Feasbility of Achieving 40 MPa Strength in 40 Hours in Mortars without Portland Cement using Class F Fly Ash and Blast Furnace Slag Powder

摘要

Mortar, conventionally made from Portland cement (PC) and fine aggregate (such as sand), requires generally 28-days of curing in water-saturated conditions to effect hydration of PC. The experimental work described in the present paper indicates the period for maximum strength gain can be shortened to about 40 hours if instead of PC, industrial wastes such as fly ash (FA), Blast Furnace Slag Powder (BFSP) are used and techniques of inorganic polymerisation involving development of suitable 'catalytic liquid system' (CLS) are adopted. The test data indicates that in a binder made up of Class F fly ash & BFSP, the FA content can be increased up to about 35% and mortar strength of about 40 MPa can be achieved. These mortars have very low energy and CO2 emission contents, besides lower in cost, compared to those based on PC; hence, these mortars can be considered to be more eco-friendly materials than PC based composites.