Ten cementless slag-based mortars activated by combination of sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide powders were mixed and tested. The main variables were the mixing ratio of sodium oxide (Na2O) of the activators to GGBS by weight, and the blain fineness of the GGBS. The hydration products and microstructural characteristics of the mortars tested were also investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRF) analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) image. Test results showed that the compressive strength of alkali-activated mortars increased with the increase of blain fineness of GGBS. From the XRD and EDX analyses, a calcium silicate hydrates (CSH) gel was detected as the main hydration product showing that the molar Si/Ca ratio in the CSH gels is independent of the fineness of GGBS.
Yang, K., Oh, S. and Song, J. (2008). 'Effect of Blain Fineness of Slag on the Compressive Strength Development of Alkali-Activated Slag Mortars'. SET Proceedings, 7(1), pp. 1097-1102. https://doi.org/10.65582/set.2008.147
