A PROJECT REPORT

on
STUDYING MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CEMENT FREE CONCRETE
Submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in
CIVIL Engineering
of
A.P. IIIT R.K. VALLEY, RGUKT
by
K.V.S.D KAUSHIK
ID NO: R141898
Under The Esteemed Guidance
of
Mr. K. MAHESH M.Tech
Assistant Professor
in
Department of Civil Engineering

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE
TECHNOLOGIES RK VALLEY, A.P. IIIT, ANDHRA PRADESH,
PINCODE:-516330.

i
 RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES
RK Valley, A.P.IIIT, Andhra Pradesh

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the mini project work entitled “STUDYING
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CEMENT FREE CONCRETE”
Is a bonafide project work submitted by
K.V.S.D KAUSHIK
ID NO: R141898

In the department of CIVIL ENGINEERING in partial fulfilment of requirements for

the award of “DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IN CIVIL
ENGINEERING” for the year of 2018 - 2019.
This work has been carried out under my guidance and has not been submitted
the same for any other University/Institution for award of any Degree (or)
Diploma.

PROJECT GUIDE HEAD OF THE DEPT. CIVIL Mr.

Mr. K. Mahesh Mr. D. Ramesh
Assistant Professor of Civil Dept Assistant Professor of Civil Dept

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We express our deep sense of gratitude and respect to our guide Mr.
K. MAHESH, assistant professor of Civil Engineering and the Head of the
Department Mr. D. RAMESH, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering for
their valuable suggestions and constant encouragement and evaluation
throughout the period of the mini project work. We would like to express
our gratitude and reverence to our college RGUKT and all the facult
members of Civil Department. And finally we would like to thank our
parents and our friends for their constant support, energy, enthusiasm
and inspiration for us to keep our morale high.

iii
 ABSTRACT
This project reveals the design and prototype of replacement of the
cement by using the alkali activated fly-ash. This work aims to decrease
the emission of global warming gases into the environment. Considering
the increasing demand for developing alternative construction materials,
due to the growing environmental concerns, this paper discusses the
feasibility of alkali activated geo-polymer concrete, as a future construction
material. The main objective of this study involves observation of structural
behaviours of the fresh fly ash-based geo-polymer concrete, understanding
the basic mixture proportioning of fly ash-based geo-polymer concrete
and evaluating various economic considerations.

KEYWORDS:-
Alkali activated Fly-ash based Geo-Polymer, construction
material for green building, Geo-Polymer concrete, Eco-Friendly
construction material, low calcium based Geo-Polymer concrete.

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 CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 01
2. LITERATURE REVIEW 02 - 03
3. MATERIALS 04 - 05
3.1 FLY ASH
3.2 ALKALINE LIQUIDS
3.3 SUPER PLASTICISERS
4. MIX DESIGN 06 - 09
4.1 DESIGN STEPS
5. PROCEDURE 10 - 12
5.1 PREPARATION OF SOLUTION
5.2 MIXING
5.3 PLACING
5.4 CURING
6. TEST RESULTS 13
7. CHEMICAL REACTIONS 14 - 15
7.1 POLYMERAZATION PROCESS
8. CONCLUSION 16
REFERENCES 17

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 1. INTRODUCTION

Concrete usage around the world is second only to water and

Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is conventionally used as the primary
binder to produce concrete. The environmental issues associated with the
production of OPC are too many.

The cement industry is held responsible for some of the CO 2 emissions.

The amount of the carbon dioxide released during the manufacturing of
OPC due to the calcination of imestone and combustion of fossil fuel is in the
order of one ton for every ton of OPC produced. In addition, the extent of
energy required to produce OPC is only next to steel and aluminium. The
demand for Portland cement is increasing day by day and hence, efforts are
being made in the construction industry to address this by utilising
supplementary materials and developing alternative binders in concrete; the
application of geo-polymer technology is one such alternative. The abundant
availability of fly ash worldwide creates opportunity to utilise this by-
product of burning coal, as a substitute for OPC to manufacture concrete.
When used as a partial replacement of OPC, in the presence of water and in
ambient temperature, fly ash reacts with the calcium hydroxide during the
hydration process of OPC to form the calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gel.
Hence, in this report an effort is made to identify and study the effect of
salient parameters that affects the properties of low-calcium fly ash-based
geo-polymer concrete and the properties of concrete at varied concentrations
of alkali solutions and how the change in temperature affects the strength
characteristics.

