Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123387

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Experimental investigation of mix design for high-strength

alkali-activated slag concrete
Nilvan T. Araújo Júnior, Victor M.E. Lima, Sara M. Torres, Priscilla E.A. Basto, Antônio A. Melo Neto ⇑
Laboratory of Binder Technology (LabTag), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Pernambuco, Av. da Arquitetura, 50740-550 Pernambuco, Brazil

h i g h l i g h t s

An experimental mix design method was employed for high-strength alkali-activated slag concrete (HSAASC).

The mechanical properties of HSAASC were investigated for analyzing the mix design method accuracy.

A model is proposed to predict the mix proportion from the specified compressive strength.

Results are compared with standardized correlations for Portland cement concrete (PCC).

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Alkali-activated slag concrete is attracting increasing attention because of its potential as an alternative
Received 19 October 2020 to Portland cement concrete, and it has been studied in several countries. The development of high-
Received in revised form 1 March 2021 strength alkali-activated Portland-cement-free concrete, made with ground granulated blast furnace slag
Accepted 13 April 2021
and sodium silicate solution as the binder, is proposed. The Institute for Technological Research/
Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (IPT/EPUSP) mix design method, which has never been
used before for production of this type of concrete, is employed. Tests of compressive strength and
Keywords:
dynamic modulus of elasticity were carried out at 1, 3, 7, and 28 days. In addition, static modulus of elas-
Alkali-activated slag
High-strength concrete
ticity and splitting tensile strength tests were performed at 28 days. The results showed that high-
IPT/EPUSP mix design method strength alkali-activated slag concrete (HSAASC) developed high initial and final compressive strengths.
Mechanical properties The compressive strengths of the concretes ranged from 41 to 58 MPa and from 86 to 105 MPa at 1 and
28 days, respectively. The IPT/EPUSP mix design method proved to be a suitable methodology that can be
followed for the efficient production of HSAASC.
Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction mineral additions or industrial byproducts with ground clinker

Portland-cement-based products, mainly concrete, are the most
widely used building materials in the world [1,2]. With the greater
emphasis on sustainable development in recent decades, the
adverse environmental effects of Portland cement production have
drawn attention. It has been shown that the cement industry con-
tributes approximately 7% of total world CO2 emissions [3].
Because of the international concern about how to reduce CO2
emissions, interest in the development of new materials capable
of reducing the environmental impact of this industry is growing
in order to make it more sustainable.
One of the widely accepted alternatives to reduce environmen-
tal problems related to Portland cement production is to include
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: antonio.meloneto@ufpe.br (A.A. Melo Neto).
during production. A more innovative approach is the design of
an alternative binder to the clinker based on blast furnace slag
alkaline activation, which has proved to be a viable option to meet
performance requirements in specific applications [4,5]. The most
common alkaline activator solutions use sodium hydroxide in their
composition, such as NaOH + water and sodium silicate
(NaOH + amorphous SiO2 + water). Despite NaOH production
releases a significant amount of CO2, research shows that the use
of alkali-activated binders instead of Portland cement can mitigate
the environmental impact on the atmosphere [6–8]. McLellan et al.
[6] concluded that, in Australia, alkali activated mixtures contain-
ing blast furnace slag can produce 44–64% fewer greenhouse gases
than ordinary Portland cement. Yang et al. [7] developed a method-
ology for estimating carbon dioxide emissions and found that the
CO2 emission reduction rate of alkali-activated slag concrete
(AASC) relative to Portland cement concrete (PCC) generally ranges

