Concrete Composites

Geopolymer Concrete - An
Ecofriendly Concrete N. P. Rajamane
Head, Concrete Composites Lab
Nataraja M C
Professor, SJ College of Engg, Mysore
N Lakshmanan N. P. Rajamane
Former Director
P S Ambily
Scientist, Structural Engg Research Centre, CSIR, Chennai

C
ontinuous technological upgrading and
assimilation of latest technology has been
going on in the cement concrete industry. But,
the cement production is highly energy intensive and
consumes significant amount of non-renewable
natural resources such as lime stone deposits, coal,
etc. Thus, the Portland cement industry does not
quite fit the contemporary desirable picture of a
sustainable eco-friendly industry. There is an urgent
need to find an alternate binder which should be
similar or superior to that of Portland cement for use
in concretes in respect of parameters such as : process-
ing conditions for production of concrete mixes,
mechanical and durability properties, long term
chemical stability of the binding system with com-
mon filler aggregate systems such as sand, crushed
natural stones, etc. Towards this, a new binder
material, known as 'geopolymer' is considered in this
paper. Alkali activation of alumina and silica contain-
ing blast furnace slag powder, known as GGBS and fly
ash is done to obtain inorganic polymeric binding
material called geopolymer. Studies on geopolymers
were carried out at SERC in early 2000s and several
geopolymer cement concretes (GPCCs) were devel-
oped. From the test data generated at SERC, an
overview of GPCCs is presented in this paper; it is
seen that GPCCs are good candidates structural
materials of constructions from both strength and
durability considerations. Because of lower internal
energy and lower CO2 emission contents of ingredi-
ents of geopolymer based composites compared to
those of conventional Portland cement concretes, the
new composites can be considered to be more eco-
friendly and hence their utility in practical applica-
tions needs to be developed and encouraged
The Indian cement industry is about 70 years old
and is experiencing a boom on account of the overall
growth of the Indian economy. Indian cement indus-
try has become globally competitive; because, the
industry had witnessed healthy trends such as cost
control and continuous technology up-gradation.
Global rating agency, Fitch Ratings, has commented
that cement demand in India is expected to grow at
10% annually buoyed by housing, infrastructure and
corporate capital expenditures [URL1].
The cement industry in India comprises 130 large
cement plants and more than 300 mini cement plants.
India is now the world's second largest producer of
cement after China, with the total installed capacity
of 219 MT in April 2009[URL2]. The cement indus-
try is likely to add 40-45 MT of capacity this fiscal
year resulting in about 20 per cent increase over the
installed capacity of 2008-09. With the boost given
by the government to various infrastructure projects,
road networks and housing facilities, a very high
growth in the cement consumption can be anticipated
in the coming years. With almost total capacity
utilisation levels in the industry, cement despatches to
the market have maintained a 10 per cent growth
rate. For example, cement despatches were 18.12 MT
in March 2009, showing a growth of 10.35 per cent as
compared to 16.42 MT in March 2008. During March
2009, cement production was 18.10 MT, registering a
growth of 10.43 per cent as compared to 16.39 MT in
March 2008. Despite the concerns of recent economic

