EFFECT OF CURING TEMPERATURE IN THE ALKALI-ACTIVATED BLAST-FURNACE SLAG PASTE AND THEIR STRUCTURAL INFLUENCE OF POROSITY

Due to the environmental problem posed by the use of Portland cement as construction material, it becomes necessary the search for supplementary cementitious materials that mitigate the ecological damage caused by it. Because the chemical similarity and the high cementitious powers of the blast furnace slag, it is used in the generation of geopolymers in a cement total replacement. This research focused on the study of the influence of the curing conditions on the final properties of blast furnace slag establishing three variables: no cured process (N-C), cured of controlled temperature of 45 degrees C (CT45-C) and room temperature cure (RT-C); evaluating the mechanical behavior until 28 days of age and the water porosity index. The results show that geopolymers based on blast furnace slag has a behavior similar to hydration maturity of Portland cement and curing process decreases the porosity; On the other hand, applying a controlled temperature generates densest resistant pastes such as the variable CT45-C which reach the highest value of resistance in all curing ages.