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123387
0950-0618/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
N.T. Araújo Júnior, V. M.E. Lima, S.M. Torres et al.
from 55% to 75%. Therefore, studies have been conducted to use
alkali-activated blast furnace slag as a binder without the use of
clinker [9–21]. Cunningham and Miller [8] concluded that alkali-
activated binders exhibited better greenhouse gas emissions
indexes than ordinary Portland cement.
Currently, most available studies show that alkali-activated slag
(AAS) mortars and concretes, when compared with Portland
cement, perform better in many respects — for example, rapid
development of initial strength, high final strength, better resis-
tance to aggressive environments (such as chlorides, sulfate, and
acid solutions), better heat resistance, and significant resistance
to freeze–thaw cycles [12,15,22–24]. However, AAS formulations
have some disadvantages when compared with Portland cement
formulations, such as a quick setting time and higher drying and
autogenous shrinkage [9,10,25,26]. In summary, in the literature,
most AASC studies have been conducted to examine the mechani-
cal and durability properties, but only a few have analyzed how to
define the mix proportions of AASC for an established compressive
strength [13,22,27,28].
To achieve high-strength AASC, the most effective activator is
sodium silicate solution (with adequate silica modulus and Na2O
content) [25,29,30]. The blast furnace slag concrete activated with
sodium silicate is characterized by a predominance of C-S-H and by
the volume of pores in the mesopores size range [5,26,29]. Thus, an
attempt to use this type of binder to obtain a high-strength con-
crete is justified. Pu et al. [29,30] achieved compressive strengths
of up to 68 MPa at one day, 96 MPa at three days, and 117 MPa
at 28 days with slag concrete activated with sodium silicate solu-
tion. Al-Otaibi [12], Mithun and Narasimhan [15], Bilek et al. [11]
and Li et al. [13] obtained concrete mixtures with an ultimate
strength at 28 days of approximately 80 MPa in some AASC mix-
tures also using this activator. Accordingly, the results presented
in the literature indicate that few studies achieved compressive
strengths of more than 80 MPa at 28 days for AASC made with con-
ventional mixing methods.
Despite the abundance of research on AASC performance, few
studies have addressed the experimental mix design method and
engineering properties of high-strength alkali-activated slag con-
crete (HSAASC) with compressive strength higher than 80 MPa at
28 days. For this reason, the this study aimed to formulate con-
cretes by the Institute for Technological Research/Polytechnic
School of the University of São Paulo (IPT/EPUSP) mix design
method [31], achieving strengths higher than obtained in the stud-
ies previously mentioned. Furthermore, an attempt was made to
provide a more complete understanding of the mechanical proper-
ties of HSAASC for design and field application purposes. Specifi-
cally, in this study, the compressive strength, splitting tensile
strength, static modulus of elasticity, ultrasonic pulse velocity,
and dynamic modulus of elasticity of HSAASC were evaluated.
Moreover, another contribution of this article is to propose rela-
tionships with which engineers can estimate the compressive
strength of HSAASC from the definition of parameters for its mix
design.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) was supplied by
Cimento Mizu S/A. Its chemical composition is shown in Table 1.
Based on this composition, the basicity coefficient Kb =
(CaO + MgO)/(SiO2 + Al2O3) [32] and the hydration modulus HM
= (CaO + MgO + Al2O3)/SiO2 [33] are 1.01 and 1.55, respectively.
The specific gravity and Blaine’s fineness are 2.89 and 457.2 m2/
kg, respectively. The particle size distribution, determined by the
2
Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123387
Table 1
Chemical composition of blast furnace slag.
Chemical compositions Weight percent
Calcium oxide, CaO 42.33
Silicon dioxide, SiO2 38.46
Aluminum oxide, Al2O3 10.50
Ferric oxide, Fe2O3 0.40
Magnesium oxide, MgO 6.96
Potassium oxide, K2O 0.10
Sodium oxide, Na2O 0.10
Loss on ignition (LOI) 1.12
Mastersizer 2000 laser granulometer, is shown in Fig. 1, where
D10 = 2.22 lm, D50 = 11.87 lm, and D90 = 14.99 lm.
Sodium silicate solution was used as the alkaline activator. Its
specific gravity was 1.57, and its chemical composition was
16.5% Na2O, 28.5% SiO2, and 55% H2O, by weight. Thus, the silica
modulus (the mole ratio of SiO2 to Na2O) was 1.78.
The coarse aggregate used was crushed rock granite, with a
maximum size of 12.5 mm, specific gravity of 2.69, and fineness
modulus of 6.13. Fine sand was used as fine aggregate with a max-
imum size of 2.4 mm, specific gravity of 2.65, and fineness modu-
lus of 1.89. The particle size distribution curves of the aggregates
are shown in Fig. 2.
2.2. Mix design
This experimental program was designed to produce HSAASC
with a compressive strength higher than 80 MPa at 28 days. For
the production of this concrete, the IPT/EPUSP mix design method
[31] was used, from the procedure shown in Fig. 3.
The mixes wereprepared by weight.The values assigned to m were
2.5 (rich mix, R), 3.5 (medium mix, M), and 4.5 (poor mix, P), because
these values provide high contents of total binder material, which are
important for high compressive strengths.
A low water/dry material ratio (H) was determined experimen-
tally to ensure low water to binder ratios (w/b), which are essential
for the production of high-strength concretes. This ratio was set at
8% based on the rich mix, which had the highest binder content.
The value defined for H was considered the minimum necessary
to guarantee good workability conditions for the HSAASC, as
shown in Fig. 4. The liquid part of the sodium silicate solution
was admitted as mixing water, and the total mass of the binder
material was equal to the mass of the slag plus the mass of the
sodium silicate solution solid part. The sodium silicate solution
used had a silica modulus of 1.78 and Na2O content of 4.5% by bin-
der mass. Similar specifications were the ones that generated the
highest values of mechanical properties (compressive strength
Volume fraction (%) Cumulative volume (%)
10 100
9 Slag 90
Cumulative volume (%)
8 80
Volume fraction (%)
7 70
6 60
5 50
4 40
3 30
2 20
1 10
0 0
0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0
Fig. 1. Particle size distribution of blast furnace slag.
N.T. Araújo Júnior, V. M.E. Lima, S.M. Torres et al. Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123387

