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4-1-Studies On Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Concrete
4-1-Studies On Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Concrete
B. Vijaya Rangan, Djwantoro Hardjito, Steenie E. Wallah, and Dody M.J. Sumajouw
Faculty of Engineering and Computing, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box U 1987, Perth 6845, Australia
Abstract:
This paper presents test data on fly ash-based geopolymer concrete. The paper covers the material and the mixture
proportions, the manufacturing process, the fresh and hardened state characteristics, the influence of various parameters
on the fresh and hardened state concrete, the utilisation of the material in structural members, and the long-term
behaviour.
Cet article prsente les rsultats des essais sur le bton gopolymre base de cendres volantes, raliss Curtin
University, Perth, Australie. Il couvre le matriau en soit, les proportions des mlange, le processus de fabrication, les
caractristiques du bton frais et durci, l'influence de divers paramtres sur le bton frais et durci, l'utilisation du
matriau dans les pices de structure, et son comportement long terme.
Introduction
Concrete is the most commonly used construction
material; its usage by the communities across the globe is
second only to water. Customarily, concrete is produced
by using the Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) as the
binder. The usage of OPC is on the increase to meet
infrastructure developments. The world-wide demand for
OPC would increase further in the future. It is well-known
that cement production depletes significant amount of
natural resources and releases large volumes of carbon-dioxide. Cement production is also highly energy-intensive,
after steel and aluminium. On the other hand, coalburning power generation plants produce huge quantities
of fly ash. The volume of fly ash would increase as the
demand for power increases. Most of the fly ash is
considered as waste and dumped in landfills.
In order to address the issues mentioned above, it is
essential that other forms of binders must be developed to
make concrete. The geopolymer technology developed by
Davidovits in the 1980s offers an attractive solution (1, 2).
In 2001, the authors embraced Davidovits original
concept of geopolymers to make fly ash-based
geopolymer concrete. This paper presents a summary of
the results of this on-going research.
134
Curing
Added Water
Sodium
Hydroxide
solution
Superplasticiser
Fly Ash
Sodium Silicate
solution
Aggregates
Mixture No.
[ kg / m3 ]
1
1848
408
103
1848
408
103
1848
408
103
1848
408
103
1848
408
103
1848
408
103
1848
408
103
1848
408
103
1756
476
120
10
1756
476
120
11
1848
408
103
12
1848
408
103
13
1848
408
103
14
1848
408
103
41
(8M)
41
(10M)
41
(12M)
41
(14M)
41
(16M)
41
(14M)
41
(14M)
41
(14M)
48
(8M)
48
(14M)
41
(14M)
41
(8M)
55.4
(8M)
55.4
(8M)
7.5
14.4
20.7
26.5
10.6
21.3
60oC
Oven
60oC
Oven
60oC
Oven
60oC
Oven
60oC
Oven
Varied
Oven
Varied
Oven
Varied
Oven
60oC
Oven
60oC
Oven
90oC
Oven
90oC
Oven
60oC
Oven
60oC
Steam
With regard to hardened concrete, the molar ratio of H2Oto-Na2O significantly influences the compressive strength
of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete. An increase in this
ratio decreases the compressive strength (Figure 3). The
test results plotted in Figure 3 are recast in Figure 4 in
terms of geopolymer solids-to-water ratio by mass versus
compressive strength. For a given geopolymer concrete,
the total mass of water in the mixture is taken as the sum
of the mass of water in the sodium silicate solution, the
mass of water in the sodium hydroxide solution, and the
mass of extra water, if any, added to the mixture. The mass
of geopolymer solids is the sum of the mass of fly ash, the
mass of sodium hydroxide flakes, and the mass of sodium
silicate solids (i.e. the mass of Na2O and SiO2 in sodium
silicate solution). Again, this relation is similar to the
relationship between the water-to-cement ratio and the
compressive strength of Portland cement concrete.
Other important factors that influence the properties of
hardened fly ash-based geopolymer concrete are the curing
temperature and the curing time. Higher the curing
temperature higher is the compressive strength (Figure 5).
On the influence of curing time, fly ash-based geopolymer
concrete cured for longer periods of time, shows an
increase in its compressive strength, at least up to 48 hours
(Figure 6).
Mixture
No.
11
12
13
14
fcm
(MPa)
89
68
55
44
Ec
(GPa)
30.84
27.29
26.05
22.95
0.16
0.12
0.14
0.13
Long-term properties
On the long-term properties, our laboratory experiments
have shown that the fly ash-based geopolymer concrete
undergoes low creep and very little drying shrinkage.
136
Material
Coarse
aggregates
20mm
14mm
7mm
Fine sand
Fly ash
(low-calcium ASTM Class F)
Sodium silicate solution
( SiO 2/Na2O=2)
Sodium hydroxide solution
(8 Molar)
Super Plasticiser
Mass, kg/m 3
277
370
647
554
408
103
41
6
Concluding remarks
The paper presented a summary of the extensive studies
carried out by the authors on the fly ash-based
geopolymer concrete. Low-calcium fly ash is used as the
source material, instead of the Portland cement, to make
concrete.
Fly ash-based geopolymer concrete has excellent
compressive strength and is suitable for structural
applications. The salient factors that influence the
properties of the fresh concrete and the hardened concrete
have been identified. The elastic properties of hardened
concrete and the behaviour and strength of reinforced
structural members are similar to those of Portland cement
concrete. Therefore, the design provisions contained in
the current standards and codes can be used to design
reinforced fly ash-based geopolymer concrete structural
members.
The fly ash-based geopolymer concrete also shows
excellent resistance to sulfate attack, undergoes low creep,
and suffers very little drying shrinkage. The paper has
identified several economic benefits of using fly ashbased geopolymer concrete.
References
1. Davidovits J. Chemistry of Geopolymeric Systems,
Terminology. In: Joseph Davidovits, Davidovits R, James
C, editors. Geopolymer '99 International Conference;
1999 June 30 to July 2, 1999; France; 1999. p. 9-40.
2. Davidovits J. Properties of Geopolymer Cements. In:
First International Conference on Alkaline Cements and
Concretes; 1994; Kiev, Ukraine, 1994: SRIBM, Kiev
State Technical University; 1994. p. 131-149.
3. Xu H, van Deventer JSJ. The Geopolymerisation of
Alumino-Silicate Minerals. International Journal of
Mineral Processing 2000;59(3):247-266.
4. van Jaarsveld JGS, van Deventer JSJ, Lukey GC. The
Effect of Composition and Temperature on the Properties
of Fly Ash and Kaolinite-based Geopolymers. Chemical
Engineering Journal 2002;89(1-3):63-73.
137
138