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Prediction of capillary transport of alkali activated slag cementitious binders under unsaturated conditions by elliptical pore shape modeling

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Abstract

By modelling pore cross-sections as ellipses, this paper advances a recent model for predicted unsaturated water flow within concrete (Collins and Sanjayan, J Porous Mater doi:10.1007/s10934-008-9245-4, 2008). Predicted and measured unsaturated flow within concretes composed of two different cementitious binders, namely alkali activated slag (AAS) and ordinary Portland cement (OPC), are contrasted. AAS has environmental benefit due to significantly less energy required (than OPC) during manufacture, however predictive modelling of unsaturated flow of water within AAS concrete has had no prior investigation. Factors that significantly affect unsaturated flow within concrete, including age of sample and the type of sample conditioning (curing) prior to testing, are analysed. The prediction model, incorporating elliptical cross-sectional pore shape, shows reasonable agreement with sorptivity test data for AAS, however the circular cross-section better predicts unsaturated flow within OPC concrete. Although, the actual pore cross-sections are neither truly circular nor elliptical, adoption of an equivalent ellipse for AAS significantly reduces the margin between the predicted and measured water uptake.

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Acknowledgements

The financial support for this project is jointly provided by Independent Cement and Lime Pty Ltd, Blue Circle Southern Cement Ltd and Australian Steel Mill Services. The authors thank the sponsors especially Alan Dow, Tom Wauer, Katherine Turner, Paul Ratcliff, John Ashby, and Dr. Ihor Hinczak for the guidance and support. The enthusiastic participation of final year students Soon Keat Lim and Eric Tan in this project is very much appreciated. The efforts and assistance with the laboratory work provided by Jeff Doddrell, Roger Doulis, and Peter Dunbar are also gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Frank Collins & Jay Sanjayan

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  1. Frank Collins
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  2. Jay Sanjayan
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Correspondence to Frank Collins.

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Collins, F., Sanjayan, J. Prediction of capillary transport of alkali activated slag cementitious binders under unsaturated conditions by elliptical pore shape modeling. J Porous Mater 17, 435–442 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-009-9305-4

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