Abstract

The microscopic study of a set of alkali-activated and thermally cured fly ash samples enabled the authors to establish a descriptive model for the microstructural development of fly ash-based cementitious geopolymers. The morphology of most fly ash particles (perfect spheres) not only makes microscopic research highly productive but facilitates the formulation of hypothesis explaining the fly ash activation over time through a series of consecutive steps that can be successfully fitted to real situations. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.