• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.125-131
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• 2011

Five all-lightweight alkali-activated (AA) slag concrete mixes were tested according to the variation of water content to examine the significance and limitation on the development of cementless structural concrete using lightweight aggregates. The compressive strength development rate and shrinkage strain measured from the concrete specimens were compared with empirical models proposed by ACI 209 and EC 2 for portland cement normal weight concrete. Splitting tensile strength, and moduli of elasticity and rupture were recorded and compared with design equations specified in ACI 318-08 or EC 2, and a database compiled from the present study for ordinary portland cement (OPC) lightweight concrete, wherever possible. Test results showed that the slump loss of lightweight AA slag concrete decreased with the increase of water content. In addition, the compressive strength development and different mechanical properties of lightweight AA slag concrete were comparable with those of OPC lightweight concrete and conservative comparing with predictions obtained from code provisions. Therefore, it can be proposed that the lightweight AA slag concrete is practically applicable as an environmental-friendly structural concrete.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.105-106
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• 2011

The present tests examined the resistance to freezing and thawing of alkail-activated (AA) slag concrete having compressive strength between 30~56 MPa. To enhance the compressive strength and resistance to freezing and thawing of AA slag concrete, Na ions were used for an activator. Test results revealed that the resistance to freezing and thawing of AA slag concrete is comparable to that of cement concrete when compressive strength is more than 50 MPa.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.593-599
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• 2013

The unrestrained shrinkage strain of alkali-activated (AA) slag concrete was examined and compared with design equations specified in code provisions and empirical equations proposed by Yang et al. The main parameters investigated were the water-to-binder ratio (W/B), unit water content and fine aggregate-to-total aggregate ratio (S/a). Test results revealed that shrinkage strain of AA slag concrete is nearly proportional to the W/B ratio, whereas its time function is independent of the W/B ratio. The shrinkage strain of AA slag concrete increased significantly when the unit water content is above $185kg/m^3$, whereas it is marginally affected by the S/a ratio. The design equation of ACI 209 considerably overestimates the shrinkage behavior of AA slag concrete, whereas CEB-FIP equation tends to underestimate the shrinkage at the age more than 28 days. The empirical equation of Yang et al. is in better agreement with test results, showing that values of mean and standard deviation of error coefficients obtained from each specimen are 016 and 0.07, respectively.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.765-772
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• 2011

The present study summarizes a series of compressive tests on concrete cylinder in order to examine the stressstrain relationship of alkali-activated (AA) slag concrete. The compressive strength and unit weight of concrete tested ranged from 8.6 MPa to 42.2 MPa and from $2,186kg/m^3$ to $2,343kg/m^3$, respectively. A mathematical equation representing the complete stress-strain curve was developed based on test results recorded from 34 concrete specimens. The modulus of elasticity, strain at peak stress, slopes of ascending and descending branches of stress-strain curves were generalized as a function of compressive strength and unit weight of concrete. The mean and standard deviation of the coefficient of variance between measured and predicted curves were 6.9% and 2.6%, respectively. This indicates that the stress-strain relationship of AA slag concrete is represented properly with more accuracy in the proposed model than in some other available models for ordinary portland cement (OPC) concrete.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.315-322
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• 2012

Alkali-activated slag (AAS) is the most obvious alternative materials that can replace OPC. But, AAS industrial usage as a structural material should be evaluated for its durability. Carbonation resistance is one of the most important factors in durability evaluation. Test results for 18 slag-based mortars activated by sodium silicate and 6 OPC mortars were obtained in this study to verify the carbonation property. Main variables considered in the study were flow, compressive strength before and after carbonation, and carbonation depth. Mineralogical and micro-structural analysis of OPC and AAS specimens prior to and after carbonation was conducted using XRD, TGA, FTIR FE-SEM. Test results showed that CHS was major hydration products of AAS and, unlike OPC, no other hydration products were found. After carbonation, CSH of hydration product in AAS turned into an amorphous silica gel, and alumina compounds was not detected. From the analysis of the results, it was estimated that the micro-structures of CSH in AAS easily collapsed during carbonation. Also, the results showed that this collapse of chemical chain of CSH lowered the compressive strength of concrete after carbonation. By increasing the dosage of activators, carbonation resistance and compressive strength were effectively improved.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.405-412
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• 2008