200 The Masterbuilder - November 2009

Concrete Composites
Geopolymer Concrete - An Ecofriendly Concrete
slowdown, led by a change in economic scenario
along with excess supply pressure, the cement indus-
try had ended the FY 2008-09 on a strong note.
Government initiatives in the infrastructure
sector, coupled with the housing sector boom and
urban development, continue to be the main drivers
of growth for the Indian cement industry. The cement
business has been very steady for two decades with a
cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 8%.
It is now 1.3 times of the GDP [URL3]. This can be
attributed to the following factors:
h Increased infrastructure spending has been a key
focus area in India over the last five years indicat-
ing good times ahead for cement manufacturers.
h The Central Government has increased budgetary
allocation for roads under National Highways
Development Project (NHDP).
h A coal regulator has been appointed to facilitate
timely and proper allocation of coal (a key raw
material) blocks to the core sectors, cement being
one of them.
It may be noted that the per capita consumption
of around 134 kgs in India compares poorly with the
world average of over 263 kgs, and more than 950 kgs
in China [URL4]. This, more than anything, under-
lines the tremendous scope for growth in the Indian
cement industry in the long term. Moreover, the
importance of the housing sector in cement demand
can be gauged from the fact that it consumes almost
60%-70% of the country's cement; thus, continued
demand in housing sector would itself be a significant
factor in growth of cement industry [URL5].
Need for Alternate to Portland Cement
Continuous technological upgrading and assimila-
tion of latest technology has been going on in the
cement industry. Presently, 93 per cent of the total
capacity in the industry is based on modern and
environment-friendly dry process technology and only
7 per cent of the capacity is based on old wet and
semi-dry process technology. There is tremendous
scope for waste heat recovery in cement plants and
thereby reduction in emission level.
202 The Masterbuilder - November 2009
The cement production is highly energy intensive
(at 1.3 kWh/kg of cement), next only to steel and
aluminium, also consumes significant amount of
non-renewable natural resources such as lime stone
deposits, coal, etc. A tonne of Portland cement
production involves emission of about a tonne of
CO2 which is a green house gas causing global
warming. Among the greenhouse gases, CO2
contributes about 65% of global warming
[McCaffery, 2002]. Thus, the Portland cement
industry does not fit the contemporary desirable
picture of a sustainable industry. There is an urgent
need to find an alternate to P-C in order to make the
construction industry eco-friendly. However, the
new binder material should produce satisfactory
strength and durability characteristics of concretes
which are comparable, preferably even superior to
those 'conventional concretes' (CCs) based on P-C.
Requirements of New Binder
The new binder material should be eco-friendly
and it would be acceptable if it has following
characteristics:
h It should be produced from widely available waste
by-products from industries.
h 'Internal Energy Content' should be less
h Chemical activators for generating binding system
should be common chemicals.
h The new binder concretes should be similar or
superior to that of P-C based concretes in respect of :-
z processing conditions for production of con-
crete mixes
z time required for demoulding or formwork
removal
z curing regimes and periods
z rate of strength developments with age
z mechanical properties such as
„ compressive strength
„ tensile strength
„ flexural strength
„ modulus of elasticity

