(RV) Amer, I., A Review On Alkali-Activated Slag Concrete

Ain Shams Engineering Journal 12 (2021) 1475–1499
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A review on alkali-activated slag concrete

Ismail Amer a,⇑, Mohamed Kohail a, M.S. El-Feky b, Ahmed Rashad a, Mohamed A. Khalaf a
a
Structural Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
b
Civil Engineering Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Alkali-activated concrete (AAC) has attracted considerable attention since its first use as an alternative
Received 9 August 2020 material to the well-known traditional Portland cement concrete (PCC) due to their superior properties
Revised 22 November 2020 and environmental impact. In this paper, a comprehensive review on the present knowledge about the
Accepted 13 December 2020
AAC in terms of historical background, environmental impact, constituent materials and characteristics
Available online 25 January 2021
of alkali-activated slag concrete (AASC) is presented. The following topics are reviewed in details for
AASC: historical background, environmental impact, constituent materials, reactions mechanism, hydra-
Keywords:
tion products, compressive strength, stress–strain behavior, elasticity modulus, Poisson’s ratio, tensile
Alkali activation
Slag
strength, bond characteristics with reinforcing steel bars and behavior under elevated temperature.
Reactions mechanism Most studies have demonstrated the superior mechanical properties of AASC and their applicability in
Hydration products the construction engineering field. Moreover, AASC exhibits bond performance and elevated temperature
Concrete resistance better than PCC. However, the review reveals that more studies and investigations related to
Mechanical properties mix design including mix proportions, mixing procedures and curing regime, with which the AASC could
Bond characteristics demonstrate the best engineering properties, are required.
Elevated-temperature resistance Ó 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
nd/4.0/).
1. Introduction Concrete manufacturing has a great effect on the environment

due to greenhouse gas emissions which have a main impact on glo-
PCC is the most material utilized in construction widely. The bal warming. Cement, water, fine aggregates, and coarse aggre-
average PCC consumption is approximately 1 t/year per living per- gates are the basic components of concrete. Nevertheless, the PC
son [1]. Portland cement (PC) is one of the basic constituents for is considered the main contributor of gas emissions in the concrete
concrete which represent about 10–12% from the concrete volume production, where the PC is responsible for about 74% to 81% of
[2]. Recently, increasing demand for PC led to an increase in its pro- CO2 amount emitted from typical concrete mixes [5]. The CO2
duction, where the global production of PC is >3 billion tons [3]. It emissions associated with the different activities during the con-
is projected that this demand will increase to 6 billion tons per crete production and placement process were investigated [6].
year in the upcoming forty years. Fig. 1 shows the increasing in The emission factor of cement was 0.8200 t CO2-e/ton, while the
the global production of PC per year for the top five PC producing total emission factor of the production and placement process
countries till 2014. China ranks first among these countries with was 0.9372 t CO2-e/ton.
over 50% of global PC production and India ranks second with The emitted CO2 from the PC industry is considered a main
6.5% of global production [4]. environmental issue, where about 3% of total global greenhouse
gas emissions are produced from the PC industry as shown in
Fig. 2 [4]. It was recorded that the PC industry alone generates
⇑ Corresponding author.
nearly 7% of total global emitted CO2 [7]. Producing one ton of PC
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (I. Amer), [email protected].
approximately generates from 0.7 to 1.0 ton of CO2 into the atmo-
eg (M. Kohail). sphere [8,9]. On the other hand, it was estimated that a cumulative
Peer review under responsibility of Ain Shams University. amount of 4.5 GtC has been sequestered in carbonating cement
materials from 1930 to 2013 which lead to offset about 43% of
the CO2 emissions from the cement production over the same time
period [10].
Production and hosting by Elsevier
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2020.12.003
2090-4479/Ó 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
I. Amer, M. Kohail, M.S. El-Feky et al. Ain Shams Engineering Journal 12 (2021) 1475–1499
Fig. 1. PC production per year for the top five cement producing countries [4].
Fig. 3. Required electrical and thermal energies of PC production for different
countries [4].
The PC production is an energy-intensive industry, where the

total required energy is accounting for 50–60% of the production
costs [11]. PC production consumes high amount of energy. The
typical PC plant needs electrical energy around 110–120 kWh to
produce one ton of PC and consumes thermal energy of 3000–
6500 MJ to produce one ton of clinker [12]. The average consump-
tion of thermal and electrical energies for PC production for various
countries is presented in Fig. 3 [4]. The average global thermal and
electrical energies consumed in PC production are about 3.9 GJ and
107 kWh per ton, respectively [13]. In the PC production, the gen-
erated energy by fossil fuel and electricity are around 75% and 25%,
respectively [14]. The typical distribution of electrical energy con-
sumed in PC production is presented in Fig. 4 [15]. The consumed
energy in producing clinker only is about 20–40% from the total
energy consumption [16].
In addition to the environmental problems caused by the PC
industry and the large amounts of energy consumed in the PC pro-
Fig. 4. Distribution of required electrical energy for PC production [15].
duction process, there are many durability problems faced by PCC
such as sulphate attack, alkali-aggregate reaction and low fire
resistance. Hence, the development of eco-friendly construction
material as an alternative for PCC has become one of the main sions. Moreover, AAC emits CO2 emissions lower than PCC. AAC is
objectives of the scientific community. not only reducing CO2 emissions but also consumes large amounts
Through a few decades ago, many research studies carried out of industrial waste like slag and fly ash.
on AAC as an alternative for PCC and have gained popularity as a AAC consists of one or more of alumino-silicate sources (e.g.
construction material. AAC can be manufactured without PC, so it ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), fly ash (FA) or silica
can be considered green concrete. AAC has been confirmed to have fume (SF)), one or more of alkali activators (e.g. silicates, hydrox-
good mechanical characteristics in addition to reducing CO2 emis- ides or carbonates), water, fine and coarse aggregates. [17].
Fig. 2. Emission of greenhouse gas from different sources [4].
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2. Historical background of AAC called ‘‘geopolymer” due to its polymeric structure [22]. Also, he
released several trademarks for the binder like Geopolycem and
The first utilize of alkali activated material was in 1930, when Pyrament [23]. Kiev National University organized two interna-
Kuhl studied mixes composed of GGBFS and alkaline solution of tional conferences on AAC in 1994 and 1999 [24,25]. Table 1 sum-
KOH. Reactivity of GGBFS by using alkaline solutions of KOH and marizes the important historic developments of some important
NaOH investigated by Chassevent in 1937 [18]. Also, GGBFS was events about AAC.
activated with NaOH solution by Purdon in 1940 [19].
In 1959, Gluskhovsky was the first who investigated producing 3. The environmental impact of AAC
binders by using low basic or free calcium alumino-silicate source
(clay) with alkaline activators [20]. He developed a new binder The greatest advantage of AAC compared to PCC is the signifi-
with name of ‘‘soil–cement’’, the soil refers to its ground rock cant improvement in the environmental impact. This is mainly
appearance and the cement refers to its cementitious ability. based on the CO2 emissions from clinker calcination process and
In 1980, also Gluskhovsky investigated the activation of GGBFS: the high consumed energy of PCC. AAC is considered as an efficient
(a) describing the hydration products which consisted of calcium concrete technology for decreasing emissions of CO2 and recycling
silicate hydrates and sodium alumino-silicate hydrates, and (b) of by-products such as GGBFS and FA without using a calcination.
reporting that the alkali-activated clay minerals formed aluminum Based on a life cycle assessment (LCA), it was reported that the
silicate hydrates (zeolite) [21]. global warming potential of FA-based AAC is about 70% lower than
In 1984, Davidovits obtained binders by mixing kaolinite, lime- that of OPC [76]. LCA is the most common established method to
stone and dolomite with alkaline solutions. The produced binders evaluate the environmental effects of materials, products, services
Table 1
Some of important historic developments for AAC.
Year Authors Significance Ref.