Sand Crushed rock granite 2.3. Specimen preparation

100
90 The HSAASC mixing procedure was set to be performed over a
Passed percentage (%)

80 short time (see Fig. 5) because, as previously mentioned, the slag

70 concrete activated by sodium silicate solution sets quickly [9,25].
60 Initially, the dry materials (coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, and
50 slag) were added to a mechanical mixer; then, it was turned on,
40 and all water was added gradually over 1 min. Thereafter, the
30 sodium silicate solution (SSS) was added to the mixture gradually
20 for 30 s and was mixed for a further 1 min, totaling 2.5 min of mix-
10 ing time. After the production of the concrete, it was cast in
0
100  200 mm steel cylindrical molds into two layers of the same
0.01 0.10 1.00 10.00 100.00
Sieve size(mm) height. Each layer was consolidated with the aid of a mechanical
vibrator, as described in BS EN 12390-2 [34]. After casting, the con-
Fig. 2. Particle size distribution of fine and coarse aggregates. crete specimens were sealed with plastic film to prevent water loss
to the environment and were kept in the laboratory at room tem-
perature (25 °C ± 5 °C) for 22 h. Then, the specimens were removed
and flexural strength) in mortars made by Melo Neto et al. [26]. from the molds, and their surfaces were prepared by the grinding
Given these considerations, the w/b ratios were calculated using method. Immediately after the surfaces were prepared, the speci-
Eq. (1). mens were cured in water until immediately before testing. The
The ideal mortar content (a) was obtained experimentally age of the concrete hydration was counted from the moment the
through attempts and practical observations, as proposed by sodium silicate solution was brought into contact with the slag.
Helene and Terzian [28]. The a obtained in the study was 52%.
The mass ratio binder:fine aggregate:coarse aggregate (1:f:c) was
calculated using Eqs. (2) and (3), and the binder content was deter- 2.4. Test methods
mined from Eq. (4).
In fresh concrete, the slump test was performed according to
w=b ¼ Hð1 þ mÞ ð1Þ NBR NM 67 [35]. The fresh density and entrapped air were deter-
mined by the gravimetric test method according to NBR 9833
[36]. Fresh properties were measured immediately after mixing
f ¼ að1 þ mÞ  1 ð2Þ
under ambient conditions, and the material used in these tests
was discarded.
c ¼mf ð3Þ In the hardened concrete, an ultrasonic pulse velocity test was
performed according to NBR 8802 [37] to determine the dynamic
1000 modulus of elasticity of the concrete. The equipment used for
Cb ¼
0:1215
 ð0:1215Þ  ð0:55Þ
ð4Þ velocity measurement was Proceq Pundit Lab, which was set with
f w=b 
0:8785
SGslag
þ 0:45
SGsss
þ SGf
þ SGc c þ SGw
0:45
a transmission frequency of 54 kHz. The test was performed on sat-
urated concrete specimens in a climatized room (24 °C ± 2 °C) with
where:w/b = water to binder ratio (kg/kg);H = water to dry materi- the transducers positioned on opposite surfaces of the specimen,
als ratio (kg/kg);m = proportion of total dry aggregates to binder configuring the direct transmission arrangement. The compressive
(kg/kg);f = proportion of fine aggregate to binder (kg/kg);c = propor- strength, splitting tensile strength, and static modulus of elasticity
tion of coarse aggregate to binder (kg/kg);Cb = binder content (kg/ of the hardened concrete specimens were tested in a universal
m3); andSGslag, SGsss, SGf, SGc, and SGw = specific gravity (q/qH2O) of testing machine with a capacity of 3000 kN. The compressive
the slag, sodium silicate solution, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, strength was determined according to BS EN 12390-3 specifica-
and water, respectively. tions [38] using a loading rate of 0.6 MPa/s. The splitting tensile
Finally, the contents of fine aggregate and coarse aggregate strength was analyzed according to the method described by
were obtained by multiplying the total binder content by the mass NBR 7222 [39] using a rate of 0.05 MPa/s. The static modulus of
ratio of these materials (f and c, respectively), resulting in the val- elasticity test was performed following NBR 8522 [40]. To measure
ues shown in Table 2. the strains, electronic extensometers were fixed on the surface of

Fig. 3. Flow chart for the experimental mix design of HSAASC.