Six alkali-activated (AA) concrete mixes were tested to explore the significance and limitations of developing an environmental friendly concrete. Ground granulated blast-furnace slag and powder typed sodium silicate were selected as source material and an alkaline activator, respectively. The main parameter investigated was the replacement level of lightweight fine aggregate to the natural sand. Workability and mechanical properties of lightweight AA concrete were measured: the variation of slump with time, the rate of compressive strength development, the splitting tensile strength, the moduli of rupture and elasticity, the stress-strain relationship, the bond resistance and shrinkage strain. Test results showed that the compressive strength of lightweight AA concrete sharply decreased when the replacement level of lightweight fine aggregate exceeded 30%. In particular, the increase in the discontinuous grading of lightweight aggregate resulted in the deterioration of the mechanical properties of concrete tested. The measured properties of lightweight AA concrete were also compared, wherever possible, with the results obtained from the design equations specified in ACI 318-05 or EC 2, depending on the relevance, and the results predicted from the empirical equations proposed by Slate et al. for lightweight ordinary Portland cement concrete. The stress-strain curves of different concrete were compared with predictions obtained from the mathematical model proposed by Tasnimi. The measured mechanical properties of lightweight AA concrete generally showed little agreement with the predictions obtained from these equations.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.361-362
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• 2010

Six alkali-activated(AA) concrete mixes were tested to ascertain the effect of unit binder content on the slump and compressive strength of concrete. Test results showed that the compressive strength of AA-concrete increased with the increase of the unit binder content, while the increasing rate was lower that recorded in ordinary portland cement concrete.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.50-57
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• 2015

Portland cement production is under critical review due to high amount of $CO_2$ gas released to the atmosphere. Attempts to increase the utilization of a by-products such as fly ash and ground granulated blast-furnace slag to partially replace the cement in concrete are gathering momentum. Many researchs on alkali-activated concrete that does not need the presence of cement as a binder have been carried out recently. Instead, the sources of material such as fly ash, that are rich in Silicon(Si) and Aluminium(Al), are activated by alkaline liquids to produce the binder. Hence concrete with no cement is effect reduction of $CO_2$ gas. In this study, we investigated the influence of the fluidity, air content and compressive strength of mortar on alkaline activator in order to develop cementless fly ash and ground granulated blast-furnace slag based alkali-activated mortar with superplasticizer. In view of the results, we found out that Pn of fluidity and compressive strength is the best in four type of superplasticizer, and PNS of powder type of fluidity is better than that of liquid type in the case of AA.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.457-464
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• 2015

The alternative material for cement has been attracting attention in construction projects. Especially, the alkali activated slag(hereafter, AAS) concrete is able to use for a structural vertical member because of 40MPa of compressive strength, However, the research about time-dependent deformation such as creep which is important to strength member is insufficient. Therefore, in this study, experiments were performed with respect to time-dependent deformation including the drying shrinkage and creep deformation of AAS concrete. The creep deformed ratio of AAS concrete was more than OPC concrete by approximately 4.3% and the dry shrinkage deformation of AAS concrete was more than OPC concrete by approximately 69%. The large amount of sodium silicate, alkali activator, is added causing temperature crack than promoted drying and drying creep which is confirmed by water ration test and SEM.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.37-44
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• 2010

This study examined the practical application of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) based alkali-activated (AA) binders for the development of cementless environmental-friendly secondary products of concrete, such as brick, shore protection blocks and interlocking blocks. The addition amount and type of alkaline ion to activate GGBS varied according to the diverse qualities of the secondary products of concrete required in Korean industrial standards (KS) and other specifications. Test results showed that the secondary products of concrete using GGBS-based AA binders surpassed the demanded capacities of KS and other specifications. In addition, shore protection block had a pH value close to neutral, enabling an advantageous environment for marine life. Therefore, the GGBS-based AA binders can be effectively applied to develop eco-friendly secondary products of concrete with reduced $CO_2$.