1937 Chassevent Measurement of reactivity of slags using alkalis. [26]
1939 Feret Slags used for cement. [27]
1965 Glukhovsky First called ‘‘alkaline cements”. [28]
1979 Davidovits and Cordi ‘‘Geopolymer” term. [29]
1982 Davidovits Mixture of kaolinite, lime stone and dolomite with alkalis. [30]
1983 Forss F-cement (slag cement of low porosity). [31]
1983 Langton and Roy Characterization of materials for ancient building. [32]
1985 Davidovits and Sawyer Pyrament cement. [33]
1986 Krivenko System of R2O–RO–SiO2–H2O. [34]
1986 Małolepszy Melilite GGBFS activation. [35]
1986 Malek et al. Forms of slag cement-low level radioactive waste. [36]
1987 Davidovits Comparison of ancient and modern concretes. [37]
1988 Kaushal et al. Adiabatic cured nuclear wastes forms. [38]
1989 Deja and Malolepszy Resistance to chlorides shown. [39]
1989 Roy and Langton Analogs of ancient concretes. [40]
1989 Majumbar et al. GGBFS activation (C12A7). [41]
1989 Talling and Brandstetr Alkali-activated GGBFS. [42]
1989 Roy et al. Rapid setting alkali-activated cements. [43]
1990 Wu et al. Activation of slag cement. [44]
1991 Roy and Silsbee An overview on alkali-activated cements. [45]
1992 Palomo and Glasser Metakaolin with CBC. [46]
1993 Roy and Malek Slag cement hydration. [47]
1994 Glukhovsky Ancient, modern and future concretes. [48]
1994 Krivenko Alkaline cements. [24]
1995 Wang Microstructure of alkali-activated slag cement. [49]
1996 Shi Pore structure and permeability of alkali-activated GGBFS. [50]
1997 Fernández and Puertas Kinetic studies of activated slag cements. [51]
1998 Katz Microstructure of activated fly ash. [52]
1999 Davidovits Chemistry of geopolymeric technology. [53]
1999 Roy Opportunities activated cements. [54]
1999 Palomo et al. Activated fly ash cement for future. [55]
2000 Gong and Yang Activated red mud/slag cement. [56]
2000 Puertas et al. Activated fly ash/slag cement. [57]
2001 Collins and Sanjayan Activated slag concrete. [58]
2003 Palomo and Palacios Immobilization of hazardous wastes. [59]
2004 Grutzeck et al. Zeolite formation. [60]
2006 Feng et al. Sialite technology. [61]
2007 Duxson et al. Geopolymer technology: State of the art. [62]
2008 Hajimohammadi et al. One-part geopolymer mixtures. [63]
2009 Provis and Van Deventer Geopolymers. [64]
2010 Ravikumar et al. Activated concretes containing FA or GGBFS. [65]
2011 Puertas et al. C-A-S-H gel model for activated slag cements. [66]
2012 Tänzer et al. Durability of GGBFS/metakaolin-based alkali activated concrete. [67]
2013 Lee Alkali-activated FA/GGBFS concrete cured at room temperature. [68]
2014 Yuan et al. Shrinkage compensation for alkali-activated slag concrete. [69]
2015 Thomas and Peethamparan Engineering properties of AAC. [70]
2016 Ding et al. Mechanical properties of AAC: State-of-the-art. [71]
2017 Rafeet et al. Mix proportioning of FA/GGBFS based AAC. [72]
2018 Ibrahim et al. Characterization of ambient cured AAC utilizing nano silica. [73]
2019 Koenig et al. Flexural behavior of steel and macro-PP fiber reinforced AAC. [74]
2020 Zhang et al. Fabrication and engineering properties of AAC: A review. [75]
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or technologies. In LCA, all materials and energy flows are invento-

ried for all processes related to an item within the whole life cycle
to evaluate its environmental impacts.
Another LCA examination for carbon impacts and cost of PCC
and AAC was performed in an Australian context. A big variation
was reported in the calculated environmental and financial cost
for the AAC that may be harmful or beneficial depending on source
location, energy source, concrete mix proportions and transport
method. Based on typical Australian feedstocks, some AAC mixes
recorded a reduction of 44–64% in CO2 emissions while the cost
was 7% lower to 39% higher compared to PCC [77].
An industrial AAC manufacturer in Australia claims that using
their AAC reduces the CO2 footprint of OPC by 80% [78], while
another manufacturer claims that their AAC is <10–20% of the
CO2 footprint of OPC [79]. Similar conclusions were drawn from
a study based on a binder-to-binder and concrete-to-concrete
comparison. Similarly, it was concluded that the AAC reduced the Fig. 6. Total CO2 footprints of different concrete mixes with the same compressive
strength [81].
CO2 by 80% based on the binder-to-binder comparison, while the
comparison based on concrete-to-concrete demonstrated a savings
just over 60% [80]. presented in Fig. 5 and the total CO2 footprints normalized by those
An assessment for the CO2 reduction of AAC was performed calculated from PCC with the same compressive strength are
based on the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) database and data mostly demonstrated in Fig. 6.
collected from Korean journal. The assessment was carried out
by making a comparison between PCC, PCC with supplementary
cementitious materials (PCC + SCM) and a variety of AACs [81]. 4. Constituents of AAC
The main conclusion that drawn from this study is that the CO2
emissions of (PCC + SCM) concrete are almost 80% of those of 4.1. General
PCC for the compressive strength higher than 40 MPa, while the
CO2 emissions reduction of AAC compared to PCC ranges between Alkali activated system composed of one or combined alumino-
55% and 75% commonly, where CO2 reduction of AAC depends to silicate sources and one or combined alkaline activators. The acti-
some extent on the used alkali activator in terms of type, concen- vator solutions produce an environment with a high pH value (e.g.
tration, and dosage. The CO2 footprint for these concrete types are hydroxides, silicates, carbonates or sulfates). Alumino-silicate
Fig. 5. CO2 footprint for different concrete types. (A) fc0 = 24 MPa, (B) fc0 = 40 MPa, and (C) fc0 = 70 MPa [81].
1478
source and alkaline activator can be pre-mixed as dry materials, S = Specific gravity of the strong solution
then this dry binder be mixed with water, aggregates to produce C = NaOH in the concentrated solution (%)
a mortar or concrete. In another way, the alkaline activator solu- D = NaOH in desired solution (%)
tion can be added to the alumino-silicate source separately, then W = Amount of added water to the strong solution.
this wet binder be mixed with additional water (in case of need
to dilute the concentration of alkaline solution), aggregates to pro- A large amount of heat released during diluting of NaOH solu-
duce a mortar or concrete. Alternatively, it is possible to produce tion, so several precautions must be considered: (1) NaOH solution
AAC by mixing alumino-silicate source, alkaline activator, water, is added to water and water is never added to the NaOH solution;
aggregates and admixtures without pre-producing the alkali acti- (2) the water should not be cold or hot water but should be warm
vated binder separately [17,175–178]. Fig. 7 presents the compo- 30–40 °C when starting [18].
nents of the alkali-activated system [82].
4.2.3. Sodium silicate (Na2SiO3)
4.2. Alkaline activators Na2SiO3 is generally produced from silica and carbonate salts by
calcination and dissolving in water according to the required
4.2.1. General ratios. Fig. 8 presents a flow chart which illustrates the production
The alkaline activators are necessary to be reacted with the process for Na2SiO3 [18].
alumino-silicate source to produce cementitious materials. Usu- Commercial types of liquid Na2SiO3 can be prepared by the
ally, alkaline salts are utilized as alkaline activators for AAC. Among mass ratio of SiO2 to Na2O from 1.60 to 3.85. So, the characteristics
of all these activators, sodium hydroxide and Sodium silicate are and structure of liquid Na2SiO3 vary with accordance to its compo-
the most widely available chemicals [83,84]. sition. Table 2 shows some physical characteristics of some anhy-
drous and hydrous Na2SiO3 [18].
4.2.2. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH)
NaOH is obtained by brine electrolysis. Four types are available 4.3. Cementitious components
commercially: solids, flakes and beads. Solids are obtained by cool-
ing molten caustic soda. Flakes are produced by passing molten 4.3.1. General
NaOH through cooled flaking rolls to obtain uniform thickness The most commonly cementitious materials that utilized for
flakes. Beads are manufactured by feeding the molten liquid into alkali activated concrete-related research are GGBFS, FA, Silica
a prilling tower carefully which produce spherical beads of uni- fume and Metakaolin (burnt clay). Fig. 9 presents a ternary dia-
form size. The chemical composition of solids, flakes and beads gram for the typical composition ranges of these materials [82].
are the same, but they are different in particle size only. Anhydrous The main characteristics of slag are described below.
NaOH has a specific gravity of 2.13 [18].
The required concentration of NaOH solution can be obtained 4.3.2. GGBFS
by dissolving an adequate amount of anhydrous NaOH. The most GGBFS is obtained from the iron manufacture. The limestone
common form of NaOH is 50% solution. In case of need to modify and coke are charged into the furnace with the iron ore to remove
the concentrated solution to a certain concentration, the concen- impurities. The slag composes from the remaining alumina, silica,
trated NaOH can be diluted as follows [18]: lime or magnesia which entered into the furnace. The molten slag
Settles above the iron because its density is lower than that of the
CD
W¼S ð1Þ iron. So, it is easy to extract the molten slag from the liquid iron
D
and then leave it to cool. Production one ton of pig iron produces
where about 300 kg of slag, and the slag production in Japan exceeds 24
Fig. 7. The components of the alkali-activated system [82].
1479
and corresponding mortar made from GGBFS and PC with the

