International Journal of Research in Civil Engineering, Architecture & Design

Volume 1, Issue 2, October-December, 2013, pp. 54-60

© IASTER 2013, www.iaster.com, ISSN (O) 2347-2855

Chemical Formulation of Geopolymer Concrete with M-Sand

M.I. Abdul Aleem1*, P.D. Arumairaj2, S. Vairam3
1
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,
Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India.
2
Associate Professor in Civil Engineering, Govt. College of Technology, Coimbatore, India.
3
Associate Professor in Chemistry, Govt. College of Technology, Coimbatore -641013, India.

ABSTRACT

Geopolymer concrete is an innovative construction material produced without using any amount of
ordinary Portland cement. Fly Ash, a by- product of coal obtained from the thermal power plant
rich in silica and alumina plays the role of cement in the concrete by the reaction with alkali
(Sodium Hydroxide NaOH) and Sodium Silicate (Na2SiO3) producing alumino silicate gel that
acted as the binding material. Similarly the normal sand is fully replaced by Manufacturing Sand
(M Sand), having high content of Silica which activated the production of inorganic molecules,
producing good bonding among the materials in the Geopolymer Concrete. This paper describes
the chemical reaction involved in the formation of new compound in geopolymer concrete and its
formulation. The compound formation has been corroborated by physical methods, powder XRD,
SEM & EDX Spectrum analysis.

Keywords: Geopolymer Concrete, Fly Ash, Chemical Reaction, Alumino Silicate Gel, Albite.

1. INTRODUCTION

The name geopolymer has been developed by Davidovits in 1978 to represent a broad range of
materials characterized by networks of inorganic molecules [1, 3 &9]. The geopolymers depend on
thermally activated natural materials like meta kaolinite or industrial byproducts like fly ash or
slag to provide a source of silicon (Si) and aluminum (Al). Silicon and Aluminium dissolve in an
alkaline activating solution and subsequently polymerize into molecular chains to become a good
binder. It has been reported that the polymerization process involves a substantially fast chemical
reaction under alkaline conditions on silicon-aluminum minerals that results in a three-dimensional
polymeric chain and ring structure as reported by Rangan et al.[2, 4, 6 &7]. The ultimate structure
of the geopolymer depends largely on the
ratio of Si to Al with the materials having
an Si: Al between 2 and 3.5, most often
considered for use in transportation and
infrastructure projects.

Davidovits has distinguished three types

of polysialates present in Geopolymers,
namely polysialates (-Si-O-Al-O),
polysiloxo sialates (-Si-O-Al-O-Si-O)
and poly-disiloxo sialates (-Si-O-Al-O-
Si-O), as depicted in Figure -1.

Fig 1- Chemical Structures of Polysialates

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International Journal of Research in Civil Engineering, Architecture & Design ISSN
Volume 1, Issue 2, October-December, 2013, www.iaster.com 2347-2855 (O)

The reaction of Fly Ash with an aqueous solution containing sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate
in their stoichiometric ratio, resulting in a material with three dimensional polymeric chain and
ring structure consisting of Si-O-Al-O bonds, has been reported by Davidovits. The schematic
formation of geopolymer material is generally described by equations (1) and (2).

A significant different feature in geopolymer concrete formation is that water is expelled during
curing and subsequent drying which is contrast to the case of Portland cement concrete where the
water is absorbed owing to the hydration of calcium silicate calcium oxide. This difference has a
major impact on the mechanical and chemical properties of the resulting geopolymer concrete, and
resistance to heat, water ingress, alkali–aggregate reactivity and other types of chemical attack as
indicated by Kunal Kupwade et al, Brett Tempest et al and Bondar et al.[8, 10 & 13]. The source
material is mixed with an activating solution that provides the alkalinity (sodium hydroxide or
potassium hydroxide are often used) needed to liberate the Si and Al and possibly with an
additional source of silica (sodium silicate is most commonly used). The temperature during
curing is very important, and depending upon the source materials and activating solution, heat
often must be applied to facilitate polymerization. In this paper the formation and characterization
of compounds formed during geopolymerisation are discussed.

2. EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

The Geopolymer concrete was prepared using Fly Ash, Manufacturing Sand, Coarse aggregates,
Sodium Hydroxide and Sodium Silicate.

2.1 Fly Ash

Fly ash is a by-product of electricity generating plant using coal as fuel. It is an extremely fine ash
formed from the inorganic components of the coal that remains after combustion of the
carbonaceous part of the coal. Fly ash consist particles of silica, alumina, oxides of iron, calcium,
magnesium and toxic heavy metals like lead, arsenic, cobalt, and copper. Fly ash can be divided
into two categories according to the calcium
content. The ash containing less than 10% CaO
(from bituminous coal) is called low-calcium fly
ash (Class F) and the ash typically containing
15% to 30% of CaO (from lignite coal) is called
high-calcium fly ash (Class C). The Fly Ash of
class F which has rich in Silica and Aluminium
was obtained from Thermal Power Station,
Mettur, Tamil Nadu, India, whose nature of
appearance was observed using SEM Analysis
and the image is presented in Figure-2.
Fig 2. - SEM Image of Fly Ash

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The constituents of fly ash

were found using EDX
Spectrum analysis and
presented in Table- 1. XRD
was carried out for the Fly
ash and the 2 Theta values
and the highest peaks are
presented in Figure-3.

Fig 3- PXRD pattern of Fly Ash

Table 1- Constituents of Fly Ash

Element Weight%
C 8.34
O 50.95
Mg 0.37
Al 13.98
Si 21.54
K 0.81
Ca 0.51
Ti 1.26
Fe 2.24

2.2 Manufacturing Sand

M-Sand is nothing but crushing of hard
stone aggregates to the size of natural
sand. The finest particles are removed by
washing with water. The M- Sand used
in this study was collected from M/s
Techno Max, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu,
India. The M-sand was analyzed using
SEM, XRD and EDX. The SEM image
and Diffractogram are shown in Figure-
4 & 5 respectively. The constituents of
M-Sand calculated from the EDX
spectrum are tabulated in Table-2.
Fig 4- Image of M- Sand

Fig 5- PXRD pattern of M- Sand

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International Journal of Research in Civil Engineering, Architecture & Design ISSN
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Table 2- Constituents of Manufacturing Sand

Element Weight%
C 1.74
O 48.09
Na 2.69
Mg 2.45
Al 8.13
Si 18.45
K 2.84
Ca 3.68
Ti 1.86
Fe 10.06
2.3 Coarse Aggregates

Coarse aggregates are obtained by pulverising of hard rock stones. Commercial grade of 20 mm
size coarse aggregates were collected from M/S Techno Max, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, South
India and were used as such.

2.4 Sodium Hydroxide Solution

Analytical grade Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) was procured from Sigma Aldrich, Bangalore. A
solution of molarity 10 was prepared in distilled water and used.

2.5 Sodium Silicate Solution

Sodium Silicate (Na2SiO3) solution of grade A53containing 29.4% SiO2, 14.7 % Na2O and 55.9 %
of water was procured from Sigma Aldrich, Bangalore and used as such.
2.6 Mix Design

An optimum mix of Flyash, Fine Aggregate& Coarse Aggregate in the ratio of 1:1.5:3.3 as found
by Aleem et al.[15&16] is added with a solution of appropriate composition of NaOH & Na2SiO3
combined together as recommended by Davidovits. The exact quantities of materials for 1m3 are
presented in Table -3.
Table 3 – Quantity of Materials for 1m3 of Geopolymer Concrete
3
S.No. MATERIALS Kg/ m
1 Fly ash (Class F) 408.00
2 Fine sand 612.00
3 Coarse aggregate (20mm in size) 1346.40
4 Sodium silicate solution 103.00
5 Sodium hydroxide solution(10 Molar) 41.00

