Status and Prospects of Research and Application of Alkali-Activated Materials

Abstract

Beginning from 1957, a scientific school in Kiev (USSR) headed by Victor Glukhovsky has been developing a new direction in binding/cementitious/ materials. Taken as background was discovery of binding properties of the alkali metal compounds when they act not only as activators of hardening but are responsible for the formation of main structural elements of the alkali- activated cements – zeolite-like compounds of different types. Just these hydration products, analogues to natural zeolites of the Na2О(K2О)•Al2О3 •(2- 4)SіО2•2Н2О type, were identified in the ancient concretes (Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Egypt, Syria). Durability of the ancient concretes and similarity of their structure with that of the alkaliactivated cement concretes allowed to predict their high durability. High performance properties of the alkali- activated cement concretes are supported by over 50-year experience of service of the structures made from them.