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In situ imaging of ground granulated blast furnace slag hydration

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Abstract

Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) reacts with water in the presence of calcium sulfates and alkalis and is frequently used as a partial replacement for portland cement in concrete. The hydration products are known to be slightly different compositionally and morphologically than those of pure portland cement hydration. In this study, a new technique, soft X-ray transmission microscopy, was used to image the hydration of slag in a variety of solutions to investigate the effects of alkali sulfate and hydroxide activators on the morphology of the resulting hydration products. This microscopy method is unique in that it enables high resolution in situ observation and documentation of the formation of hydration products over time in wet samples at atmospheric pressure.

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Notes

  1. In cement chemistry notation, single letters are used to represent oxides: C = CaO, S = SiO2, A = Al2O3, F = Fe2O3, H = H2O, and \( \bar S \) = SO3. Calcium silicate hydrate is abbreviated C–S–H because the stoichiometry is variable and numerical subscripts would be misleading.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Lafarge Central Research, France, for supporting this work. Research at XM-1 is supported by the United States Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under contract DE-AC 03-76F00098. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the help of G.P. Denbeaux, A.L. Pearson, D.A. Silva, and J.S. Swinnea with the experiments described herein.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1748, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    M. C. Garci Juenger

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    P. J. M. Monteiro

  3. Lafarge Central Research, 38291, St. Quentin Fallavier, France

    E. M. Gartner

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  1. M. C. Garci Juenger
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  2. P. J. M. Monteiro
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  3. E. M. Gartner
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Correspondence to M. C. Garci Juenger.

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Juenger, M.C.G., Monteiro, P.J.M. & Gartner, E.M. In situ imaging of ground granulated blast furnace slag hydration. J Mater Sci 41, 7074–7081 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-006-0941-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-006-0941-7

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