Transport-controlled durability enhancement of sustainable lightweight alkali-activated composites with calcined clinoptilolite and basalt fiber
Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy, cilt.53, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 53
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.scp.2026.102526
- Dergi Adı: Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Chemical Abstracts Core, EMBASE
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Basalt fiber, Calcined clinoptilolite, Expanded perlite, Lightweight alkali-activated composites
- Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study investigates the influence of calcined clinoptilolite (CCZ) and basalt fiber (BF) on the mechanical, thermal, and durability properties of lightweight alkali-activated expanded perlite-based composites. Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) was used as the primary precursor, while CCZ (0-15%) partially replaced GBFS and BF (0–1.2%) was incorporated to improve crack resistance. All mixtures were thermally cured at 80 °C for 8 h. The mixture containing 10% CCZ and 1.2% BF achieved the highest compressive strength of 4.70 MPa, representing an increase of approximately 175% compared with the reference mixture. Incorporation of 5-10% CCZ together with BF refined the pore structure, reducing porosity to 20.86%, water absorption by up to 36%, and sorptivity by up to 67.8%. Thermal conductivity ranged from 0.206 to 0.271 W/m·K, indicating good thermal insulation performance. After 120 days of sulfate exposure, the optimum mixture exhibited only 2.49% compressive strength loss, whereas 15% CCZ caused pronounced deterioration. Following 100 freeze-thaw cycles, the 12F5C mixture showed the lowest strength loss (8.48%). Exposure to 200 °C slightly enhanced compressive strength, while 600 °C resulted in substantial degradation. SEM–EDS and XRD analyses revealed a denser reaction matrix with improved gel continuity, supporting the observed improvements in mechanical performance and durability.