same mass [91]. The GGBFS activity index can be calculated as
follows:
SP
GGBFS activity index ¼ 100 ð2Þ
P
where
SP = compressive strength of (GGBFS + PC) mortar, MPa and

P = compressive strength of PC mortar, MPa.
GGBFS reactivity depends on its particle size. GGBFS particles

with size above 20 mm react slowly, but the particles that below
2 mm react within 24 h completely in an alkali-activated system
[92].
Several requirements needed for GGBFS to be utilized as an
Fig. 8. The production process of sodium silicate [18].
alternative for the cement, these are listed below [82].
Table 2 & It must be granulated and have a vitreous phase of 85–95%.

Physical characteristics of some anhydrous and hydrous Na2SiO3 [18]. & It must have a highly disorganized structure to have high
Formula Density (g/cm3) Melting Point (°C) hydraulicity.
& It must have a CaO + MgO/SiO2 ratio of > 1 to be basic slag which
Na2OSiO2 2.614 1089
Na2O2SiO2 2.50 874 has a higher hydraulic potential. The lime content apparently
Na2OSiO25H2O 1.75 72.2 affects its activation. Nevertheless, acid slag can also be
Na2OSiO26H2O 1.81 62.9 activated.
Na2OSiO29H2O 1.65 47.9 & The specific surface area of GGBFS has an important role in the
intensity and rate of the activation. So, it must have a specific
surface are of 400–600 m2/kg.
5. AASC
5.1. Reaction mechanism
For the alkali activated materials (AAM) that containing silica

and alumina basically, a general reaction mechanism was proposed
[21]. Geopolymers are in many instances viewed as a subset of
AAM with the highest Al and lowest Ca concentrations, where
the binding phase is almost exclusively aluminosilicate and highly
coordinated [93]. Destruction, coagulation, condensation and crys-
tallization are the connected reactions which represent the compo-
nents of the mechanism model. The first step is the breaking the
bonds Si–O–Si and Al–O–Si that occurs when increasing the pH
value of the alkaline solution (AS), so that these bonds are con-
verted to a colloid phase. Consequently, the disjointed products
are combined, that reacts with each other to form a coagulated
structure, resulting in generating a condensed and crystallized
Fig. 9. Typical composition ranges for common cementitious materials [82]. structure in a third phase. Fig. 11 illustrates a simplified reaction
mechanism for the geo-polymerization of AAM (geopolymers).
This figure presents the outlines for the process of transformation
million ton per year [85]. There are three kinds of slag according to of a solid alumino-silicate to a synthetic alkali alumino-silicate
its cooling method, air-cooled, expanded, and granulated slag [86]. [62].
The chemical composition of GGBFS depends mainly on the GGBFS is mainly composed of CaO–SiO2–Al2O3–MgO system
applied steel-production process and the steel type. Table 3 shows which is defined as phases mixture with akermanite
the chemical analyses of GGBFS for many countries. It can be seen a (2CaOMgO2SiO2), gehlenite (2CaOAl2O3SiO2), and depolymer-
similarity of these slags for the content of SiO2 and CaO, but there ized calcium alumino-silicate glass. The cations of Si4+ and Al3+
is a clear difference for the content of Al2O3, MgO and TiO2 [82]. are that forming the key glass network, and the Ca2+ and Mg2+
SEM micrographs of GGBFS particles are demonstrated in Fig. 10 work as modifiers for the network with existing of alkalis [94].
[87]. The GGBFS particles demonstrate as chiefly box shaped with The alkali hydration of GGBFS consists of more than a step,
a few spherical particles. including the initial destruction of GGBFS and then the poly-
Many specifications have been developed to describe the reac- condensation of reaction products. Fig. 12 illustrates the dissolu-
tivity of GGBFS that may be used as a partially or fully replacement tion process for a glass contains divalent and monovalent cations
of PC. The blended cement (slag + cement) strength was compared considering the glassy phase that containing a high Ca and low
with PC [88]. The strength of slag mortars that mixed by NaOH Al [95]. The main difference between the sites of Na+ and Ca2+ is
solution was measured [89,90]. The activity of GGBFS was esti- the higher extent damage which happened to the glass structure
mated by determining the compressive strength of both PC mortar by removing a divalent than a monovalent cation.
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Table 3
Chemical composition of GGBFS for many countries (% by mass) [82].
Origin Australia Canada China Finland Japan Norway Sweden USA UK

