Reliability prediction of alkali-activated mortar during flexural loading using Weibull analysis

This study uses the Weibull analysis to predict the robustness of various mortars based on a fracture process analysis through a flexural test recorded by an acoustic emission sensor. Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) are an alternative to Portland cement that can decrease the amount of emitted CO₂. This study aimed to characterise and compare the properties of AAM cement mortars to those of the commonly used ordinary Portland cement (OPC) mortars using the Weibull distribution to clarify the reliability and robustness of the prepared AAM cements; four different AAM cement mortar compositions—with fly ash (F), ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (G), and microsilica (M) alkali activation (sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate (Na₂SiO₃))—were considered in this study. The fracture process under a flexural loading of AAMs was based on four combinations of F/G/M activated by the alkaline solution—AAM-IV, AAM-V, AAM-VI, and AAM-VII, with OPC as control. The Weibull analysis showed that AAMs were more robust than the OPC mortar and possessed minor fractures compared to the OPC mortar.