3
N.T. Araújo Júnior, V. M.E. Lima, S.M. Torres et al. Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123387

Fig. 4. Workability of HSAASC rich mix with H = 6.0% (a), H = 7.0% (b), and H = 8.0% (c).

Table 2 The static modulus of elasticity was calculated using Eq. (7)
Mix proportions of HSAASC. [40].
Material (kg/m3) HSAASC R HSAASC M HSAASC P
rb  0:5 3
Ec ¼ 10 ð7Þ
Total binder 648.8 501.0 408.0 eb  ea
- Slag 569.9 440.1 358.5
- Sodium silicate solution - solid 78.8 60.9 49.6 where:Ec = static modulus of elasticity (GPa);rb = stress correspond-
part
Fine aggregate (f) 532.0 671.3 759.0
ing to 30% of ultimate compressive strength (MPa);0.5 = basic stress
Coarse aggregate (c) 1089.9 1082.1 1077.2 (MPa);eb = longitudinal strain produced by stress rb; andea = longi-
Total water 181.6 180.4 179.5 tudinal strain produced by basic stress.
- Water 85.3 106.0 118.9
- Sodium silicate solution - 96.3 74.4 60.6
liquid part 3. Results and discussion
w/b 0.28 0.36 0.44
m 2.5 3.5 4.5 3.1. Properties of fresh concrete
Mass ratio (1:f:c) 1:0.82:1.68 1:1.34:2.16 1:1.86:2.64

the specimen. Six specimens of each age were tested for the ultra-
sonic pulse velocity and compressive strength at 1, 3, 7, and
28 days. Three specimens were tested for the static modulus of
elasticity and splitting tensile strength at 28 days.
The dynamic modulus of elasticity was calculated using Eq. (5)
[41].
ð1 þ lÞð1  2lÞ
Ed ¼ q V 2
ð1  lÞ
where:Ed = dynamic modulus of elasticity (MPa);q = density of con-
crete (kg/m3);V = ultrasonic pulse velocity (km/s); andl = dynamic
Poisson ratio.
It is accepted that l = 0.13, based on the results of Thomas and
Peethamparan [16].
The splitting tensile strength was calculated using Eq. (6) [39].
2F
f ct;sp ¼
pdl
where:fct,sp = splitting tensile strength (MPa);F = maximum force
obtained in the test (N);d = diameter of cylindrical specimen
(mm); andl = length of cylindrical specimen.
The slump values for HSAASC, listed in Table 3, show that all
mixes produced had good workability for low w/b ratios because
the lowest slump obtained was 150 mm for HSAASC R, which
had a w/b ratio of 0.28. It is unlikely that PCC mixes can achieve
these slumps without the need for a superplasticizer [17,19]. How-
ever, the mixes exhibited quick slump loss, with the initial setting
starting approximately 15 min after the mixing process finished, as
shown in Fig. 5.
It was also observed that the entrapped air content decreased
ð5Þ for HSAASC R, HSAASC M, and HSAASC P. Consequently, the density
of the rich mix resulted in a lower value than the densities of the
medium and poor mixes, respectively.
3.2. Compressive strength
Fig. 6 presents the measured average compressive strengths
(fcm) and the sample standard deviation (s) corresponding to each
mix and age of HSAASC. The development of the compressive
strength of HSAASC in all specimens occurred quickly, reaching
ð6Þ
values higher than 41 MPa at one day. Regarding the compressive
strengths obtained at 28 days, all specimens had an average value
higher than 86 MPa.
The high value found for the compressive strength at one day,
uncommon in other studies for AASCs cured with the conventional

Aggregates
End of mix Inial seng
Slag

Slump Density and Casng concrete

entrapped air in molds
Mix Mix Mix
Adding water Adding SSS

0’ 1’ 1’30” 2’30” 17’30”

Fig. 5. Mixing protocol for HSAASC.

4
N.T. Araújo Júnior, V. M.E. Lima, S.M. Torres et al. Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123387

Table 3 Table 4
Properties of fresh concrete mixes. Equations for compressive strength of concrete from the w/b ratio and their R2.

