Effect of KyAl4(Si8-y) O20(OH)4 Calcined Based-Clay on the Microstructure and Mechanical Performances of High-Performance Concrete

Abstract

The work described in this paper has been performed to determine the potential use of meta-illite (KyAl4(Si8-y) O20(OH)4) calcined clay (MCC) as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in a binary Portland cement (PC) for high-performance concrete (HPC) production. To obtain the properties of the cementitious materials, the chemical composition, mineral phases, morphology, calcination efficiency and physical properties were quantitatively analysed using the advanced techniques of X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared/attenuated total reflection (FTIR/ATR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), laser particle sizing and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) nitrogen absorption method. The MCC’s effect on the workability and mechanical properties (compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strengths) and microstructure (morphology and crystalline phases) of hardened MCC-based HPCs were determined. The XRF result shows that the oxide composition of MCC confirmed the pozzolanic material requirements with recorded high useful oxides content. At the same time, the SEM image presents particles of broad, solid masses with a wider surface area of irregular shape. The XRD results show that the MCC was majorly an illite-based clay mineral calcined at a maximum temperature of 650 °C, as revealed by the TGA. The MCC addition increases the slump flow of HPCs at 5–15% cement replacement. The MCC incorporation at 10% cement replacement best improved the porosity of HPCs at a later age resulting in increased mechanical and microstructural properties of tested samples. Therefore, it is recommended that MCC addition within 10% cement replacement be adopted for low W/B Class I HPC at no deleterious results on mechanical and microstructural properties of the concrete.

Assessment of the Durability Dynamics of High-Performance Concrete Blended with a Fibrous Rice Husk Ash

“…The results in Table 4 inform the choice of the SCM having functional oxides (SiO 2 + Al 2 O 3 + Fe 2 O 3 ) of 82.62% and conform to ASTM Standard C 618 [37]. The chemical composition of CEM II is available at [11] study. The total amount of silica, alumina, and iron oxide required for mineral admixture's amorphousness is rated to be above 70%.…”

“…Based on these values, CEM II particles are finer than RHA particle size with a surface area close to each other. The physical properties of CEM II is available at [11]. Comparing the two binder's DA BET analysis, the RHA sample has a lower pore size diameter, conforming to macro-mesoporous material [35] and the SSA conforming to Kwan and Wong [36].…”

“…The PSD plot in Figure 8 shows that the fine aggregate sample is medium sand of Shetty [48] group, whereas the coarse aggregate used for the study is uniformly graded stone. The physical characteristics of the fine and coarse aggregate are tabulated in Table 5 available in [11] study.The fine aggregate recorded fineness modulus (FM) of 2.87; coefficient of uniformity (Cu) of 2.39; coefficient of curvature (Cc) of 0.94; specific gravity (SG) of 2.65; and water absorption = 1.2% in the physical properties' tests. In the same vein, the coarse aggregate analysed for the study had a specific gravity of 2.7, water absorption of 1.05%, aggregate crushing, and impact values of 28% and 11%.…”

“…The authors agreed that HPC has more cement content than the normal strength concrete, including one or more SCMs like silica fume (SF), fly ash (FA), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), metakaolin (MK), and calcined clay (CC), rice husk ash (RHA), etc. It is achieved by lowering the water to binder ratio (W/B) between 0.2-0.38 [11] and refining the pore structure and microstructure of cement paste with SCMs. At the same time, workability is improved with a large dose of superplasticiser [12,13].…”

Properties and Performance of Concrete Materials and Structures

“…Nduka et al [7] carried out studies to determine the potential use of meta-illite calcined clay (MCC) as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in a binary Portland cement for the production of high-performance concrete (HPC). Quantitative analyses of the chemical composition, mineral phases, morphology, calcination efficiency, and physical properties were performed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-rays (SEM/EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared/attenuated total reflection (FTIR/ATR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), laser particle sizing and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller nitrogen absorption method (BET) to obtain the properties of the cementitious materials.…”