Effect of low-calcium fly ash on sulfate resistance of cement paste under different exposure conditions

Low-calcium fly ash (LCFA) were used to prepare cement/LCFA specimens in this study. The basic physical properties including water demand, fluidity, setting time, soundness and drying shrinkage of cement/LCFA paste were investigated. The effects of curing time, immersion time and wet-dry cycles in 3% Na₂SO₄ solution on the compressive strength and the microstructures of specimens were also discussed. The results show that LCFA increases the water demand, setting time, soundness of cement paste samples. 50% and 60% LCFA replacement ratio decrease the drying shrinkage of hardened cement paste. The compressive strength of plain cement specimens decreases at the later immersion stage in 3% Na₂SO₄ solution. The addition of LCFA can decrease this strength reduction of cement specimens. For all specimens with LCFA, the compressive strength increases with increasing immersion time. During the wet-dry cycles, the compressive strength of plain cement specimens decreases with increasing wet-dry cycles. However, the pores in the specimens with 30% and 40% LCFA at early ages could be large enough for the crystal of sodium sulfate, which leads to the compressive strength increase with the increase of wet-dry cycles in 3% Na₂SO₄ solution. The microstructures of cement/LCFA specimens are in good agreement with the compressive strength.