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Slag Concrete
Frank Collins1 and Jay Sanjayan2
Abstract: Alkali activated slag concrete 共AASC兲, based on a binder that consists of 100% blast furnace slag that is activated by an
alternative alkali to conventional Portland cement, has considerable environmental benefits. Nevertheless, the durability of the exposed
surface zone of AASC needs consideration. The ingress of harmful agents is highly influenced by convection-induced effects; e.g.,
moisture gradients caused by exposure to rainfall or the wetting and drying effects in the splash zone of a marine environment that can
lead to high surface concentration of chloride. The convective effects also propagate steel reinforcement corrosion, once initiated, by
making available moisture and oxygen for the cathodic reaction at the steel reinforcement, as well as changing the conductivity of the
concrete surface zone. This paper reports the behavior of convection-induced uptake of water into AASC and ordinary Portland cement
concrete. The sensitivity to “exposed,” “sealed,” and “bath” curing and the resultant pore structure for concrete made with different
water/binder is contrasted.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲0899-1561共2008兲20:9共565兲
CE Database subject headings: Slag; Binders, materials; Unsaturated flow; Porous media; Concrete durability; Material tests.
Introduction with both bath and sealed cured AASC 共Fig. 1兲. Although past
investigations on AASC have assessed various types of durability
Ground granulated blast furnace slag 共GGBFS or “slag”兲 is often 共Bakharev et al. 2001; Malolepszy and Deja 1991; Byfors et al.
used in concrete as a supplementary cementitious material, 1989; Hakkinen et al. 1987兲, whether microcracking of AASC
whereby part of the ordinary Portland cement 共OPC兲 is replaced adversely affects durability of AASC, particularly unsaturated
by slag. The environmental benefits of using slag for concrete flow of capillary water, has not been previously assessed.
making are considerable: the construction industry not only The durability of the cover zone of concrete is often compro-
makes use of a by-product from steel making, but also reduces the mised by physical and chemical interaction with the external en-
CO2 emissions arising from the manufacture of cement 共Mehta vironment. Where the concrete is unsaturated and there is no
external water pressure acting on a concrete surface, the primary
1989兲. When used as partial replacement 共by mass兲 to OPC, slag
mechanisms of transport into concrete are convective-diffusion
blended cement shows sensitivity to a lack of water curing and
ingress 共e.g., the uptake of water due to capillary attraction兲. Cap-
has lower early-age strength compared to companion concretes
illary attraction of water contributes significantly to inflows by the
made with 100% OPC binders 共Hooton 2000; Swamy and
water phase as well as water-borne media 共for example, chlo-
Bouikni 1990; Wainwright 1986; Roy and Idorn 1982兲. To over-
rides兲. The convective transport mechanisms also contribute to
come the deficit in early age strength, slag can be activated by an
the propagation of corrosion, once initiated, by making available
alternative alkali to OPC; namely an alkali activated slag 共AAS兲.
moisture for the cathodic reduction of oxygen in the corrosion
In this paper, the activator studied consists of a sodium silicate
process as well as lowering the conductivity of the concrete. This
based alkali 共Collins and Sanjayan 2000b兲. AAS activated by so- investigation has sought to assess the effect of capillary suction
dium silicate is very sensitive to the curing environment 共Collins on the uptake of moisture within the cover zone of AASC.
and Sanjayan 2001; Collins 1999; Talling and Brandstetr 1989;
Anderson and Gram 1988; Malolepszy and Deja 1988; Kutti and
Malinowski 1982兲. The high sensitivity of AAS concrete 共AASC兲
Convective Transport in Unsaturated Conditions
to the type of curing has been shown to affect compressive
strength; Collins and Sanjayan 共2001兲 observed microcracking Concrete is a porous material and most field-exposed concrete is
and lower compressive strength on air-cured concrete compared partially saturated with water. Depending on the function and
characteristics of the concrete and the amount of external expo-
1
Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Monash Univ., Clayton, sure, a moisture/humidity gradient exists from the outer exposed
Victoria 3800, Australia. E-mail: frank.collins@eng.monash.edu.au skin of concrete to the inner core. In unsaturated conditions,
2
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Monash Univ., where there is no applied external pressure head of water to an
Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia. exposed concrete surface, but nevertheless a constant source of
Note. Associate Editor: Clarissa F. Ferraris. Discussion open until
water in contact, capillary suction is the convective transport
February 1, 2009. Separate discussions must be submitted for individual
papers. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and pos- mechanism that permits the ingress of water from the external
sible publication on November 20, 2007; approved on February 7, 2008. environment. Surface tension arises at the solid–liquid–gas inter-
This paper is part of the Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, Vol. faces leading to spreading of water over the concrete surface and
20, No. 9, September 1, 2008. ©ASCE, ISSN 0899-1561/2008/9-565– inward within capillary pores. Water spreads along the capillary
570/$25.00. surfaces, forming a meniscus that is convex toward the wet side
Acknowledgments
Conclusions References
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binders. development of alkali activated slag concrete.” Cem. Concr. Compos.,
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pressive strength to companion OPC concrete, however the Gjorv, O. E., and Vennesland, O. 共1979兲. “Diffusion of chloride ions from
measured water sorptivity was significantly greater. Despite seawater into concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res., 9, 229–238.
prolonged Bath curing, AAS is very sensitive to the drying Hakkinen, T., Hannu, P. W., and Koskinen, P. 共1987兲. “Microstructural
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