Alkali-activated material (AAM) is developed as a green alternative binder to replace Portland cement (PC) in the construction field. However, the large-scale application with AAM concrete is limited so far, with the insufficient knowledge of rheological behavior being a major obstruct. Thixotropy of concrete is of great interest, which can be helpful to predict various early-age performances. The current study dedicates to evaluating the thixotropy of alkali-activated slag (AAS) concrete mixtures with different silicate and water content in activator solutions. In specific, the silicate modulus (Ms) and water to binder (w/b) ratio have been varied. The thixotropic index calculated by the initial and equilibrium shear stress from the stress growth test, as well as the breakdown area obtained by applying different shear speeds were used to evaluate the thixotropy of AAM concrete. Results indicate a good correlation between different approaches. It was found that an increase in Ms led to more pronounced thixotropic behaviors in AAS concrete due to the rapid nucleation and accumulation of early hydration products, resulting in significant increases in peak torque values and slight reductions of torque at equilibrium. Besides, the concrete thixotropy gradually declined by applying a higher w/b ratio.

The present study explores the possibility of replacing blast furnace slag (BFS) with coal fly ash (FA) to produce alkali-activated material (AAM) concrete with hybrid precursors. With an increased FA replacement ratio, the reaction kinetics, fresh and hardened properties of AAM mixtures have been investigated. The retardation effect on the reaction kinetics with an increased FA content has been observed, which not only extended the induction period along with the heat flow evolution but also reduced the cumulative heat release up to 24 h. Spherical FA particles can provide a ball-bearing effect to improve the workability of the hybrid AAM mixtures, while FA also slows down the deterioration of fresh properties since they are less reactive compared to BFS particles. Regarding the strength development, FA results in the reduction at all curing ages in the mixtures with a low silicate modulus (Ms0.25). Similarly, reduction in 1-day compressive strength has been detected in high silicate modulus mixtures (Ms0.5) with FA replacement, while the mixture with 10% FA exhibits the highest compressive strength among Ms0.5 concretes at later curing ages. Bigger capillary pores have been detected in AAM mixtures with an increase in FA content. However, AAM with 10% FA shows the lowest porosity in Ms0.5 mixtures, which is in agreement with the compressive strength results.

This study provides a detailed investigation on the reproducibility of two groups of alkali-activated slag (AAS) mixtures, from both fresh properties and strength development perspectives. Three different commercial sodium silicate solutions and one lab-produced silicate activator (made of silica fume and sodium hydroxide) were used to prepare AAS pastes with the same nominal composition in each group. The reaction process of each AAS mixture was monitored by calorimetry and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) measurements. Meanwhile, mini-slump and flow curve tests measured by rheometer were conducted in the first hour to characterize the evolution of fresh properties. The compressive and flexural strength of hardened AAS mortars were measured at different curing ages. The results revealed that AAS pastes prepared with three different sodium silicate solutions exhibited almost identical reaction kinetics, as well as the evolution of fresh properties and strength development. However, the reaction took place rather fast in AAS pastes made of silica fume. These mixtures showed worse rheology and less strength than the corresponding mixtures prepared with sodium silicate solutions. Furthermore, the present study also showed the feasibility of making the same AAS paste through different class commercial sodium silicate solutions.