z durability related mechanical properties such as
„ protection to embedded steel reinforcement
„ diffusion of chloride ions, moisture/water,
etc
„ resistance against attack by sulphates, acidic
solutions, etc
z cost per unit volume
z long term chemical stability of the binding
system formed
z capable of accepting common filler aggregate
systems such as sand, crushed natural stones, etc
Choice of Geopolymer as a New Binder
A new binder material, known as 'geopolymer'
was developed in the mid 1970's by Davidovits
[1991] and it had aluminosilicate gel performing as a
binder. He utilised silica (SiO2) and alumina (Al2O3)
available in the specially processed clay (metakaolin)
to get inorganic polymeric system of alumino-
silicates. Recently, Rangan and Hardijto, [2005] also
exploited silica (SiO2) and alumina (Al2O3) of fly ash
to produce three-dimensional polymeric chain and
ring structure consisting of Si-O-Al-O bonds of
geopolymeric binder which was found to be useful to
prepare structural grade concretes. Alkali activation
of alumina and silica containing blast furnace slag
powder, known as GGBS, has been investigated since
long, though, the term 'geopolymer' was not used to
describe the binder generated.
From above, it is clear that any minerals contain-
ing oxides of silicon and aluminium can be activated
by suitably formulated highly alkaline liquid to obtain
inorganic polymeric binding material. Preliminary
studies in this direction were carried out at SERC in
early 2000s and, both fly ash and GGBS, (either
individually or combined in certain proportions) from
indigenous sources were found to be suitable to
produce geopolymeric systems to achieve sufficient
strength levels in geopolymer cement concretes
(GPCCs) made from these industrial wastes
[Rajamane and Sabitha, 2005]. It was observed that
the activation of FA and GGBS involved use of
hydroxides and silicates of alkali (such as sodium,
potassium) which are commonly available in India;
Concrete Composites
Geopolymer Concrete - An Ecofriendly Concrete
the processing conditions for GPCCs were almost
similar to CCs except that during mixing operations
of concretes, instead of water, a premixed alkaline
solution, known as 'Catalytic Liquid System' (CLS),
was added.
Basics of Geopolymers
The term 'geopolymer' describe a family of
mineral binders with chemical composition similar to
zeolites but with an amorphous microstructure.
Unlike ordinary Portland/pozzolanic cements,
geopolymers do not form calcium- silicate-hydrates
(CSHs) for matrix formation and strength, but utilise
the polycondensation of silica and alumina precursors
to attain structural strength. Two main constituents
of geopolymers are: source materials and alkaline
liquids. The source materials on alumino-silicate
should be rich in silicon (Si) and aluminium (Al).
They could be by-product materials such as fly ash,
silica fume, slag, rice-husk ash, red mud, etc.
Geopolymers are also unique in comparison to other
aluminosilicate materials (e.g. aluminosilicate gels,
glasses, and zeolites). The concentration of solids in
geopolymerisation is higher than in aluminosilicate
gel or zeolite synthesis.
Composition of Geopolymer Cement Concrete
Mixes
Following materials are generally used to produce
GPCCs:
h Fly ash,
h GGBS,
h Fine aggregates and
h Coarse aggregates
h Catalytic liquid system (CLS): It is an alkaline
activator solution (AAS) for GPCC. It is a combi-
nation of solutions of alkali silicates and hydrox-
ides, besides distilled water. The role of AAS is to
activate the geopolymeric source materials
(containing Si and Al) such as fly ash and GGBS.
Formulating the GPCC Mixes
Unlike conventional cement concretes, GPCCs are
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Concrete Composites
Geopolymer Concrete - An Ecofriendly Concrete
a new class of materials and hence, conventional mix
design approaches are applicable. The formulation of
the GPCC mixtures requires systematic numerous
investigations on the materials available.
Preparation of GPCC Mixes
The mixing of ingredients of GPCCs can be
carried out in mixers used for conventional cement
concretes - such as pan mixer, drum mixer, etc
Mechanical Properties
Compressive Strength: With proper formulation
of mix ingredients, 24 hour compressive strengths of
25 to 35 MPa can be easily without any need for any
special curing. Such mixes can be considered as self
curing. However, GPCC mixes with 28 day strengths
up to about 60-70 MPa have been developed at SERC.
Modulus of Elasticity: The Young's modulus or
modulus of elasticity (ME), Ec of GPCC is taken as
tangent modulus measured at the stress level equal to
40 percent of the average compressive strength of
concrete cylinders. The MEs of GPCCs are marginally
lower than that of conventional cement concretes
(CCs), at similar strength levels.
Stress Strain Curves: The stress-strain relation-
ship depends upon the ingredients of GPCCs and the
curing period.
Rate of Development of Strength: This is
generally faster in GPCCs, as compared to CCs.
Reinforced GPCC Beams
Load carrying capacity of GPCC beams, are up to
about 20% more of CC beams at similar concrete
strength levels. Cracking of concrete occurs whenever
the tensile strength of the concrete is exceeded. The
cracking in reinforced concrete is attributable to
various causes such as flexural tensile stresses, diago-
nal tension, lateral tensile strains, etc. The cracking
moment increases as the compressive strength
increases in both GPCC and CC beams.
Reinforced concrete structures are generally
analyzed by the conventional elastic theory (Clause
204 The Masterbuilder - November 2009
22.1 of IS 456:2000) which is equivalent to assuming
a linear moment-curvature relationship for flexural
members. However, in actual behaviour of beams,
non-linear moment curvature relationship is consid-
ered. The moment-curvature relation can be idealized
to consist of three straight lines with different slopes.
The slopes of these line changes as the behaviour of
the beam is changed due to increasing load. Thus each
straight line indicates different phases of beam history.
The moment-curvature relations of GPCCs and CCs
are essentially similar.
The service load is generally considered as the
load corresponding to a deflection of span/350 or
maximum crack width of 0.2 mm, whichever is less.
The deflections at service loads for the GPCC and
CC beams are found to be almost same. Thus, at
service loads, the behaviour of the GPCC and CC
beams are similar.
Ductility factor of the beams is considered as the
ratio of deflection at ultimate moment (?U) to the
deflection at yield moment (?Y). The ductility factor
decreases as the tensile reinforcement increased. The
ductility factor of GPCC beams could be marginally
less than CC beams indicating higher stiffness of
GPCC beams. The crack patterns observed for GPCC
beams are similar to the CC beams.
Reinforced GPCC Columns
The concrete compressive strength and longitudi-
nal reinforcement ratio influence the load capacity of
columns. The load carrying capacity increases with
the increase in concrete compressive strength and
longitudinal reinforcement ratio. Crack patterns and
failure modes of GPCC columns are similar to those
of CC columns.
Bond Strengths of GPCC with Rebars
The bond strengths of GPCCs with rebars are
higher compared to CC. Thus developmental length
of steel bars in reinforced GPCC can be kept same, as
in the case of reinforced CC. The bond strengths of
GPCC and PPCC are significantly more and conserva-
tive than the design bond stress recommended in IS:
Concrete Composites
Geopolymer Concrete - An Ecofriendly Concrete