Properties HSAASC R HSAASC M HSAASC P Age of concrete (days) Abrams Quadratic equation
w/b
Slump (mm) 150 230 230 1 fc,1 = 107.15/8.32 fc,1 = 199.90 (w/b)2 + 38.96
Entrapped air (%) 2.96 1.46 0.89 R2 = 0.96 w/b + 63.20
Fresh density (kg/m3) 2374.59 2398.46 2400.06 R2 = 0.98
3 fc,3 = 107.94/3.14w/b fc,3 = 314.45 (w/b)2 + 145.37
R2 = 0.84 w/b + 61.49
R2 = 0.87
1 day 3 days 7 days 28 days 7 fc,7 = 113.99/2.43w/b fc,7 = 743.20 (w/b)2 + 462.72
120 R2 = 0.70 w/b + 15.87
R2 = 0.87
110 28 fc,28 = 214.26/7.44w/b fc,28 = 268.23 (w/b)2 + 75.19
R2 = 0.37 w/b + 105.07
100
R2 = 0.93
90
Compressive strength (MPa)

80
70
60
40
30
20
10
0 3.3. Splitting tensile strength
HSAASC P HSAASC M
Fig. 6. Compressive strength at 1, 3, 7 and 28 days of hydration for HSAASC.
procedure, comes from the low water/dry-materials ratio (H) of 8%,
low w/b ratios (0.28, 0.36, and 0.44), appropriate proportion of
Na2O content, appropriate MS, and high binder content in the con-
crete mix proportions. Douglas et al. [42] obtained compressive
strength results at one day of 38.9 MPa for AASC cured with the
conventional procedure because, after casting, all the molded spec-
imens were covered with water-saturated burlap and left in the
casting room at 23 °C ± 1.7 °C for 24 h. The activator used by the
authors was a sodium silicate solution with MS = 1.47 and Na2O
content of 3.41% by slag mass. The prepared concrete had a slag
content of 324 kg/m3 and a w/b ratio of 0.35. Comparing the stud-
ies, it appears that it is understandable that, in the present study,
the compressive strength at one day achieved values from 41.64
to 58.44 MPa. This is because a sodium silicate solution with a
higher silica modulus (MS = 1.78) and a higher Na2O content
(4.5%) was used and because the slag content was higher for the
concretes made in this research.
In the IPT/EPUSP method [31], the Abrams equation in Eq. (8) is
used to relate the compressive strength of concrete to the w/b ratio.
In this research, a regression analysis of the second-degree polyno-
mial equation, given in Eq. (9), was also performed to verify which
of these equations generated a coefficient of determination (R2)
closer to 1. Table 4 shows the resulting equations and values
because it always generates values of R2 closer to 1. Thus, the
IPT/EPUSP diagram for HSAASC, in this research, was produced
through the second-degree polynomial equation, as shown in
Fig. 7. The proposed equations can be used to estimate the com-
pressive strength of HSAASC activated with sodium silicate solu-
tion (MS = 1.78) for the range of the w/b ratio between 0.28 and
0.44. In this diagram, the w/b ratio is inversely proportional to
the compressive strength of HSAASC.
HSAASC R
The results of splitting tensile strength (fct,sp) at 28 days and the
percentage ratio between fct,sp/fc,28 are shown in Table 5. The
HSAASC R and HSAASC M specimens exhibited similar values,
while the HSAASC P specimen exhibited slightly higher values.
Moreover, the first two concretes mentioned had a greater varia-
tion than the last concrete. This may be because of the higher effect
of microcracking in HSAASC R and HSAASC M owing to the high
content of AAS paste [14]. Analyzing the relationship between
the splitting tensile strength and compressive strength at 28 days
(fct,sp/fc,28) reveals that it is 4.28%, 4.57%, and 5.60% for the rich,
medium, and poor mixes, respectively. Thus, the higher the com-
pressive strength value, the lower the value of the ratio fct,sp/fc,28.
This trend was also verified by Mithun and Narasimhan [15]. They
reported that the fct,sp/fc,28 ratio of AASC ranged from 6.5% to 7% for
mixes with compressive strengths of 55.8–83.2 MPa.
The splitting tensile strength of concrete can be predicted based
on its compressive strength. The standardized correlations of ACI
318-14 [43] and fib Model Code 2010 [44] are routinely used to
predict the splitting tensile strength of PCC from the compressive
strength using Eqs. (10) and (11), respectively. Therefore, the
resulting curves of these expressions are plotted in Fig. 8, along
with the curve derived from Eq. (12), proposed by Lee and Lee
[45] for alkali-activated fly-ash/slag concrete, to determine
whether there is some connection between the experimental
results and the predicted values. Eqs. (10) – (12) are given by:
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 0

obtained for R2. f ct ¼ 0:56 f cm ðMPaÞ; forf c  17:2MPað2500psiÞ ð10Þ

K1  
f c;i ¼ ð8Þ f
K2w=b f ct ¼ 2:12 ln 1 þ cm ðMPaÞ; for50MPa < fc  120MPa ð11Þ
10