SiO2 35.04 35.30 36.23 36.00 35.40 35.00 35.30 34.90 34.20
Al2O3 13.91 9.90 9.76 9.00 12.90 13.50 9.40 7.12 11.30
Fe2O3 0.29 0.60 1.99 1.30 0.30 2.30 1.10 1.02 1.17
CaO 39.43 34.70 39.40 41.00 41.80 36.50 39.70 42.87 41.60
MgO 6.13 14.60 10.50 8.00 6.80 7.50 10.03 10.30 8.21
Na2O 0.34 0.30 – – 0.26 – 0.98 0.24 0.26
K2O 0.39 0.40 – – 0.38 – – 0.50 0.40
S 0.44 1.00 – 1.10 1.00 0.60 1.16 1.16 0.48
TiO2 0.42 0.50 0.70 0.90 1.65 2.00 0.72 0.39 0.77
MnO 0.43 – – 0.85 0.42 1.25 0.98 – 0.25
Fig. 10. SEM micrographs of GGBFS particles [87].
The released heat due to activating GGBFS was analyzed [96]. It The hydration of AAGS with NaOH was investigated at 25 °C in
was reported that the hydration process was affected by the Na2O controlled pH environments. It was found that the main hydration
content and the silica modulus value (Ms). The higher levels of product was identified as CSH, also hydro-talcite was noticed at
hydration were associated to higher Na2O and Ms. The process later stages of hydration but that in the high pH pastes. It was also
starts with destructing the GGBFS bonds Ca–O, Si–O–Si, Al–O–Al, observed that the reaction rate is dependent on the pH value of the
Al–O–Si and Mg–O, then forming a layer of Si–Al all over the GGBFS starting AS and the pH value should be higher than 11.5 to activate
particles surface and finally, forming the hydration products. GGBFS effectively [103].
Fig. 13 presents the heat evolution in alkali-activated GGBFS Hydro-talcite is identified by many researchers as tiny crystals
(AAGS). combined with the CSH gel [104–106]. Hydro-talcite starts forming
The reactions mechanism of AAGS is more complex than in about 6 h with NaOH and about 12 h with water–glass when
geopolymers because of the high CaO content, thus many investi- GGBFS contains Mg and Al [49].
gations have been performed to investigate the role of Ca in the In the system of low alkalinity only, CSH gel forms together with
process of polymerization [97–100,101]. It has been found that the geo-polymeric gel. But, in case of high alkalinity (NaOH > 7.5 M),
the Ca has a positive effect on the geo-polymeric binds strength the main phase is geo-polymeric gel with small precipitates of cal-
and has important roles in stating the reaction path and the phys- cium. If there is no a high amount of reactive Ca initially, the forma-
ical properties of the products of hydration process. Moreover, it tion of the two phases will be not observed. It was reported that is
has been reported that the Ca compounds formation of is widely no new crystalline peak associated with the alkali activation of
dependent on the Si/Al ratio and pH value. GGBFS. Therefore, it was concluded that crystalline CSH is not a pro-
duct or it is not a dominant product formed as a result of the alka-
line activation process [99]. This is in agreement with what found
5.2. Hydration products by van Jaarsveld and van Deventer that the crystalline CSH is not
formed in the high-pH environment (>14) [107].
The hydration products of AAGS are influenced by GGBFS com- One of the differences between the OPC binder and the alkali-
positions, the AS type and pH value. It was noticed that calcium sil- activated one is that in the first binder it uses water with an initial
icate hydrate (CSH) is the basic hydration product and varying neutral pH that slowly turns alkaline (12–13) as the hydration pro-
crystallinity degrees with low ratio of C/S in case of ignoring the cess undergoes a series of non-hydrated particles and several types
used activator. Moreover, a crystalline phase of AFm is identified of crystalline CSH gel, whereas the alkali-activated binder needs a
in AAGS with NaOH [49]. strong alkali solution to start the dissolution process. To achieve
The structure of the reaction products for the activated slag good physical and chemical characteristics in the final product, it
cement pastes (AAS) with different types of AS (NaOH and is necessary to add soluble silica (sodium silicate) but, as the initial
water–glass) was investigated by using XRD analysis. It was pH is high, that prevents the coagulation and polymerization of the
reported that the identified phases for the activated AAS with silicate. When the pH goes to <14 due to the dissolution of the
NaOH were CSH, calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and hydro-talcite prime materials, condensation occurs very quickly. Then a group
(Mg6Al2CO3(OH)164H2O). Whereas, the hydro-talcite was not of reactions of polysialatization, coagulation, colloid formation
detected in the AAS activated with water–glass and the identifica- and hardening occurs in a final product of undissolved aluminosil-
tion of CSH was more difficult [102]. icate species in an amorphous aluminosilicate structure [108].
1481
the AASC can be classified as a high performance concrete (HPC), as

