Issue 8, 2014

Flow properties of MK-based geopolymer pastes. A comparative study with standard Portland cement pastes

Abstract

Geopolymers are presented in many studies as alternatives to ordinary Portland cement. Previous studies have focused on their chemical and mechanical properties, their microstructures and their potential applications, but very few have focussed on their rheological behaviour. Our work highlights the fundamental differences in the flow properties, which exist between geopolymers made from metakaolin and Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). We show that colloidal interactions between metakaolin particles are negligible and that hydrodynamic effects control the rheological behaviour. Metakaolin-based geopolymers can then be described as Newtonian fluids with the viscosity controlled mainly by the high viscosity of the suspending alkaline silicate solution and not by the contribution of direct contacts between metakaolin grains. This fundamental difference between geopolymers and OPC implies that developments made in cement technology to improve rheological behaviour such as plasticizers will not be efficient for geopolymers and that new research directions need to be explored.

Graphical abstract: Flow properties of MK-based geopolymer pastes. A comparative study with standard Portland cement pastes

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Jul 2013
Accepted
11 Nov 2013
First published
11 Nov 2013

Soft Matter, 2014,10, 1134-1141

Flow properties of MK-based geopolymer pastes. A comparative study with standard Portland cement pastes

A. Favier, J. Hot, G. Habert, N. Roussel and J. d'Espinose de Lacaillerie, Soft Matter, 2014, 10, 1134 DOI: 10.1039/C3SM51889B

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