f c;i ¼ aðw=bÞ þ bðw=bÞ þ c

2
ð9Þ qffiffiffiffi
0
f ct ¼ 0:45 f c ðMPaÞ ð12Þ
where:fc,i = compressive strength of concrete i days old (MPa);w/
b = water to binder ratio (kg/kg); andK1, K2, a, b, and c = coefficients where fct is the splitting tensile strength (MPa), fcm is the average
obtained from the regression analysis of concrete specimen results. compressive strength (MPa), and f’c is the specified compressive
Based on the values presented in Table 4 for the coefficients of strength (MPa).
determination, it was concluded that the second-degree polyno- As Fig. 8 shows, most of the measured splitting tensile strengths
mial equation is the one that best fits the experimental results are lower than those predicted by the two standards. Furthermore,
5
N.T. Araújo Júnior, V. M.E. Lima, S.M. Torres et al. Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123387

120

110

Compressive strength (MPa)

100

90
28
80
7
70
3
60

Cement content (kg/m³) 40 1

700 600 400 300
0.20 0.30 0.40
1.0
30
0.20 0.30 0.40
w/b
2.0

= 1.0 + 12.5 × ; = 1.0

3.0

4.0
m

1000
= ; = 0.9999
0.491 + 0.441 ×

6.0

7.0

Fig. 7. HSAASC mix design diagram.

Table 5 7
Splitting tensile strength and static modulus of elasticity of concrete at 28 days.
Experimental results
Mixes Ec ± s (GPa) fct,sp ± s (MPa) fct,sp/fc,28 (%)
ACI 318-14 [43]
HSAASC R 33.80 ± 0.79 4.50 ± 0.40 4.28 fib Model Code 2010 [44]
Spling tensile strength (MPa)

HSAASC M 33.90 ± 0.62 4.45 ± 0.87 4.57 6 Lee and Lee [45]
HSAASC P 33.90 ± 0.36 4.83 ± 0.12 5.60

the equation proposed by Lee and Lee [45] is the one that best fits
the experimental results because most points plotted in the image
present higher values than those estimated by this equation. How-
ever, further research on the tensile strength of HSAASC is neces-
sary to propose a general relationship between compressive 4
strength and splitting tensile strength, because only a small num-
ber of specimens were used in the present study.

3
3.4. Static modulus of elasticity 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
Compressive strength (MPa)
Table 5 shows the average values of the static modulus of elas-
ticity (Ec) and the sample standard deviation (s) of different Fig. 8. Comparison between experimental and predicted splitting tensile strength
HSAASC mixes at 28 days. The results of the different concrete of HSAASC at 28 days.

specimens have nearly constant values, approximately 33.9 GPa,

for compressive strengths ranging from 86 to 105 MPa. Similar
behavior was reported by Thomas and Peethamparan [16]. They with compressive strength in the range of 20 MPa  fc  60 MPa.
emphasized that the modulus of elasticity of activated GGBFS con- The similar results obtained for the modulus of elasticity could
crete averages approximately 30 GPa and does not appear to vary be a result of the significant microcracking that has been
6
N.T. Araújo Júnior, V. M.E. Lima, S.M. Torres et al. Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123387

3.5. Ultrasonic pulse velocity and dynamic modulus of elasticity

Experimental results
ACI 318-14 [43] The results obtained for the ultrasonic pulse velocity test (V),
48 fib Model Code 2010 [44] the density of saturated specimens (qsat), and the dynamic modu-
Stac modulus of elascity (GPa)

