Prediction models for compressive strength of concrete with Alkali-activated binders

Alkali-activated binder (AAB) is increasingly being considered as an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to portland cement (PC). The present study evaluates 30 different AAB mixtures containing fly ash and/or slag activated by sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate by correlating their properties from micro to specimen level using regression. A model is developed to predict compressive strength of AAB as a function of volume fractions of microstructural phases (physicochemical properties) and ultrasonic pulse velocity (elastic properties and density). The predicted models are ranked and then compared with the experimental data. The correlations were found to be quite reasonable (R2 = 0.89) for all the mixtures tested and can be used to estimate the compressive strengths for similarAAB mixtures.