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 2. Literature Review

1. B. VijayaRangan, DjwantoroHardjito, Steenie E Wallah, Dody M.J.

Sumajouw, and B.V. Rangan (1992) describes the effects of several factors on the
properties of fly ash based Geo polymer concrete, especially the compressive
strength.The test variables included were the age of concrete, curing time, curing
temperature, quantity geo-polymer of super-plasticizer, the rest period prior to curing,
and the water content of the mix. They concluded that compressive strength of
concrete does not vary with age, and curing the concrete specimens at higher
temperature and longer curing period will result in higher compressive strength. They
also concluded Naphthalene-based super-plasticizer improves the workability of fresh
geo-polymer concrete.

2. Christina K. Yip, Grant C. Lukey, John L. Provis, Jannie S. van

Deventer(2008) in this paper at high alkalinity, calcium plays a lesser role in
affecting the nature of the final binder, as it forms precipitates rather than hydrated
gels. Thus, the different calcium silicate sources will not have a major impact on
the mechanical properties of these matrices. The effects of different calcium
silicates on geo-polymerisation are therefore seen to depend most significantly on
two factors: the crystallinity of the calcium silicate source and the alkalinity of the
activating solution used.

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 3. XiaoluGuo ,Huisheng Shi , Warren A. Dick(2009) they studied the
compressive strength and micro structural characteristics of a class C fly ash
geopolymer (CFAG) were studied. Utilization of this fly ash in geo-polymer materials
is a resource and energy saving process and it also indirectly reduces the emission of
green house gas CO2 released from cement manufacturing. This is beneficial for
resource conservation and environmental protection.

4. Smith Songpiriyakij,TeinsakKubprasit,ChaiJaturapitakkul, Prinya

Chindaprasirt(2010) they used GGBS and bark ash as a source to partially replace
fly ash in making geopolymer. They concluded that the optimum SiO2 /Al2O3 ratio to
obtain the highest compressive strength.

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 3. MATERIALS
3.1 Fly ash:-
There are two main constituents of geo-polymers, namely the source
materials and the alkaline liquids. The source materials for geo-polymers
based on alumina-silicate should be rich in silicon (Si) and aluminium (Al).
These could be natural minerals such as kaolinite, clays, etc. Alternatively, by-
product materials such as fly ash, silica fume, slag, rice-husk ash, red mud,
etc. could be used as source materials.The choice of the source materials
for making geo-polymers depends on factors such as availability, cost, type of
application, and specific demand of the end users.

The chemical composition is mainly composed of the oxides of silicon

(SiO2), aluminium (Al2O3), iron (Fe2O3), and calcium (CaO), whereas
magnesium, potassium, sodium, titanium, and sulphur are also present in a
lesser amount.

The characteristics of fly ash that generally consideredare loss on

ignition (LOI), fineness and uniformity. LOI is a measurement of un-burnt
carbon remaining in the ash. Fineness of fly ash mostly depends on the
operating conditions of coal crushers and the grinding process of the coal
itself. Finer gradation generally results in a more reactive ash and contains less
carbon.
An important achievement in the use of fly ash in concrete is the
development of high volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete that successfully
replaces the use of OPC in concrete up to 60% and yet possesses excellent
mechanical properties with enhanced durability performance.

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3.2 ALKALINE SOLUTION:-

The most common alkaline liquid used in geo-Polymerisation is a

combination of sodium hydroxide(NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH) and
sodium Sicate or potassium silicate. The addition of sodium silicate solution
to the sodium hydroxide solution as the alkaline liquid enhanced the reaction
between the source material and the solution. Furthermore, after a study of
the geo-polymerisation of sixteen natural Al-Si minerals, they found that
generally the NaOH solution caused a higher extent of dissolution of
minerals than the KOH solution.

3.3 SUPER PLASTISICERS:-

In order to improve the workability of fresh concrete,high-range water-

reducing naphthalene based super plasticiser was added to the mixture. The
dosage of super plasticizer also has an effect on the compressive strength of
the concrete. The specific super plasticizer used in the mixture made for the
project is Sikament-581.As a super plasticizer it substantially improved the
workability without increasing the amount of water and hence reducing the
risk of segregation. It results in normal set even when overdosed. It gives a
good surface finish and as it is chloride free it doesn't attack reinforcement or
pre-stressed cables if any.

