• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.737-744
• /
• 2017

Geopolymer Concrete is typically proportioned with activator solution leading to moderately high material cost. Such cost can be enduring in high value added applications especially when cost savings can be recognized in terms of reduction in size of the members. Proper material selection and mix proportioning can diminish the material cost. In the present investigation, a total of 27 mixes were arrived considering the mix parameters as liquid-binder ratio, slag content and sodium hydroxide concentration to study the mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete (GPC) mixes such as compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength. The derived statistical Response Surface Methodology is beleaguered to develop cost effective GPC mixes. The estimated responses are not likely to contrast in linear mode with selected variables; a plan was selected to enable the model of any response in a quadratic manner. The results reveals that a fair correlation between the experimental and the predicted strengths.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.115-123
• /
• 2020

The performance of steel fiber reinforced geopolymer concrete beam column joints under cyclic loading was investigated. The volume fraction of fibers considered were 0.25% (19.62 kg/㎥), 0.5% (39.24 kg/㎥), 0.75% (58.86 kg/㎥) and 1% (78.48 kg/㎥). A total of fifteen specimens were prepared and tested under reverse cyclic loading. Test results were analyzed with respect to first crack load, ultimate load, energy absorption capacity, energy dissipation capacity, stiffness degradation and load deflection behavior. Test results revealed that the addition of steel fibers enhanced the performance of geopolymer concrete beam column joints significantly. The joints were analyzed using finite element software ANSYS. The analytical results were found to compare satisfactorily with the experimental values.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.607-613
• /
• 2023

The objective of this work is to determine the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete utilizing four distinct machine learning approaches. These techniques are known as gradient boosting machine (GBM), generalized linear model (GLM), extremely randomized trees (XRT), and deep learning (DL). Experimentation is performed to collect the data that is then utilized for training the models. Compressive strength is the response variable, whereas curing days, curing temperature, silica fume, and nanosilica concentration are the different input parameters that are taken into consideration. Several kinds of errors, including root mean square error (RMSE), coefficient of correlation (CC), variance account for (VAF), RMSE to observation's standard deviation ratio (RSR), and Nash-Sutcliffe effectiveness (NSE), were computed to determine the effectiveness of each algorithm. It was observed that, among all the models that were investigated, the GBM is the surrogate model that can predict the compressive strength of the geopolymer concrete with the highest degree of precision.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.345-362
• /
• 2018

In this paper, mechanical and short-term durability properties of fly ash and slag based geopolymer concretes (FAGPC-SGPC) were investigated. The alkaline solution was prepared with a mixture of sodium silicate solution ($Na_2SiO_3$) and sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) for geopolymer concretes. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete was also produced for comparison. Main objective of the study was to examine the usability of geopolymer concretes instead of the ordinary Portland cement concrete for structural use. In addition to this, this study was aimed to make a contribution to standardization process of the geopolymer concretes in the construction industry. For this purpose; SGPC, FAGPC and OPC specimens were exposed to sulfuric acid ($H_2SO_4$), magnesium sulfate ($MgSO_4$) and sea water (NaCl) solutions with concentrations of 5%, 5% and 3.5%, respectively. Visual inspection and weight change of the specimens were evaluated in terms of durability aspects. For the mechanical aspects; compression, splitting tensile and flexural strength tests were conducted before and after the chemical attacks to investigate the residual mechanical strengths of geopolymer concretes under chemical attacks. Results indicated that SGPC (100% slag) is stronger and durable than the FAGPC due to more stable and strong cross-linked alumina-silicate polymer structure. In addition, FAGPC specimens (100% fly ash) showed better durability resistance than the OPC specimens. However, FAGPC specimens (100% fly ash) demonstrated lower mechanical performance as compared to OPC specimens due to low reactivity of fly ash particles, low amount of calcium and more porous structure. Among the chemical environments, sulfuric acid ($H_2SO_4$) was most dangerous environment for all concrete types.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.35-43
• /
• 2015

The critical element for sustainable growth in the construction industry is the development of alternative cements. A new technological process called geopolymerization provides an innovative solution, and the presence of aluminum and silicon oxides in fly ash has encouraged its use as a source material. Many previous investigations have involved curing the binder in a heated environment. To reduce energy consumption during the synthesis of geopolymers, the present study investigated the properties of ambient cured geopolymer mortar at early ages. An experimental program was executed to establish a relationship between the activator composition and the properties of geopolymer mortar in fresh and hardened states. Concentrations of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate were ascertained that are advantageous for constructability and mechanical behavior. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques were also used to characterize the material. Test results indicate that there is potential for the concrete industry to use fly ash based geopolymer as an alternative to portland cement.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
• /
• 2011.11a
• /
• pp.115-116
• /
• 2011

