Xulong Zhu

This study presents the performance of quarry rock dust (QRD) incorporated fly ash (FA) and slag (SG) based geopolymer concretes (QFS-GPC) exposed to ambient and elevated temperatures. A total of five QFS-GPC mix types were prepared. The quantity of FA (50%) was kept constant in all the mixes, and SG was replaced by 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of QRD. The fresh, hardened properties of the QFS-GPC mixes, viz., workability, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strengths, and XRD for identification of reaction phases were evaluated. The prepared mixes were also heated up to 800 °C to evaluate the residual compressive strength and weight loss. The workability of the QFS-GPC mixes was observed to be reduced by increasing the dosage (0 to 20%) of QRD. Superplasticizer (SP) was used to maintain the medium standard of workability. The compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths were increased by replacing SG with QRD up to 15%, whereas a further higher dosage (20%) of QRD reduced the mechanical strengths of the QFS-GPC mixes. The strength of the QFS-GPC specimens, heated to elevated temperatures up to 800 °C, was reduced persistently with the increased contents of QRD from 0 to 20%. It was concluded from the study that QFS-GPC can be used to achieve 30 MPa strength of concrete.

Geopolymer concrete (GPC), also known as an earth friendly concrete, has been under continuous study due to its environmental benefits and potential as a sustainable alternative to conventional concrete construction. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive studies focusing on the influence of all the design mix variables on the fresh and strength properties of GPC. GPC is still a relatively new material in terms of field application and has yet to secure international acceptance as a construction material. Therefore, it is important that comprehensive studies be carried out to collect more reliable information to expand this relatively new material technology to field and site applications. This research work aims to provide a comprehensive study on the factors affecting the fresh and hardened properties of ambient cured fly ash and slag based geopolymer concrete (FS-GPC). Industrial by-products, fly ash from thermal power plants, and ground granulated blast furnace slag from steel industries were utilized to produce ambient cured FS-GPC. A series of experiments were conducted to study the effect of various parameters, i.e., slag content (10%, 20%, 30%, and 50%), amount of alkaline activator solution (AAS) (35% and 40%), sodium silicate (SS) to sodium hydroxide (SH) ratio (SS/SH = 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0), sodium hydroxide concentration (10 M, 12 M, and 14 M) and addition of extra water on fresh and mechanical properties of FS-GPC. The workability of the fresh FS-GPC mixes was measured by the slump cone test. The mechanical properties of the mixes were evaluated by compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexure strength, and static modulus tests. The results revealed that workability of FS-GPC is greatly reduced by increasing slag content, molarity of NaOH solution, and SS/SH ratio. The compressive strength was improved with an increase in the molarity of NaOH solution and slag content and a decrease in AAS content from 40% to 35%. However, the influence of SS/SH ratio on mechanical properties of FS-GPC has a varying effect. The addition of extra water to enhance the workability of GPC matrix caused a decrease in the compressive strength. The validity of the equations suggested by previous studies to estimate the tensile and flexural strength and elastic modulus of FS-GPC mixes were also evaluated. Based on the test results of this study, empirical equations are proposed to predict the splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, and elastic modulus of ambient cured FS-GPC. The optimal mixtures of FS-GPC in terms of workability and mechanical properties were also proposed for the field applications.