Microstructural behavior of aerated concrete containing high volume of GGBFS

Abstract

Aerated concrete is a lightweight engineering material, which is produced by introducing air bubbles into normal concrete. Their properties depend on their internal structures, and also vary tremendously with age, curing, and also not forgetting the ratio of constituent materials. This paper reports the compressive strength and microstructural changes in two types of aerated concrete mix, exposed to various curing conditions. The two types of mix is one with 100 percent opc (mctr), while the other one with 65 percent slag replacement (m65). The specimens were cured in air, seawater, and natural weather for the period of six months. The compressive strength was tested at 14, 28, 90, and 180 days, while micrograph of the internal structure were taken at the age of 14, and 180 days. The micrograph was taken using scanning electron microscope (sem). The results show that mix mctr exhibits much less strength compared with m65, for all curing conditions. However in both mixes, the specimen exposed to seawater shows the lowest strength. Scanning electron micrograph of both mixes also presents various structure formations in relation with curing condition, age, and also the effect of slag. The outcome of this study may establish a better understanding on the relationship between microstructure and compressive strength of aerated concrete containing high volume of ggbfs.