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 4. MIX DESIGN
4.1 DESIGN STEPS
1. Target mean strength
Fck = 38.25 MPa
2. Selection of quantity of fly ash
From below Figure the quantity of fly ash required is 405 kg/m3 for
the target mean strength of 38.25 MPa at solution-to-fly ash ratio of
0.35 and for 430m2/kg fineness of fly ash.

3. Calculation of the quantity of alkaline activators

Calculate the quantity of alkaline activators considering:
Solution/Fly ash ratio by mass = 0.35
Mass of (Na2SiO3 + NaOH)/Fly ash = 0.35
Mass of (Na2SiO3 + NaOH) / 405 = 0.35
Mass of (Na2SiO3 + NaOH) = 141.75 kg/m3
Take the sodium silicate-to-sodium hydroxide ratio by mass of 1
Mass of sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) = 70.88 kg/m3
Mass of sodium silicate solution (Na2SiO3 ) = 70.88 kg/m3

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 4. Calculation of total solid content in alkaline solution
Solid content in sodium silicate solution = (50.32/100) X 70:88
= 35:67 kg/m3
Solid content in sodium hydroxide solution = (38:50/100) X 70:88
= 27.29 kg/m3
Total Solid content in both alkaline solutions = 62:96 kg/m3
5. Selection of water content
For medium degree of workability and fineness of fly ash of
430 m2 /kg, water content per cubic meter of geopolymer concrete
is selected from Table 2
Water content = 110 kg/m3
6. Adjustment in water content
For sand conforming to grading-I, correction in water content is
taken from Table.
Adjustment in water content = -1.5 %
Total quantity of water required = 110 X – (1.5/100) X 110
= 108.35 kg/m3
Water content in alkaline solutions = 141.75 X 62.96
= 78.79 kg/m3
Water content per cubic meter of concrete

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Correction in water content per cubic meter of concrete

7. Calculation of additional quantity of water

= [Total quantity of water] − [Water present in alkaline solutions]
= 108.35 − 78.79 = 29.46 kg/m3
8. Selection of wet density of geopolymer concrete
From below figure, wet density of geopolymer concrete is 2,528 kg/m3 for
the fineness of fly ash of 430 m2 /kg

10.

8
9. Calculation of fine and coarse aggregate content
Total aggregate content = (Wet density of GPC) -(Quantity
of fly ash + Quantity of both solutions -
extra water, if any)
= 2,528- (405+141.75 + 29.46)
= 1,951.79 kg/m3
Sand content = Fine - to -total aggregate content in % X
Total quantity of all-in-aggregate
= (35/100) X1,951.79
= 683.13 kg/m3
Coarse aggregate content = Total quantity of all-in-aggregate - Sand
content
= 1,951.79 - 683:13
= 1,268.66 kg/m3

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 5. PROCEDURE
5.1 PREPARATION OF SOLUTION
To make 1M of NaOH solution take 40g of NaOH. It should be dissolved
in 1L of water.
Solid content in sodium hydroxide solution = (38:50/100) X 70:88
= 27.29 kg/m3
This quantity is taken for the 13M of solution.

By considering the same procedure we were prepared the solutions of 10M,11M

and 12M. The solutions are prepared before one day of the casting of the cube. While
preparing the Molarities take one liter of water and consider the proportion of the
sodium hydroxide. This procedure for the sodium hydroxide. For the sodium silicate
solution solid content is directly taken from the mix proportions and water content also
consider from the mix proportions. Take the prepared solution into the bottles to store
these for the 24 hours.

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5.2 MIXING
Measured quantity of sand is spread evenly. The required quantity of cement is
dumped on the sand and spread evenly. The sand and cement is then mixed intimately
with spade, turning the mixture over and over again until it is of even color
throughout and free from streaks. The sand cement mixture is then spread out and
measured quantity of coarse aggregate is spread on its top. Alternatively, the measured
quantity of coarse aggregate is spread out and the sand cement mixture is then spread
on its top. The whole mass should be mixed at least three times by shoveling and
turning over by twist from center to side, then back to the center and again to the
sides. A hollow is made in the middle of the mixed pile. Three quarters of the total
quantity of alkaline solution and water required should be added while the materials
are turned in towards the center with spades. The remaining water is added by a water-
can fitted with rose head, slowly turning the whole mixture over and over again until a
uniform color and consistency is obtained.

