Design of alkali‐activated reactive powder concrete incorporating reactive <scp>MgO</scp>

Abstract In this paper, the optimal mix combination of alkali‐activated reactive powder concrete (AARPC) incorporating reactive MgO (R‐MgO) under ambient curing conditions has been developed. The influence of R‐MgO, alkaline activator to binder (Al/Bi) ratio, binder to aggregate (Bi/Agg) ratio, and silicate modulus (SiO 2 /Na 2 O) on the properties of AARPC, including workability, flexural strength, and compressive strength, were investigated. A total of 18 trial experiments were designed based on Taguchi‐based weighted Grey relational analysis and executed, along with one confirmation experiment. It was found that the addition of R‐MgO improved the compressive strength by 15%, indicating a positive influence of R‐MgO on the compressive strength of AARPC. While the silicate modulus was the most significant factor influencing the properties of AARPC, R‐MgO emerged as the next most influential factor, followed by the Al/Bi ratio and Bi/Agg ratio. The optimum mix combination comprised 4% R‐MgO (% of binder), an Al/Bi ratio of 0.35, a Bi/Agg ratio of 0.90, and a silicate modulus of 1.5, which provided the highest compressive strength of 136.2 MPa with adequate workability.