Lee and Lee [45] lus of elasticity (Ec,d) are shown in Table 6. The average values are
44 presented with their respective sample standard deviations (s). The
40 results obtained for the ultrasonic pulse velocity at 7 and 28 days
presented values higher than 4500 m/s. According to the Interna-
36 tional Atomic Energy Agency [46], the quality of concrete with V
higher than 4500 m/s is rated excellent, as shown in Table 7.
32
When the dynamic modulus of elasticity (Ec,d) is related to the
28 static modulus of elasticity (Ec) of the HSAASC R, HSAASC M, and
HSAASC P specimens at 28 days, Ec,d is 41.2%, 43.2%, and 43.3%
24 higher than Ec, respectively. Thus, the results obtained for Ec,d were,
on average, 42.6% higher than those of Ec.
20
The results shown in Table 6 are presented graphically in Fig. 10
16 to illustrate the development of the ultrasonic pulse velocity and
60 70 80 90 100 110 120 the dynamic modulus of elasticity over time. As expected, V and
Compressive strength (MPa) Ec,d increase with age. This observation corroborates the results
presented by Al-Otaibi [47] and Farhan et al. [48], who performed
Fig. 9. Comparison between experimental and predicted static modulus of elastic-
tests with slag concrete activated with sodium silicate. However,
ity of HSAASC at 28 days.
the HSAASC R specimens with w/b ratio of 0.28 from seven days
had lower values for V and Ec,d than other specimens with a higher
demonstrated in this type of concrete [14], which may be increas- w/b ratio. Generally, the lower the w/b ratio in pastes or concretes,
ingly critical as the compressive strength increases. the greater the values of V and, consequently, of Ec,d [49,50]. This
Fig. 9 shows the measured modulus of elasticity of AASC. This atypical performance may have occurred because of the higher
figure also shows the standardized correlations for the modulus porosity of the HSAASC R specimens compared with the others
of elasticity of PCC, defined by ACI 318–14 [43] and fib Model Code [51] because the HSAASC R specimens had an entrapped air con-
2010 [44], presented in Eqs. (13) and (14), respectively. In addition, tent approximately twice as high as that of the HSAASC M speci-
it presents the resulting curve of Eq. (15) proposed by Lee and Lee mens and three times greater than that of the HSAASC P
[45] for alkali-activated fly-ash/slag concrete. specimens, as seen in Table 3. Another possibility is that these
results are caused by the more critical shrinkage cracks formed
qffiffiffiffi in the HSAASC R matrix because of its higher AAS content [14].
0 0
Ec ¼ 4:7 f c ðGPaÞ; forf c  17:2MPað2500psiÞ ð13Þ Fig. 11 shows a graph relating the average values of ultrasonic
pulse velocity (V) and compressive strength (fcm), and Table 8
 1=3 shows the equations relating these properties. The limits for these
f cm equations refer to the range of compressive strength that was
Ec ¼ 21:5 ðGPaÞ; for12MPa  fc  120MPa ð14Þ
10 obtained for each mixture. Satisfactory correlations are obtained
when each concrete mix design is evaluated individually because
qffiffiffiffi determination coefficients (R2) higher than 0.90 were obtained
3 0
Ec ¼ 5:3 f c ðGPaÞ ð15Þ for the established equations. In addition, the compressive strength
of concrete tends to have a higher percentage growth than the
Fig. 9 shows that the modulus of elasticity of HSAASC predicted
ultrasonic pulse velocity because there is a 1- to 28-days percent-
using the standardized correlations of ACI 318-14 [43] and fib
age increase of 44.4%–51.7% and 4.5%–7.8% in fcm and V, respec-
Model Code 2010 [44] were higher than measured values in this
tively, considering the results at 28 days as 100%. Therefore,
study, while the modulus of elasticity of concrete calculated by
when the compressive strength and dynamic modulus of elasticity
the equation proposed by Lee and Lee [45] was lower than the
of each concrete mix design are compared individually, as shown
experimental results. Therefore, new correlations between the
in Fig. 11 and Table 8, satisfactory determination coefficients are
modulus of elasticity and the compressive strength should be
also observed for the established equations because Ec,d varies
established so that the experimental results of HSAASC can be pre-
according to V2.
dicted accurately.

Table 6
Development of ultrasonic pulse velocity, density, and dynamic modulus of elasticity over time.

Mixes Age of concrete (days) Velocity ± s (m/s) qsat ± s (kg/m3) Ec,d ± s (GPa)
HSAASC R (w/b = 0.28) 1 4365.9 ± 43.4 2371.2 ± 17.7 43.45 ± 1.01
3 4503.8 ± 33.4 2372.9 ± 17.6 46.27 ± 0.89
7 4516.4 ± 40.4 2373.2 ± 17.7 46.53 ± 0.78
28 4569.7 ± 71.5 2377.9 ± 17.6 47.73 ± 1.38
HSAASC M (w/b = 0.36) 1 4367.1 ± 25.0 2373.8 ± 30.4 43.51 ± 0.53
3 4488.0 ± 65.6 2376.0 ± 30.6 46.00 ± 1.14
7 4586.4 ± 71.9 2377.4 ± 30.6 48.07 ± 1.26
28 4607.5 ± 55.3 2380.0 ± 30.7 48.56 ± 0.87
HSAASC P (w/b = 0.44) 1 4237.8 ± 52.8 2390.3 ± 23.1 41.26 ± 1.02
3 4404.2 ± 58.2 2391.6 ± 23.1 44.59 ± 1.12
7 4529.0 ± 59.0 2392.6 ± 22.9 47.18 ± 1.21
28 4594.3 ± 42.6 2395.2 ± 23.3 48.59 ± 0.84

7
N.T. Araújo Júnior, V. M.E. Lima, S.M. Torres et al. Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123387

Table 7
Classification of the quality of concrete based on ultrasonic pulse velocity [46].