456-2000. The GPCCs possess satisfactory bond with
embedded steel bars so that the conventional design
process of reinforced structural components can be
applied conservatively to GPCCs also.
Durability Aspects of GPCCs
h URL2 [2009], http://www.ibef.org/industry/cement.aspx, May 2009
h URL3 [2009], http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Interviews/
Cement-demand-in-India-is-growing/articleshow/4651124.cms,
June 2009
h URL4 [2009], http://www.equitymaster.com/budget09/sectors/
cement.asp, 2009

The GPCC specimens have chloride permeabil- h URL5 [2009], http://www.equitymaster.com/research-it/sector-info/

ity rating of 'low' to 'very low' as per ASTM cement/, July 2009
1202C. GPCCs offer generaly better protection to h McCaffrey, R, [2002], Climate Change and the Cement Industry.
embedded steel from corrosion as compared to CC. Global Cement and Lime Magazine (Environmental Special Issue),
pp 15-19.
The GPCC are found possess very high acid resis-
tance when tested under exposure to 2% and 10% h Davidovits, J., [1991], Geopolymers: inorganic polymeric new
sulphuric acids. materials, Journal of Thermal Analysis, Vol 37, pp 1633-1656.
h Rangan, B. V, and Hardijto, D, [2005], Development and properties
Concluding Remarks on GPCCs of low calcium fly ash based geopolymer concrete. Research report
GC-1, Faculty of Engineering, Curtin University of Technology,
From the test data generated at SERC, it can be Perth, Australia.
concluded that GPCCs are good candidates materials
h Rajamane, N. P., Sabitha, D., [2005], Studies on geo-polymer
of constructions from both strength and durability mortars using fly ash and blast furnace slag powder, International
considerations. Geopolymer concrete shows signifi- Congress on Fly Ash, Fly Ash India, Chapter 6, pp 1-7.
cant potential to be a material for the future; because
it is not only environmentally friendly but also
possesses excellent mechanical properties. Practical
recommendations on use of geopolymer concrete
technology in practical applications such as precast
concrete products and waste encapsulation need to be
developed in Indian context.
Because of lower internal energy (almost 20% to
30 % less) and lower CO2 emission contents of
ingredients of geopolymer based composites com-
pared to those of conventional Portland cement
concretes, the new composites can be considered to be
more eco-friendly and hence their utility in practical
applications needs to be developed and encouraged.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Director, SERC, Chennai, for
permitting to publish this paper. The co-operation
received from the staff of Concrete Composites
Laboratory, SERC, in creating the test data and
preparation of paper is gratefully acknowledged
Refereces
h URL1 [2009], http://www.indiainbusiness.nic.in/industry-infrastruc-
ture/industrial-sectors/Cement.htm

Velohar Infra Private Limited

206 The Masterbuilder - November 2009