TNowadays, the global warming is the most serious problem in the world and the cement industry is one of the factors which are responsible for it. Therefore, the development of new binders with enhanced environment and durability performance is needed. In this regard, the geopolymer technology is one of the breakthrough developments as an alternative to the portland cement. This paper shows some points of view on the development of geopolymers by reviewing previous researches including historical background, constituents of geopolymers, process of geopolymerization and several applications of geopolymer. Hence, the author proposes two research trends which are finding the best combination between the source materials and alkali liquid then, evaluating the corrosion for the metal bars.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.437-459
• /
• 2015

An experimental investigation on the behaviour of geopolymer composite concrete beams reinforced with conventional steel bars and various types of fibres namely steel, polypropylene and glass in different volume fractions under flexural loading is presented in this paper. The cross sectional dimensions and the span of the beams were same for all the beams. The first crack load, ultimate load and the loaddeflection response at various stages of loading were evaluated experimentally. The details of the finite element analysis using "ANSYS 10.0" program to predict the load-deflection behavior of geopolymer composite reinforced concrete beams on significant stages of loading are also presented. Nonlinear finite element analysis has been performed and a comparison between the results obtained from finite element analysis (FEA) and experiments were made. Analytical results obtained using ANSYS were also compared with the calculations based on theory and presented.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.27-40
• /
• 2011

Geopolymer concrete is finding a growing number of niche applications in the field of civil engineering due to its high compressive strength and strength gain rate, retainage of structural properties in elevated temperature environments, chemical stability in highly acidic conditions and environmental benefits. Combining the above mentioned characteristics with induced electrical conductivity, could enable geopolymer cement to serve as a smart and sustainable cementitious material suitable for health monitoring of civil structures. Carbon fibers were added to fresh geopolymer and OPC (ordinary Portland cement) mixes to enhance their electrical conductivities. AC-impedance spectroscopy analysis was performed on the specimens with fiber fraction ranging from 0.008 to 0.8 with respect to the weight of cementitious binder, to measure their electrical resistivity values and to determine the maximum beneficial fiber content required to attain electrical percolation. Experimental observations suggest that CFR-geopolymer cement exhibits superior performance to CFR-OPC in terms of conducting electrical current.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.29-37
• /
• 2014

Increasing emphasis on energy conservation and environmental protection has led to the investigation of the alternatives to customary building materials. Some of the significant goals behind understaking such investigations are to reduce the greenhouse gasemissions and minimize the energy required formaterial production.The usage of concrete around the world is second only to water. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is conventionally used as the primary binder to produce concrete. The cement production is a significant industrial activity in terms of its volume and contribution to greenhouse gas emission. Globally, the production of cement contributes at least 5 to 7 % of $CO_2$. Another major problem of the environment is to dispose off the fly ash, a hazardous waste material, which is produced by thermal power plant by combustion of coal in power generation processes. The geopolymer concrete aims at utilizing the maximum amount of fly ash and reduce $CO_2$ emission in atmosphere by avoiding use of cement to making concrete. This paper reports an experimental work conducted to investigate the effect of curing conditions on the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete prepared by using fly ash as base material and combination of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate as alkaline activator.

• Advances in concrete construction
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.331-339
• /
• 2022

Geopolymer concrete (GPC) is one of the best substitute materials for conventional concrete in construction. The conventional concrete provided by Portland cement has a detrimental influence on the environment during its production. In this study, the bond strength, which is an important structural property, of deformed steel bars with slag-based GPC was measured. In accordance with the ASTM C234 procedure, bond strength was measured on 18 specimens of slag-based GPC with three sizes of steel bars and different embedded lengths. Two groups of GPC specimens with different compressive strengths, which were cured under ambient conditions, were tested. The results indicated that the bar diameter has a great effect on the bond strength, and the bond strength behavior of the slag-based GPC is comparable with that of conventional concrete. The ACI-318 Code for the bond strength of ordinary Portland cement concrete can be used conservatively to determine the bond strength of the GPC reinforced with deformed steel bars.