RILEM TC 294-MPA
interlaboratory study of the mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced ground granulated blast furnace slag-based alkali-activated concrete
Arkamitra Kar (Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani)
Pujitha Ganapathi Chottemada (Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani)
Lucija Hanžič (Zavod za gradbeništvo Slovenije)
J. S. Kalyana Rama (Mahindra University)
Patricia Kara De Maeijer (Universiteit Antwerpen)
Behzad Nematollahi (University of Sheffield)
Kruthi Kiran Ramagiri (Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad)
Laura Rossi (Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie)
Aljoša Šajna (Zavod za gradbeništvo Slovenije)
Shizhe Zhang (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Renewi Mineralz & Water)
Mingzhong Zhang (University College London)
Guang Ye (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
Frank Dehn (Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie)
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Abstract
Under the directives of the RILEM Technical Committee 294-MPA, this publication reports on the findings of an interlaboratory study that tested fiber-reinforced GGBFS-based alkali-activated concrete (FRAAC), with participants from Belgium, India and Slovenia. The research also elaborates prediction models for the tensile splitting strength of GGBFS-based FRAAC. This research endeavoured between 2020 and 2024 to find a globally reproducible FRAAC mix that could attain the required mechanical strength and workability criteria. The primary goal of the interlaboratory study was to generate FRAAC without the use of superplasticizers in order to maintain an S4 class consistency slump and achieve the desired 28-days cube compressive strength of 40 MPa. Steel and PVA fibers were determined to be incorporated to the GGBFS-based AAC mix at 0.3 and 0.1% volume fractions, respectively, through iterative interlaboratory investigations. Experimental program was conducted to examine the compressive and tensile splitting strength of these FRAAC combinations at different curing ages, ranging from 1 to 720 days. The findings indicate that while there were a few interlaboratory variations in the mechanical properties, the FRAAC produced was uniform across all participants. The desired compressive strength of 40 MPa was attained by GGBFS-based FRAAC with both steel and PVA fibers at 28 days. Although FRAAC containing steel fibers exhibited the higher early compressive strength, FRAAC prepared with steel and FRAAC prepared with PVA both demonstrated a 720-days compressive strength of about 61 MPa. The FRAAC mixes with steel fiber additions exhibited a tensile splitting strength that was approximately 30% higher than the mix with PVA fibers. Nonetheless, at all ages, the tensile splitting strength of both FRAAC mixes was clearly higher than 2 MPa. These results support reliable and consistent experimental findings, which allude towards FRAAC as a sustainable substitute for conventional Portland cement concrete.