Abstract
Investigating the microstructure of hardened cement mixtures with the aid of advanced technology will help the concrete industry to develop appropriate binders for durable building materials. In this paper, morphological, mineralogical and thermogravimetric analyses of autoclave-cured mixtures incorporating ground dune sand and ground granulated blast furnace slag as partial cementing materials were investigated. The microstructure analyses of hydrated products were conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermo-graphic analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The SEM and EDX results demonstrated the formation of thin plate-like calcium silicate hydrate plates and a compacted microstructure. The DTA and TGA analyses revealed that the calcium hydroxide generated from the hydration binder materials was consumed during the secondary pozzolanic reaction. Residual crystalline silica was observed from the XRD analysis of all of the blended mixtures, indicating the presence of excess silica. A good correlation was observed between the compressive strength of the blended mixtures and the CaO/SiO2 ratio of the binder materials.