This paper presents an experimental investigation on geopolymer coatings (GPC) in terms of surface protection of civil structures. The GPC mixtures were prepared with a quadruple precursor simultaneously containing fly ash (FA), ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS), metakaolin (MK), and Portland cement (OPC). Setting time, compressive along with adhesive strength and permeability, were tested and interpreted from a perspective of potential applications. The preferred GPC with favorable setting time (not shorter than 120 min) and desirable compressive strength (not lower than 35 MPa) was selected from 85 mixture formulations. The results indicate that balancing strength and setting behavior is viable with the aid of the multi-componential precursor and the mixture design based on total molar ratios of key oxides or chemical elements. Adhesive strength of the optimized GPC mixtures was ranged from 1.5 to 3.4 MPa. The induced charge passed based on a rapid test of coated concrete specimens with the preferred GPC was 30% lower than that of the uncoated ones. Setting time of GPC was positively correlated with η[Si/(Na+Al)]. An abrupt increase of setting time occurred when the molar ratio was greater than 1.1. Compressive strength of GPC was positively affected by mass contents of ground granulated blast furnace slag, metakaolin and ordinary Portland cement, and was negatively affected by mass content of fly ash, respectively. Sustained seawater immersion impaired the strength of GPC to a negligible extent. Overall, GPC potentially serves a double purpose of satisfying the usage requirements and achieving a cleaner future.

Fly ash (FA) has been widely used in cement-based materials, but limited work has been conducted to establish the relationship between the compressive strength and hydration process of high-volume FA (HVFA)-cement-based material. In this study, the compressive strength and chemically bound water contents of FA-cement-based materials with different water-to-binder ratios (0.4, 0.5, and 0.6) and FA contents (0%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, and 70%) were tested. Replacing more cement with FA reduced the compressive strength and of HVFA-cement-based materials. The compressive strength and chemically bound water content reduced by about 60–70% when 70% cement was replaced by FA. Water-to-binder ratio showed more significant influence on the chemically bonded water at later ages than that at early ages. Based on test results, the prediction equation of chemically bound water content was established, and its accuracy was verified. The error was less than 10%. The relationship between the compressive strength and chemically bound water content was also fitted. The compressive strength and chemically bound water content showed linear relationships for different water-to-binder ratios, hence the compressive strength of HVFA-cement mortar could be predicted with the chemically bound water content and water-to-binder ratios. The results of this study could be used for the prediction of the compressive strength development of HVFA-cement mortars, and is helpful to develop the mix design method of HVFA-cement-based materials.

The early age volume deformation is the main course for the cracking of high-performance concrete (HPC). Hence, the shrinkage behavior and the restrained stress development of HPC under different restraints and curing conditions were experimentally studied in this paper. The method to separate the stress components in the total restraint stress was proposed. The total restrained stress was separated into autogenous shrinkage stress, drying shrinkage stress and thermal stress. The results showed that the developments of the free shrinkage (autogenous shrinkage and drying shrinkage) and the restrained stress were accelerated when the drying began; but the age when the drying began did not significantly influence the long-term shrinkage and restrained stress of HPC; the autogenous shrinkage stress continuously contributed to the development of the total restrained stress in HPC; the drying shrinkage stress developed very rapidly soon after the drying began; and the thermal stress was generated when the temperature dropped. The thermal stress was predominant at the early age, but the contributions of the three stresses to the total restrained stress were almost the same at the age of 56 d in this study.