it achieved a CS higher than 60 MPa after 90 days [110]. A CS of
60.4 MPa was obtained after 7 days using GGBFS as a pure binder
with content of 450 kg/m3 at ambient curing conditions [111].
AASC mix with 100% GGBFS, 9% Na2O, Ms of 1.0 and W/B ratio of
0.45 achieved 28-day CS of 43.0 MPa at ambient curing conditions
[112,113]. It was reported that the alkali-activated hybrid cement
(mixture of a GGBFS and PC in proportion 80% and 20% respec-
tively) achieved CS 4.5 and 10.8 times higher than the control
(100% PC) when the AS was NaOH and (NaOH + Na2SiO3) respec-
tively [114]. AASC achieves after 7 days around 90% of its cube
28-day CS, which interprets the high early CS of AASC [115]. The
high early age CS of AASC can be attributed to the fast rate of the
hydration process that related to the high pH environment [110].
CS of AAC is influenced significantly by the GGBFS content in
the mixture. It was reported that the higher CS is achieved by
the higher amounts of binder. AASC and PCC mixes with binder
content of 400 and 500 kg/m3, respectively showed significantly
higher CS than that of mixes with binder content of 300 kg/m3 after
28 days as shown in Fig. 14 [110]. It was recorded that the larger
amount of the GGBFS in the mix achieved the higher CS when
keeping the total content of FA and GGBFS constant [116]. This is
in agreement with what found later by Saha and Rajasekaran
[117], but they both used a maximum GGBFS proportion of 50%.
Using a larger content of GGBFS was investigated [118], it was
reported that adding of GGBFS increases the CS linearly up to a pro-
portion of 95%, but the CS decreases when GGBFS proportion is
>95%. Fig. 15 presents the relation between CS and GGBFS propor-
tion in the total binder. The CS of alkali-activated fly ash-slag con-
crete (AAFS) was studied with different levels of GGBFS
replacement [119]. It was noticed that the CS of AAFS increased
by increasing the GGBFS level. When the GGBFS increased from
10% to 30%, the CS increased from 21.90 to 56.43 MPa. The CS
increased by 34.29%, 90.70%, 113.44% and 157.66% with increasing
in GGBFS content by 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% when comparing to
10% GGBFS (A10). Fig. 16 presents the CS of AAFS with different
levels of GGBFS.
The alkali activator to binder (AL/B) ratio affects the CS of AASC.
It was reported that the decrease in the AL/B ratio from 0.4 to 0.35
increased the CS. Besides, the amount of alkali activator had a sig-
nificant influence on the early age CS development (<14 d),
whereas the influence became low significant at older age CS (28
d) [119]. This came in agreement with findings of Aliabdo et al.
Fig. 11. Simplified reaction mechanism for AAM [62].
[115], they reported that increasing the ratio of Al/GGBFS from
0.40 to 0.50 decreases the CS of AASC from 58.78 to 49.52 MPa
5.3. Mechanical properties after 7 days and from 64.95 to 55.58 MPa after 28 days.
Increasing the molarity of NaOH solution leads to increase in
Compressive strength (CS), stress–strain relationship (SSR), the CS of AASC. This increase can be explained by the higher alka-
modulus of elasticity (E), Poisson’s ratio (PS) and tensile strength linity caused by the increase in NaOH solution molarity which
(TS) are the basic mechanical properties of AASC. Most of these leads to increase the breakage of the bonds of Ca-O, Al-O and Si-
characteristics are tested with the same method of that for the O in GGBFS, hence increasing the formation of hydration products
PCC due to the lack of the standard specifications for the AAC in [120–122]. It was noticed that the increase in the molarity of NaOH
most countries and also so that the test results of AAC can be com- solution from 10 M to 12 M increased the CS of AASC by around
pared to that of the PCC. 23% [119]. Also, it was reported that increasing in NaOH solution
molarity had a significant effect on the CS of AASC [115]. Three
levels of NaOH solution molarity (10, 12 and 14 M) were investi-
5.3.1. Compressive strength (CS) gated and the CS after 28 days were 56.70, 60.55 and 62.70
CS is the most important mechanical characteristics of a mate- respectively.
rial such concrete, where it is considered as a valuable tool by The ratio of Na2SiO3:NaOH (SS:SH) is another factor affecting
which the other material properties can be predicted [177– the CS of AASC. The increase of SS:SH ratio increases the CS of
187,192]. CS of AASC is affected by several parameters such as type AASC. This can be attributed by increasing the anions of SS which
and fineness of GGBFS, type and amount of alkali activator, liquid caused by increasing the SS in the solution, these SS anions react
to solid ratio, mixing method, curing regime, etc. with the Ca+2 that is dissolved from the GGBFS grains surface
It has become known that the development of CS for AASC is and then forming (C–S–H) [123]. It was concluded that increasing
faster than that of PCC. CS can reach 60 MPa after one day, whereas the SS:SH increased the CS of AASC [115]. Three levels of SS:SH
it can exceed 100 MPa after one year [109]. It was concluded that (1.75:1, 2.50:1 and 3.25:1) were investigated and the CS after
1482
Fig. 12. Dissolution process: (A) H+ exchange for Ca2+ and Na+, (B) Al–O–Si bonds hydrolysis, (C) destroying of the depolymerized network, and (D) Si and Al release [95].
28 days were 56.01, 60.45 and 63.49 respectively. Also, the CS of AASC is also sensitive to the curing regime. It was recorded that
AASC was studied with three SS:SH ratios of 1.5:1, 2.0:1 and the heat-cured AASC achieved CS rapidly more than that cured at
2.5:1 [119]. It was found that the effect of SS:SH ratio was not clear. room temperature at early age [126]. Nevertheless, at later age,
The CS after one day was increased with increasing the ratio of SS: the CS of heat-cured AASC was slightly decreased Fig. 18. The effect
SH slightly, whereas the AASC with low ratio of SS:SH had slightly of different curing temperature from 30 °C to 90 °C was investi-
higher CS than that of high ratio of SS:SH at the later age. Also, the gated on the CS of AASC [115]. It was found that increasing the
similar behavior was observed by Nath and Sarker [124]. temperature of curing decreased the CS and the best value was
The influence of two mixing protocol for PCC and AASC was achieved by curing temperature 30 °C. This decrease in the CS
investigated as illustrated in Fig. 17. It was noticed that the mixing may be explained by that the high temperature results in evaporat-
protocol appeared to affect the fresh behavior of concrete (rheol- ing more water which influenced the amount of formed C–S–H
ogy) more than its strength. For AASC, both rheology and strength negatively.
improved with longer mixing time. Mixing protocol 2 had a nega- Some researches were carried out to investigate the optimum
tive effect on the rheology of both PCC and AASC, while improving AASC mixes in terms of CS. It was reported that mixes with rela-
the strength only slightly [125]. tively high GGBFS content (>=20%) can obtain a CS of 35 MPa at
1483
Fig. 13. Heat evolution in AAS: (a) Ms = 0.60; (b) Ms = 1.20; (c) Ms = 1.50 [96].
Fig. 14. CS of AASC and OPCC with different the binder contents [110].
1484
Thomas and Peethamparan [70], which were compared with

curves for PCC that derived numerically [127]. It was observed that
the AASC appears brittle failure after reaching the peak immedi-
ately. Its high brittleness can be explained by the wide spread of
micro-cracking in AASC. [58]. Hence, it was concluded that the
AASC has high brittleness than that for PCC.
Ding et al. [71] compared the SSR that reported by Yang et al.
[128] and Thomas and Peethamparan [70] as presented in
Fig. 23. It was noticed that the SSR of AASC including the initial
stiffness and peak strain was significantly affected by the CS as
for PCC. The CIB-FIP model does not match the SSR of AASC, where
the CIB-FIP model prediction was overestimated for the ascending
branch and was steeper for the descending branch, Which imply-
ing more ductility for AASC than the PCC that had CS. [128]. This
was in agreement to that reported by Thomas and Peethamparan
[70] for the ascending part, but the obtained descending part was
more brittle (i.e., more rapid drop).
Fig. 15. Relationship between CS and GGBFS proportion in the total binder [116– 5.3.3. Modulus of elasticity (E)
118].
Generally, the E increases with growing of CS for both AAC and
PCC. Several calculation methods of ‘‘E” were compared for AAC
with similar aggregates and test conditions [129,130]. It was
observed that the calculated E according to existing concrete stan-
dards are high compared with the experimental values of AAC as
presented in Fig. 24; it can be noticed that the given equation by
Nath predicts well the ‘‘E” of AAC. Furthermore, Nath reported that
the ‘‘E” of AAC was less than that of the PCC with the same CS. Also,
it was found that ‘‘E” of AAC was nearly half of that of the PCC at
the same CS [131]. This is in agreement with findings by Khan
et al., and Olivia and Nikraz [132,133]. The cause of this phe-
nomenon may be due to that the ‘‘E” of paste for AAC is lower than
that for PCC [129].
The ‘‘E” of AAC is about 10 to 35 GPa which is through the
expected range of concrete. Whereas, the average ‘‘E” of AASC is
about 30 GPa which does not seem to be varied with CS over the
range of 20 MPa < f0 c < 60 MPa, as presented in Fig. 25 [70]. Also,
it was recorded that the ‘‘E” of AASC manufactured by different
AS was slightly lower than that of PCC [134].
Ding et al. [71] compared the E-CS relationships that reported
by Douglas et al. [135], Yang et al. [128], and Thomas and Peetham-
paran [70] as presented in Fig. 26. Also, the relationships that pre-
Fig. 16. CS of AAFS with different GGBFS levels [119].
dicted by CEB-FIP model [136], ACI 318 [137] and the generated
equation by Yang et al. [128] are compared (Fig. 26). Douglas
et al. [135] reported that the E of AASC can be predicted by ACI
least. Thus, the mixes with GGBFS replacement of 20% to 30%, SH of
code 318. Likewise, Yang et al. [128] concluded that the E of AASC
10 M or 12 M, SS:SH ratio of 1.5:1 to 2.5:1 and AL/B ratio of 0.35 to
activated by Ca(OH)2 can be determined approximately by ACI
0.4 can be suggested as optimum mixes [119]. Whereas, the influ-
code 318; a refined formula was also proposed as presented in
ence of different factors on the CS of AASC was studied and the
Eq. (3). On the other hand, Thomas and Peethamparan [70]
contribution percentage of each factor was calculated as presented
recorded that the E of AASC varied slightly with the CS and the
in Fig. 19 [115]. It was found that the highest CS achieved at Al/
ACI code 318 fit the obtained experimental results poorly (Fig. 26).
GGBFS of 0.40, curing temperature of 30 °C and curing period of
2 days. The effect of GGBFS:PCC, Na2O ratio, Ms and W/B on the 0 1=2
Ec ¼ 4600ðWc=2200Þ1:5 ðf cÞ ð3Þ
7-day and 28-day CS of ambient cured alkali-activated slag cement
concrete (AASCC) and also the participation percentage of each Aliabdo et al. [115] concluded that the relation between the ‘‘E”
parameter was calculated as presented in Fig. 20 [112]. The most and CS for AASC as presented in Eq. (4). this relationship was
significant parameter that affects the 7-day and 28-day CS was drawn using results of testing 27 mixtures as shown if Fig. 27.
the binder ratio (GGBFS:PCC) with participation percentages of pffiffiffiffiffiffi
43.91 and 56.19% respectively. E ¼ 3:726 CS ð4Þ
where, E in GPa and CS in MPa.

