Influence of the Carbonate-Free Clay Calcination Temperature and Curing Conditions on the Properties of Alkali-Activated Mortar

Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) are one of the most perspective alternatives to the traditional Portland cement based materials. AAMs could reduce the environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emission due to the lower heat consumption in production (up to 80% compared to the ordinary Portland cement). In the current research alkaliactivated mortar was developed from the locally available low-carbonate Illite clay. Experimental work consisted of Illite clay calcination at different temperatures and regimes (from 500-800°C) and incorporation of the obtained material into the mixture of alkali-activated mortar. Four curing regimes were applied to alkali-activated mortar. The results indicate that hardened mortar properties are mainly affected by curing temperature and regime and the compressive strength up to 28.8MPa could be achieved for the mortar samples aged 2 months