A method for predicting the alkali concentrations in pore solution of hydrated slag cement paste

The alkalinity of the pore liquid in hardened cement paste or concrete is important for the long-term evaluation of alkali-silica reaction (ASR) expansion and corrosion prevention of steel bar in steel reinforced structures among others. It influences the reactivity of supplementary cementitious materials as well. This paper focuses on the alkali binding in hydrated slag cement paste and a method for predicting the alkali concentrations in the pore solution is developed. The hydration of slag cement is simulated with a computer-based model CEMHYD3D. The amount of alkalis released by the cement hydration, quantities of hydration products, and volume of the pore solution are calculated from the model outputs. A large set of experimental results reported in different literatures are used to derive the alkali-binding capacities of the hydration products and practical models are proposed based on the computation results. It was found that the hydrotalcite-like phase is a major binder of alkalis in hydrated slag cement paste, and the C–S–H has weaker alkali-binding capacity than the C–S–H in hydrated Portland cement paste. The method for predicting the alkali concentrations in the pore solution of hydrated slag cement paste is used to investigate the effects of different factors on the alkalinity of pore solution in hydrated slag cement paste.