Longitudinal pulse velocity (km/s) Quality of concrete

>4.5 Excellent
3.5–4.5 Good
3.0–3.5 Medium
2.0–3.0 Poor
<2.0 Very poor

Table 8
Equations for ultrasonic pulse velocity and dynamic modulus of elasticity from the compressive strength and their R2.

Mixes Ultrasonic pulse velocity (m/s) Dynamic modulus of elasticity (GPa)

HSAASC R V = 4.27 fcm + 4138.97; Ec,d = 0.09 fcm + 38.64;
(w/b = 0.28) R2 = 0.91 R2 = 0.92
HSAASC M V = 5.49 fcm + 4089.77; Ec,d = 0.12 fcm + 37.68;
(w/b = 0.36) R2 = 0.98 R2 = 0.98
HSAASC P V = 8.19 fcm + 3892.63; Ec,d = 0.17 fcm + 34.15;
(w/b = 0.44) R2 = 0.99 R2 = 0.99

w/b = 0.28 w/b = 0.36 w/b = 0.44 w/b = 0.28 w/b = 0.36 w/b = 0.44
49
Dynamic modulus of elascity (GPa)

4600 48
Ultrasonic pulse velocity (m/s)

47
46

4400 44
43
4300 42
41
4200 40
0 10 20 30 0 10 20 30
Age of concrete (days) Age of concrete (days)
(a) (b)

Fig. 10. Development over time of (a) the ultrasonic pulse velocity and (b) the dynamic modulus of elasticity of the HSAASC.

w/b =0.28 w/b = 0.36 w/b = 0.44 w/b = 0.28 w/b = 0.36 w/b = 0.44
4700
Dynamic modulus of elascity (GPa)
Ultrasonic pulse velocity (m/s)

4600

48

4400 46

4300 44

4200 42

4100 40

4000 38

Compressive strength (MPa) Compressive strength (MPa)

(a) (b)

Fig. 11. Relationship between the compressive strength and a) ultrasonic pulse velocity and b) dynamic modulus of elasticity.

8
N.T. Araújo Júnior, V. M.E. Lima, S.M. Torres et al.
4. Conclusions
The results were presented of an experimental study conducted
to evaluate the compressive strength, splitting tensile strength,
static modulus of elasticity, ultrasonic pulse velocity, and dynamic
modulus of elasticity for HSAASC produced by the IPT/EPUSP mix
design method. The following conclusions were drawn from the
results of this study.
(1) The IPT/EPUSP mix design method proved to be a suitable
methodology that can be followed for the efficient produc-
tion of HSAASC.
(2) The quadratic equation was the equation that best corre-
lated the results obtained for the compressive strength and
w/b ratio because it always provides determination coeffi-
cients (R2) closer to 1.
(3) The standardized correlations of ACI 318-14 [43] and fib
Model Code 2010 [44] should not be used to predict the
splitting tensile strength of HSAASC from the compressive
strength because the splitting tensile strengths of HSAASC
were lower than the predictions made by the two standards.
(4) The static modulus of elasticity remained relatively constant
for HSAASC over the entire range of compressive strengths
represented in this study. Probably, the micro-cracking state
characteristic of AASC may be responsible for this behavior.
(5) The results obtained for the dynamic modulus of elasticity
were, on average, 42.6% higher than those for the static mod-
ulus of elasticity.
(6) The ultrasonic pulse velocity and dynamic modulus of elas-
ticity vary linearly with compressive strength for HSAASC.
The equations proposed in this study fit reasonably well
with the experimental results because determination coeffi-
cients (R2) higher than 0.90 were obtained.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Nilvan T. Araújo Júnior: Methodology, Investigation, Writing -
original draft, Writing - review & editing, Formal analysis. Victor
M.E. Lima: Investigation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review
& editing, Formal analysis. Sara M. Torres: Investigation, Writing -
review & editing. Priscilla E.A. Basto: Investigation, Writing - orig-
inal draft, Writing - review & editing. Antônio A. Melo Neto:
Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - review & editing,
Supervision, Project administration.
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.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the Laboratory of Binder
Technology (LabTag) of the Federal University of Pernambuco
(UFPE) for supporting the experiments, the Brazilian Research Sup-
porting Agency (CAPES) for the scholarship awarded, the Tecomat
for providing infrastructure to perform part of the work reported
here, and the Pernambuco Química, Mizu Cimentos, and Novakem
for providing materials. This study was financed in part by the
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior -
Brasil (CAPES) -Finance Code 001.
9
Construction and Building Materials 291 (2021) 123387
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