5.3.2. Stress – Strain relationship (SSR) Moreover, it was recorded that steel fibers improved the ‘‘E” of
The axial and lateral SSR of AASC were investigated within the AAC [138,139], while adding the polypropylene or polyolefin fibers
proportional limit under pure uniaxial compression [70]. It was to AAC does not necessarily improve the ‘‘E” [140].
found that the relationships were highly linear, as presented in
Fig. 21. 5.3.4. Poisson’s ratio (PS)
Limited studies have been recorded the representative SSR A few studies have recorded the PS of AAC, the obtained results
curves for AASC. Fig. 22 shows experimental curves reported by are not compatible. It was reported that the PS values for AASF
1485
Fig. 17. Mixing protocols for PCC and AASC [125].
with the ACI code 318 as shown in Fig. 29. Also, Chi [147] repotred
that the splitting TS of AASC agreed well with the predicted value
by ACI code 318 as shown in Fig. 29.
Thomas and Peethamparan [70] reported that the TS of AASC is
marginally higher than that of PCC. The average splitting TS of
AASC specimens was 17.0 ± 2.1% of the corresponding CS, which
is significantly higher than that for PCC specimens in the same
CS level. Where, the average TS of PCC specimens was
14.1 ± 0.6% of the corresponding CS.
Aliabdo et al. [115] reported that the relation between TS and
CS for AASC as presented in Eq. (5). This relationship was drawn
based on experimental test results as shown in Fig. 30.
pffiffiffiffiffiffi
TS ¼ 0:5554 CS ð5Þ
where, TS and CS in MPa.
Addition of fibers to the AAC can improve its ductility in tension
[148]. Bhutta et al. [149] determined the average TS of several
AACs with different types of fibers as presented in Fig. 31. It can
be seen from the bar chart that the end-deformed steel fiber
Fig. 18. Influence of curing temperature on the CS of AASC [126]. demonstrated the best reinforcement effect.
5.4. Bond properties

were ranged from 0.23 to 0.26 [141], which were slightly higher
than those for PCC (0.11 to 0.21) [142]. As well, it was stated that The bond between concrete and reinforcement is a very impor-
the PS of AAC was 19.2% higher than that of PCC [143]. Neverthe- tant property to be characterized, where the bond is responsible
less, Thomas and Peethamparan [70] recorded that the PS of AASC for the stress transfer between concrete and reinforcement in the
was 0.127 ± 0.003. reinforced concrete members. The bond strength (BS) is considered
as one of the structural characteristics that very important to be
5.3.5. Tensile strength (TS) understood for the development of analysis and design of struc-
Generally, the TS of the PCC is 1/10–1/20 of its CS. Similar to tures [150]. Generally, it is well known that the BS is affected by
PCC, the TS of ambient cured AAC agrees with CS well [124]. Sev- the concrete strength, concrete cover, steel bar geometry and
eral studies reported that the TS of AAC was usually higher than development length to diameter ratio [188–191].
that of the PCC at the same CS as shown in Fig. 28 [75]. Due to the difference between the AAC and PCC in chemical
Yang et al. [128] recorded that the splitting TS of AASC was reactions and matrix formation, the bond properties of AAC should
higher than that calculated by the Eurocode 2 (EC2), but fit well be investigated before it is considered to be an alternative to PCC in
1486
Fig. 19. The effectiveness of different factors on the CS of AASC [115].
Fig. 20. The Participation percentage for the considered factors on the 7-day and
28-day CS of AASC [112].
Fig. 21. Axial and lateral SSR of AASC within the proportional limit [70].
the structures. Hence, several studies have been performed to
investigate the BS between AAC and reinforcement.
Most of the results that obtained from experiments have the average BS of AAFS were 10.5–14.7 MPa and 7.3–11.4 MPa
reported that the bond between AAC and steel reinforcement is for the direct pull-out and beam-end testing, respectively. Based
better than that of PCC. Many researchers attributed the high bond on the results of beam-end test, it was concluded that the recom-
strength of AAC to its micro-structure homogeneity. Scaning inves- mendations in the standards of of AS 3600 [154], ACI 318 [137] and
tigations have recorded that the ITZ between the the martix and EC2 [155] could be applicable for AAC. The EC2 provided the most
aggregate of AAC is more homogenous and dense than that in conservative results compared to experimental results, while ACI
PCC [151,152]. 318 and AS 3600 provided less conservative results. Nevertheless,
Fernandez-Jimenez et al. [131] was the first to perform the pull- they are safe to estimate the development length for AAC. Also,
out test on the AAC and recorded that the steel bar broke before Chang et al. [156] recorded that the codes like AS 3600 and ACI
occuring slippage from the AAC. In contrast, the steel bar pulled 318 provided a conservative estimation for the BS of the lap-
out and seperated from the PCC without breaking. The maximum spliced AAC beams, with test-to-prediction ratio (T/P) of about
pull-out force between AAC and the steel bar was 40% higher than 1.70. Chang et al. [156] concluded that the proposed model by Can-
that for PCC, which implying the higher BS between AAC and steel bay and Frosch [157] provided the nearest match to the experi-
reinforcement than that between PCC and steel reinforcement. mental BS of the lap-spliced AAC beams, with average T/P of 1.17.
The bond behavior of AAC through both direct pull-out and Also, the BS of AAC with steel bars was investigated by carring
beam-end testing was investigated [153]. It was recorded that out pull-out test on beam-end specimens as presented in Fig. 32
[144]. The CS of AAC, concrete cover and bar diameter were the
1487
Fig. 22. Representative SSR curves for AASC [70].

Fig. 25. E and CS of AASC [70].
Fig. 23. SSR for AASC [71].
Fig. 26. Relationship between the E and CS for AASC [71].
Fig. 27. Relationship between square root of CS and E [115].

Fig. 24. Experimental E of AAC compared with concrete standards [129,130].
1488
Fig. 28. Comparison of TS between AAC and PCC [144–146].