2.7 Preparation of Geopolymer Concrete

The fly ash, fine aggregates and coarse aggregates were mixed manually in a container in the
laboratory and then the alkaline solution was added to prepare the geopolymer concrete. The
geopolymer concrete was placed in 100 mm cube moulds in three layers and each layer was
compacted by giving 25 blows with a 16mm tamping rod. The geopolymer concrete was dark in
colour with shiny appearance and a workable mix. About 24 cubes were cast and tested for the
compressive strength at 7, 14, 21 & 28 days.

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2.8 Curing

After casting the specimens, they were kept in rest period in room temperature for 2 days. The
geopolymer concrete was de moulded and then placed in an autoclave for steam curing for 24
hours at a temperature of 60 degree Centigrade [5, 11, 12 &14].The cubes were then allowed to
cool in room temperature for 24 hours.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The end product called the geopolymer
concrete was analysed using SEM and
EDX. The SEM image is shown in Figure
-6 and the constituents are tabulated in
Table- 4. Inspection of SEM images of Fly
Ash, M-Sand and geopolymer concrete
clearly shows the polymer matrix
formation on the reaction of the above
three along with alkaline solution. The
spherical particles of silicates in Fly Ash
were found to be completely changed to
irregular clusters. In addition, the
appearance of M-Sand in its SEM image was also changed due to polymerisation reaction. The
geopolymer concrete was tested for compressive strength at 7, 14, 21 & 28 days and the results are
presented in Fugure-7.
Table 4- Constituents of Geopolymer Concrete
Element Weight%
O 52.87
Na 8.38
Mg 0.95
Al 9.61
Si 22.65
K 0.59
Ca 0.63
Fe 4.32

Fig 7- Compressive Strength of Geopolymer Concrete

In order to compare the chemical composition of the produced geopolymer concrete, powder XRD
analysis was carried out. The pattern is shown in Figure- 8. Highest peaks for 2 theta values are
noticed at 27, 58 and 60 degrees and out of which 27 degree was the maximum.

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On comparison with the JCPDS of compounds with the elements present in the raw materials, it was
found that the polymeric compound formed in geopolymer concrete resembles plagioclase feldspar,
Albite having formula (NaAlSi3O8)5 (Pentamer) with impurities Ca2+, Fe2+, which is isomorphous
with anorthite, Ca(Al2Si2O8)[17,18,19&20]. The standard JCPDS graph for the Sodium Aluminium
Silicate Na(AlSi3O8) is presented in Figure-9. Highest peaks for 2 theta values are noticed at 27 and
19 degrees and out of which 27 degrees was the maximum. Further the new compound formed has a
comparable hardness of 5 in Mohs scale, confirming the formation of Albite.

Fig 8- PXRD Pattern of Geopolymer Concrete

Fig 9- JCPDS for Sodium Aluminium Silicat

4. CONCLUSIONS

The difference of the SEM picture of Geoplymer Concrete compared with the Fly Ash and M-
Sand clearly indicated that a chemical reaction was carried out and a new compound was formed.
The original carbon content of 8.34% and 1.74 % present in the Fly Ash and M- Sand respectively
was not at all available in the geopolymer concrete. It is also confirmed that a new compound
namely Albite has been formed. The absence of carbon in the geopolymer concrete may be due to
dissolution of CO2 during the polymerization.

The reaction of chemical constituents of Fly Ash and M- sand with mixture of sodium silicate and
sodium hydroxide form Sodium Aluminium Silicate with formulation (NaAlSi3O8)5, which is
mainly responsible for the bonding strength of geopolymer concrete.

The new compound formed is found to belong with polymer containing poly sialate. It is also
proved that the geopolymer concrete has a very high compressive strength, its hardness and ease of
factory curing it may be a suitable substitute for conventional concrete in the precast industries.

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