Development of Cementitious Materials Utilizing Alkali-activated Yellow River Silt

The possibility of preparing cementitious materials by the alkali-activated method using Yellow River sediment (The second largest river in China) as raw material and the modification effect on different slag addition were investigated. Sodium silicate and calcium hydroxide were used as the activator, and the specimens were prepared by the press molding method. The hydration process, hydration products, pore characteristics, and mechanical properties were investigated using SEM/EDS, FTIR, TG/DTG, XRD, MIP, and uniaxial compressive strength experiments, respectively. The results showed that the compressive strength of the modified yellow river silt-based cementitious material was significantly increased when the water glass dosage was 12 wt% (Ms=1.8)) and the slag dosage was 40%, and its 90-day maximum compressive strength could reach 53 MPa.