Fig. 31. Splitting TS of AACs with different types of fibers [149].
by concrete splitting along the bonded length of steel bar as shown

in Fig. 33 [144].
Although there are equations can be conservatively for the BS of
AAC, Kim and Park [158] and Topark-Ngarm et al. [159] proposed
Eqs. (6) and (7), respectively which can provide closer estimation
to the experimental BS of AAC:
c
r ¼ f 0 cð2:07 þ 0:2 þ 4:15 Þ ð6Þ
ld
r ¼ 2:12ðf 0 cÞ
0:5
ð7Þ
where
r = the BS, MPa;

0
f c = the cylinder CS, MPa;
c = the concrete cover, (mm);
Ø = the bar diameter, (mm) and
ld = the development length, (mm).
The AAFS bond with both smooth and deformed steel bars was
Fig. 29. Relationship between the splitting TS and CS of AASC [71]. studied by using the standard of RILEM pull-out test as shown in
Fig. 34 [160]. It was observed about 10% increase in the BS of
AAC comparing to that of PCC. Moreover, the BS of AAC was gov-
erend by the condition of curing, e.g., the BS of AAC specimens
cured in wet and heat conditions reported from 30% to 70% higher
than that at ambient cured condition.
Also, the BS of AAFS was investigated using pull-out test and
proposed the following Eq. (8) which produced the best correlation
with the experimental results [161]. By comparing the Eq. (8) with
the fib model (Eq. (9)), it was noticed that the constant factor for
AAC model is 53% higher than the fib model for PCC, ensuring that
the BS of AAC is greater than that of PCC. Fig. 35 presents both AAC
and fib model together with the test results. The underestimation
for the BS of AAC by fib model is clear especially for CS higher than
30 MPa.
pffiffiffiffiffiffi
Fig. 30. Relationship between square root of CS and splitting TS [115].
st ¼ 3:83 Rc ð8Þ
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
sbmax ¼ 2:5 f cm ð9Þ
studied test parameters. Generally, it was found that AAC demon-
strated higher BS than PCC for similar test parameters. This means where
that the equations used for the BS of PCC can be used for conserva-
tive prediction for the BS of AAC. The AAC showed cracking pat- st , sbmax = the ultimate BS, MPa and
terns similar to those of PCC. Both AAC and PCC specimens failed Rc, f cm = the average CS, MPa.
1489
Fig. 32. The beam-end specimen [144].
Fig. 33. Failure modes of the beam-end specimens [144].
The steel reinforcement in AAC demonstrated bond stress-slip peak value of steel bar slip in the results obtained by Yang et al.
curve (SSC) similar to that of PCC. Ding et al. [71] compared the [128] which was marginally lower than 0.6 mm that mentioned
bond stress-slip curves obtained by Yang et al. [128] and Castel in the CEB-FIP model; this value was near to the 0.6 mm reported
and Foster [160] with the predicted curve by CEB-FIP model as pre- by Castel and Foster [160].
sented Fig. 36. Yang et al. [128] investigated the behavior of bond Also, Ding et al. [71] compared the relations between the BS and
for the steel bars in AASC. The recorded SSC demonstrated that the the corresponding CS that derived by Sofi et al. [153], Sarker [144]
descending branch of the PCC and AAC were greater than that esti- and Yang et al. [128], and that provided by the CEB-FIP model (Eq.
mated by the CEB-FIP model as presented in Fig. 36). Moreover, the (10)) as presented in Fig. 37. It can be seen that the CEB-FIP model
1490
Fig. 37. Relationships between BS and the CS [71].

Fig. 34. Pull-out test according to RILEM [160].
agrees well, overestimates and underestimates with the results
obtained by Yang et al. [128], Sofi et al. [153] and Sarker [144],
respectively.
qffiffiffiffiffiffi
sb ¼ 2:0 f 0c ð10Þ
where
sb = the ultimate BS, MPa and

f 0c = the average CS, MPa.
Using steel fibers in the AAC improve the bond behavior. The
bond behavior of steel fibers reinforced AAC was investigated by
using pull-out test [162]. It was found that using steel fibers turned
the mode failure from the pull-out failure to splitting. Moreover,
adding steel fibers to AAC increased the BS and the slip at free
end. The BS increased by 28.3%, 32.9%, and 38.3% with steel fiber
contents of 1.0%, 1.5%, 2%, and the corresponding slip to BS
increased by 25.5%, 30.1%, and 52.1%, respectively as shown in
Fig. 38.
Fig. 35. Comparison between AAC-model and FIB-model [161].
5.5. Elevated temperature resistance (ETR)
ETR of PCC is generally governed by the components of concrete

mixture and the additives [163]. Similarly, the chemical composi-
Fig. 36. Bond stress-slip relationships [71].
Fig. 38. Bonding stress-slip curves for different contents of steel fibers [162].
1491
tion of raw material, amount and type of AS, amount and type of
additives, and aggregate properties can influence the performance
of AAC after exposing to elevated temperature (ET). It is believed
that the AAC has a better ETR than PCC [164]. Several researches
have investigated the ETR of AAC.
The effect of ET (up to 1050 °C) was studied on the characteris-
tics of the cement paste with three different W/B ratios (0.23, 0.47
and 0.71) and six GGBFS contents (5, 10, 20, 50, 80 and 100%) [165].
It was found that increasing GGBFS content greatly increases the
CS under ET (1050 °C). Thus, the ETR is greatly improved when
PC is replaced with GGBFS. Moreover, increasing of GGBFS content
significantly reduced cracking.
Guerrieri et al. [166] recorded that the performance of AASC
was similar to that of PCC at ET range of 400–800 °C and the resid-
ual CS at 800 °C was 10% from the initial CS. Fig. 40. Effect of aggregates size on the performance of AAC at ET [167].
Kong and Sanjayan [167] investigated the influence of ET
(800 °C) at alkali activated paste, mortar and concrete. It was con-
cluded that the performance at ET was dependent on the size of
paste specimens (Fig. 39) because of the significant difference in
temperature between the surface of specimens and their cores
which inducing thermal cracking. Also, the aggregates size was
an effective in determining the behavior of AAC under ET as shown
in Fig. 40. AAC specimens with smaller aggregates (<10 mm) pro-
moted spalling and cracking while specimens with larger aggre-
gates (>10 mm) were more stable.
The behavior of AAFS under ET was studied [168]. It was found
that the residual CS at 800 °C is affected by the initial CS. The spec-
imens of low initial CS (<7.6 MPa) demonstrted an increase in the
residual CS up to 90% gain after exposed to 800 °C. This may be
attributed by a further hydration of the unreacted products. While
the specimens with of initial CS about 83 MPa had 90% losses in the
residual CS after exposed to 800 °C. Fig. 41 illustrares the Correla-
tion between initial and residual CS at 800 °C.
Fig. 41. Correlation between initial and residual CS at 800 °C [168].
The performance of alkali activated fly ash paste (AAF) was
investigated [169,170]. It was found that the AAF had a better per-
formance than that of PCC paste at ET as presented in Fig. 42. It is
well known that the reduction in CS of PCC paste occurs due to the
decompose of C-S-H gel at 105 °C and the dihydroxylation of Ca
(OH)2 at between 400 and 500 °C. As there is no C-S-H gel or Ca
(OH)2 in the AAF, the further hydration of the unreacted binders
at ET could illustrate the better residual CS.
Sarker et al. [171] observed the cracking, spalling and residual
strength in the AAC and PCC after exposing to ET environment
(up to 1000 °C). A severe spalling was observed in the PCC, whereas
spalling in the AAC was slight as presented in Fig. 43. By SEM
examination, it was found that the AAC microstructure had
become denser with ET as shown in Fig. 44. Moreover, the AAC
Fig. 42. Residual CS of PCC and AAF pastes [170].
retained higher percentage of residual CS than the PCC up to 650

°C.
The fire endurance of steel reinforced AAC panels was studied
[172]. It was concluded that the retained load carrying capacity
percentage of AAC was 10%-20% higher than PCC after exposing
to 960 °C as shown in Fig. 45. In addition, cracking and spalling
in AAC panels were lower than that in the PCC panels, this may
be attributed by the faster heat transfer of AAC which reducing
the temperature difference and internal damage in the panels.
Fig. 39. Influence of specimen size on the performance of alkali activated paste at
ET [167].
1492
Fig. 43. PCC and AAC specimens after exposing to ET [171].
Fig. 44. SEM images of AAC after exposure to ET [171].
1493
result from evaporating water pressure and temperature gradient.

