Effect of sulfate activators on mechanical property of high replacement low-calcium ultrafine fly ash blended cement paste

Due to economic and environmental benefits, increasing the substitution ratio of ordinary cement by industry byproducts like fly ash (FA) is one of the best approaches to reduce the impact of the concrete industry on the environment. However, as the substitution rate of FA increases, it will have an adverse impact on the performance of cement-based materials, so the actual substitution rate of FA is limited to around 10-30%. Therefore, in order to increase the early-age strength of high replacement (30-70%) low-calcium ultrafine FA blended cement paste, sodium sulfate and calcium sulfate dihydrate were used to improve the reactivity of FA. The results show that sodium sulfate has a significant enhancement effect on the strength of the composite pastes in the early and late ages, while calcium sulfate dihydrate has only a slight effect in the late ages. The addition of sodium sulfate in the cement-FA blended system can enhance the gain rate of non-evaporation water, and can decrease the Ca(OH)2 content. In addition, when the sulfate chemical activators are added, the ettringite content increases, and the surface of the FA is dissolved and hydrated.