The Effect of the Type of Activator Anion on the Hydration of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag
Łukasz P. Gołek,
Wojciech Szudek,
Michał Malik
Affiliations
Łukasz P. Gołek
Department of Building Materials Technology, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Wojciech Szudek
Department of Building Materials Technology, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Michał Malik
Labotest Sp. z o.o. Laboratorium Inżynierii Lądowej, ul. Lwowska 38, 40-397 Katowice, Poland
In this study, ground granulated blast furnace slag was activated with a wide variety of sodium salts to compare the effects of their pH and anion size on the hydration progress and compressive strength development of GGBFS pastes. Research was carried out on samples activated with twelve different sodium salts and cured for one year. Changes in their phase composition (XRD), loss on ignition at different temperatures, expansion and microstructure (SEM + EDS) were examined over the entire curing period. The results showed that the presence of sodium ions is more important than the pH of the system, as activation took place even in the case of compounds whose solutions are characterized by a low pH, such as sodium tartrate or phosphate. The compressive strength of the pastes ranged from approximately 8 to 65 MPa after one year of curing.