While, on the PCC surface, concrete exfoliation was visible due to
chemical alterations as presented in Fig. 47.
Also, the influence of ET on the bond characteristics of AAC was
investigated by using pull-out test specimen as shown in Fig. 48
[174]. It was concluded that the AAC appears similar or better bond
characteristics than PCC with similar CS. Moreover, AAC exhibits
significant degradation in BS, when exposure to ET above 300 °C.
Fig. 49 presents the ratio of strength retention ratio for PCC and
AAC after exposing to ET and Fig. 50 shows the failure modes of
AAC specimens.
A prediction model was proposed for the residual BS after expo-
sure to ET as the following Eq. (11) [174]:
sTU
Fig. 45. Residual strengths of the PCC and AAC panels [172]. ¼ 0:96 þ 1:39 103 T 7:06 106 T 2 þ 4:95 109 T 3 ð11Þ
sAU
where
The influence of ET (up to 800 °C) on the TS and physical prop-
erties of the AASC was studied [173]. It was reported that the
T = the exposure temperature;
increase in the temperature to 800 °C, decreasing the TS of the
AASC and the PCC by 85% and 100%, respectively which means a
sTU = the residual BS between AAC and rebar after exposure to
temperature T;
higher residual TS for AASC as shown in Fig. 46. Also, it was
remarked that thermal strength of the AASC was higher than that sAU = the BS at ambient temperature.
of the PCC. At 800 °C, cracks were found on the AASC surface that
(a) PCC specimens
(b) AASC specimens

Fig. 46. TS of the PCC and AASC specimens after exposure to ET [173].
1494
AASC PCC (a) PCC
Fig. 47. Surface textures of PCC and AASC at 800 °C [173].
(b) AAC
Fig. 49. Strength retention ratio of PCC and AAC after exposure to ET [174].
2- Mechanical and bond properties
Fig. 48. Typical pull-out test specimen [174]. AASC exhibits Mechanical properties, bond performance better
than PCC.
The development of compressive strength for AASC is faster
Fig. 51 presents a comparison between experimental and pre- than that of PCC, whereas the compressive strength of AASC
dicted residual BS with the exposure ET for the AAC with ribbed can reach 60 MPa after one day. Moreover, AASC can achieve
steel rebars. It can be observed that the predicted results agree well after 7 days 90% of its 28-day compressive strength.
with the obtained test results. Based on the measured average compressive strength of AASC
and comparing its values with those of PCC, the AASC can be
classified as a HPC.
The compressive strength of AASC increases by increasing the
6. Conclusion
GGBFS content up to 500 kg/m3.
Decrease in AL/GGBFS ratio resulting in decreasing the com-
This paper presents a comprehensive review on the current
pressive strength of AASC.
knowledge about the AAC in terms of historical background,
Increasing the molarity of NaOH solution in the alkaline solu-
environmental impact and the constituents, and the properties of
tion up to 14 M increases the compressive strength of AASC.
AASC. Based on the data in this review, the following conclusions
The increase of SS:SH ratio from 1.75:1 to 3.25:1 causes a slight
can be drawn:
increase the compressive strength of AASC.
1- Material properties
The mixing protocol of AASC has a significant effect on its com-
pressive strength and fresh behavior. They were improved by
The development of AAC seems an eco-friendly alternative to
longer mixing time.
PCC and applicable in the construction engineering field.
The heat cured AASC achieves compressive strength rapidly
The reaction mechanism and reaction products of AASC
more than that of cured at room temperature at early age. Nev-
depend on the prime materials and alkaline activator, but
ertheless, at the later age, the compressive strength of heat
till now they are not understood exactly. However, most
cured AASC decreases slightly.
authors agree that the reaction mechanism of AASC consists
The stress–strain relationship of AASC is highly linear than PCC
of three steps which are dissolution, orientation and
and has high brittleness than that for PCC.
hardening.
1495
Fig. 50. Failure modes of AAC after exposure to ET [174].
The review reveals that more studies and investigations related

to mix design including mix proportions, mixing procedures
and curing regime, with which the AASC could demonstrate
the best engineering properties, are required.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-

cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
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(RV) Amer, I., A Review On Alkali-Activated Slag Concrete

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Ain Shams Engineering Journal 12 (2021) 1475–1499

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Ain Shams Engineering Journal

A review on alkali-activated slag concrete

1. Introduction Concrete manufacturing has a great effect on the environment

The PC production is an energy-intensive industry, where the

Fig. 2. Emission of greenhouse gas from different sources [4].

Year Authors Significance Ref.

or technologies. In LCA, all materials and energy flows are invento-

Fig. 7. The components of the alkali-activated system [82].

and corresponding mortar made from GGBFS and PC with the

SP = compressive strength of (GGBFS + PC) mortar, MPa and

GGBFS reactivity depends on its particle size. GGBFS particles

Table 2 & It must be granulated and have a vitreous phase of 85–95%.

5.1. Reaction mechanism

For the alkali activated materials (AAM) that containing silica

Origin Australia Canada China Finland Japan Norway Sweden USA UK

Fig. 10. SEM micrographs of GGBFS particles [87].

the AASC can be classified as a high performance concrete (HPC), as

Thomas and Peethamparan [70], which were compared with

where, E in GPa and CS in MPa.

Fig. 17. Mixing protocols for PCC and AASC [125].

5.4. Bond properties

Fig. 19. The effectiveness of different factors on the CS of AASC [115].

Fig. 22. Representative SSR curves for AASC [70].

Fig. 23. SSR for AASC [71].

Fig. 26. Relationship between the E and CS for AASC [71].

Fig. 27. Relationship between square root of CS and E [115].

Fig. 28. Comparison of TS between AAC and PCC [144–146].

by concrete splitting along the bonded length of steel bar as shown

r = the BS, MPa;

Fig. 32. The beam-end specimen [144].

Fig. 33. Failure modes of the beam-end specimens [144].

Fig. 37. Relationships between BS and the CS [71].

sb = the ultimate BS, MPa and

ETR of PCC is generally governed by the components of concrete

Fig. 36. Bond stress-slip relationships [71].

Fig. 42. Residual CS of PCC and AAF pastes [170].

retained higher percentage of residual CS than the PCC up to 650

Fig. 43. PCC and AAC specimens after exposing to ET [171].

Fig. 44. SEM images of AAC after exposure to ET [171].

result from evaporating water pressure and temperature gradient.

(a) PCC specimens

(b) AASC specimens

AASC PCC (a) PCC

Fig. 47. Surface textures of PCC and AASC at 800 °C [173].

2- Mechanical and bond properties

Fig. 50. Failure modes of AAC after exposure to ET [174].

 The review reveals that more studies and investigations related

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-

[1] Lippiatt B, Ahmad S. Measuring the life-cycle environmental and economic

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The review reveals that more studies and investigations related