5.3 PLACING
Concrete is placed in the molds using a trowel in three layers of approximately
equal depth and is remixed in the mixing pan with a shovel to prevent segregation
during the molding of specimens. The trowel is moved around the top edge of the mold
as the concrete is discharged in order to ensure a symmetrical distribution of the
concrete and to minimize segregation of coarse aggregate within the mold.

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5.4 CURING
Curing is the maintaining of an adequate moisture content and temperature in
concrete at early ages so that it can develop properties the mixture was designed to
achieve. Curing begins immediately after placement and finishing so that the concrete
may develop the desired strength and durability. Lack of equipment we did the curing
in sun hot for 7 days. Normally maintain the 600 C for 24 hrs.

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 6. TEST RESULTS

S.No Molarities Sodium Sodium silli- Fly ash Strength

Hydroxide cate Kg
(N/mm2 )
Kg/m3 Kg/m3

1 10M 20.99 35.95 1.36 7.7

2 11M 23.09 35.95 1.36 13.3
3 12M 25.19 35.95 1.36 20.4
4 13M 27.29 35.95 1.36 28

Graph:-

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 7. CHEMICAL REACTIONS

7.1 POLYMERIZATION PROCESS:-

Geo-polymers are members of the family of inorganic
polymers. The chemical composition of the geopolymer material is
similar to natural zeolitic materials, but the microstructure is
amorphous. The polymerization process involves a substantially fast
chemical reaction under alkaline condition on Si- Al minerals, which
results in a three dimensional polymeric chain and ring structure
consisting of Si-O- Al- O bonds.

Mn [-(SiO2) z –AlO2 ] n.Wh2o

Where: M = the alkaline element or cation such as potassium, sodium or

calcium;
The symbol – indicates the presence of a bond,
n is the degree of poly-condensation or polymerisation;
z is 1, 2,3, or higher, up to 32.

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The chemical reaction may comprise the following steps:-
a. Dissolution of Si and Al atoms from the source material through the
action of hydroxide ions.
b. Transportation or orientation or condensation of precursor ions into
monomers.
c. Setting or poly-condensation/polymerisation of monomers into
polymeric structures.

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 8. CONCLUSION

1. Initial setting time of the concrete decreases.

2. Compressive strength increases with increase in molarity.

3. It gains more strength with compared to the normal concrete within 7 days.

4. Can't maintain 600 C in Cast in situ.

5. Cost is more compared to the normal concrete.

Geo-polymer concrete(for 1cube):

S.No Materials Quantity Cost(Rs.)
1. Fly Ash 1 Kg 10
2. NaOH 100g 75
3. Na2SiO3 100g 50
4. Coarse aggregate 4.3Kg 13
5. Fine aggregate 2.3Kg 9
Total 157

Cement concret(for 1 cube):

S.No Materials Quantity Cost(Rs.)
1. Ordinaryportland Cement 2.24Kg 18
2. Coarse aggregate 3.3Kg 10
3 Fine aggregate 1.68Kg 7
Total 35
 16

REFERENCES

1. B. VijayaRangan, DjwantoroHardjito, Steenie E. Wallah, and Dody M.J.

Sumajouw, B.V. Rangan (1992) , “Studies on fly ash-based geopolymer
concrete”, Geopolymer: green chemistry and sustainable development
solutions.

2. Christina K. Yip, Grant C. Lukey, John L. Provis, Jannie S.J. van Deventer
(2008), “Effect of calcium silicate sources on geopolymerisation” published in
Elsevier .Ltd, Cement and Concrete Research 38 (2008)

3. Xiaoluguo, HuishengShi, Warren A. Dick (2009) “ Compressive strength

and micro structural characteristicks of class C fly ash Geopolymer”
published in Elseveir. Ltd, Cement & concrete Composites 32 (2010) www.
Elseveir.com/locate/cemoconcomp.

4. Smith Songpiriyakij, TeinsakKubprasit, Chai Jaturapitakkul,

PrinyaChindaprasirt(2010) “Compressive strength and degree of reaction of
biomass- and fly ash-based Geopolymer” published in Elsevier. Ltd,
Construction and Building Materials 24 (2010) .

5. ASCE journal of Alkali activated Fly ash based geo polymer concrete.

6. ICJ of Geopolymer concrete cured at ambient temperature through addtion

of OPC.

7. Patankar(2014)

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