Iranian Journal of Materials Science and Engineering

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The article discusses the effect of calcined clays on the properties of Portland cement. An optimal method for calcining clays is proposed, which makes it possible to reduce the proportion of Portland cement clinker in cement to 60% and increase the strength characteristics from 55 MPa to 79 MPa. The study of the composition and structure of clays made it possible to select the optimal heat treatment parameters, at which the calcination products are characterized by the highest pozzolanic activity. It is shown that the use of alkali-activated calcined clays significantly increases the strength and durability of hardened cement binders compared to the composition without additives. In addition, calcined clays increase the frost resistance of cement in a 5% NaCl solution. The obtained experimental data are confirmed by thermodynamic calculations and the results of scanning electron microscopy.

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In this study, the potential of calcined montmorillonite as a primary precursor for one-part alkali-activated cement incorporated with high percentage of limestone, is evaluated. Comparative studies on the properties of the sodium silicate activated metakaolin-limestone and metamontmorillonite-limestone fresh and hardened cement pastes depending on several formulation and processing parameters (precursor nature, dosages of limestone and alkali reactant, curing conditions) showed that metamontmorillonite exhibits reactivity comparable to that of metakaolin in the studied cement systems. The mechanical performance of optimal alkali-activated cement formulations consisted of 20-30% of metamontmorillonite and 70-80% of limestone is provided by both reactivity of metamontmorillomite under sodium silicate activation and the filler, nucleation, and chemical effects of the raw limestone. The reaction products and microstructures of alkali-activated metamontmorillonite-limestone cement-based hardened pastes were investigated using thermal, XRD, and SEM/EDS analyses.