: 10.58224/2618-7183-2024-7-6-4
7. Kabirova A.I., Ibragimov R.A., Genç B., Korolev E.V., Kiyamov I.K., Kiyamova L.I. Research trends in the mechanoactivation of clay minerals used in obtaining geopolymers. Construction Materials and Products. 2023. 6 (5). 3. DOI: 10.58224/2618-7183-2023-6-5-3
8. Komkova A., Habert G. Environmental impact assessment of alkali-activated materials: Examining impacts of variability in constituent production processes and transportation. Construction and Building Materials. 2023. 363. P. 129032. DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.129032
9. Ojha A., Aggarwal P. Fly ash based geopolymer concrete: a comprehensive review. Silicon. 2022. 14. P. 2453 – 2472. DOI: 10.1007/s12633-021-01044-0
10. Palomo A., Grutzeck M.W., Blanco M.T. Alkali-activated fly ashes. A cement for the future. Cement and Concrete Research. 1999. 29 (8). P. 1323 – 1329. DOI: 10.1016/S0008-8846(98)00243-9
11. Swami Ranga Reddy R. Mix design for fly ash based geopolymer concrete. Journal of Engineering Science. 2020. 11 (6). P. 489 – 504.
12. Herrmann A., Koenig A., Dehn F. Structural concrete based on alkali-activated binders: Terminology, reaction mechanisms, mix designs and performance. Structural Concrete. 2017. P. 1 – 12. DOI: 10.1002/suco.201700016
13. Rattanasak U., Chindaprasirt P. Influence of NaOH solution on the synthesis of fly ash geopolymer. Minerals Engineering. 2009. 22. P. 1073 – 1078. DOI: 10.1016/j.mineng.2009.03.022
14. Golosova A.S., Klimenko N.N., Delitsyn L.M. Influence of the alkaline activator type on the structure and mechanical properties of compositions based on waste of the fuel and energy complex. Advances in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. 2019. 66 (4). P. 51 – 53.
15. Garcia-Lodeiro I., Donatello S., Fernández-Jiménez A., Palomo Á. Hydration of hybrid alkaline cement containing a very large proportion of fly ash: a descriptive model. Materials. 2016. 9 (605). DOI: 10.3390/ma9070605
16. Amran M., Fediuk R., Murali G., Avudaiappan S, Ozbakkaloglu T, Vatin N., Karelina M., Klyuev S., Gholampour A. Fly ash-based eco-efficient concretes: A comprehensive review of the short-term properties. Materials. 2021. 14. P. 4264. DOI: 10.3390/ma14154264
17. Skryshevskiy A.F. Structural analysis of liquids and amorphous solids. Moscow: Vysshaya shkola. 1980. 328 p.
18. Gorelik S.S., Skakov Yu.A., Rastorguev L.N. X-ray and electron-optical analysis. Moscow: MISIS. 2002. 360 p.
19. Kusy M., Riello P., Battezzati L. A comparative study of primary Al precipitation in amorphous Al87Ni7La5Zr by means of WAXS, SAXS, TEM and DSC techniques. Acta Materialia. 2004. 52. P. 5031 – 5041.
20. Shi S., Li H., Zhou Q., Zhang H., Basheer P.A.M., Bai Y. Alkali-activated fly ash cured with pulsed microwave and thermal oven: A comparison of reaction products, microstructure and compressive strength. Cement and Concrete Research. 2023. 166. P. 107104. DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconres.2023.107104
21. Chen Y., Ma B., Chen J., Li Z., Liang X., Miranda de Lima L., Liu C., Yin S., Yu Q., Lothenbach B., Ye G. Thermodynamic modeling of alkali-activated fly ash paste. Cement and Concrete Research. 2024. 186. P. 107699. DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconres.2024.107699
22. Fernández-Jiménez A., Garcia-Lodeiro I., Palomo Á. Durability of alkali-activated fly ash cementitious materials. Journal of Materials Science. 2007. 42. P. 3055 – 3065. DOI 10.1007/s10853-006-0584-8
23. Bakharev T. Geopolymeric materials prepared using class F fly ash and elevated temperature curing. Cement and Concrete Research. 2005. 35 (6). P. 1224 – 1232. DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconres.2004.06.031
24. Li Z., Lu T., Liang X., Dong H., Ye G. Mechanisms of autogenous shrinkage of alkali-activated slag and fly ash pastes. Cement and Concrete Research. 2020. 135. P. 106107. DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconres.2020.106107
25. Criado M., Fernandez-Jimenez A., Palomo A., Sobrados I., Sanz J. Effect of the SiO2/Na2O ratio on the alkali activation of fly ash. Part II: 29Si MAS-NMR Survey. Microporous Mesoporous Materials. 2008. 109. P. 525e534. DOI: 10.1016/j.micromeso.2007.05.062
26. Zhang Z., Provis J.L., Wang H., Bullen F., Reid A. Quantitative kinetic and structural analysis of geopolymers. Part 2. Thermodynamics of sodium silicate activation of metakaolin. Thermochimica Acta. 2013. 565. P. 163e171. DOI: 10.1016/j.tca.2013.01.040
27. Abrosimova G. Changes in the structure of the amorphous phase under heat treatment and deformation. Journal of Surface Investigation: X-ray, Synchrotron and Neutron Techniques. 2024. 18. DOI: 10.1134/S1027451024010026
28. Gunderov D.V., Boltynjuk E.V., Sitdikov V.D., Abrosimova G.E., Churakova A.A., Kilmametov A.R., Valiev R.Z. Free volume measurement of severely deformed Zr62Cu22Al10Fe5Dy1 bulk metallic glass. IOP Conference Series: Journal of Physics. 2018. 1134. P. 012010. DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/1134/1/012010
29. Diab M.A. Enhancing class F fly ash geopolymer concrete performance using lime and steam curing. Journal of Engineering and Applied Science. 2022. 69 (59). DOI: 10.1186/s44147-022-00111-6
30. Thang N.H., Thach B.K., Minh D.Q. Influence of curing regimes on engineering and microstructural properties of geopolymer-based materials from water treatment residue and fly ash. International Journal of Technology. 2021. 12 (4). P. 700 – 710.
31. Provis J.L., Lukey G.C., van Deventer J.S.J. Do Geopolymers actually contain Nanocrystalline zeolites? A reexamination of existing results. Chemistry of Materials. 2005. 17. P. 3075 – 3085.
32. Zhang Z., Zhu Y., Zhu H., Zhang Y., Provis J.L., Wang H. Effect of drying procedures on pore structure and phase evolution of alkali-activated cements. Cement and Concrete Composites. 2019. 96 (1). P. 194 – 203. DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2018.12.003
Zaichenko N.M., Bukina D.Yu. Effect of curing regimes on phase composition and compressive strength of geopolymer binders based on ash and slag waste from thermal power plant:. Construction Materials and Products. 2026. 9 (1). 4. https://doi.org/10.58224/2618-7183-2026-9-1-4