Fresh and Mechanical Properties of Zero-Cement One-Part Geopolymer

Mortar and Concrete

Md. Mashfiqul Islam
Ph.D. Student
Missouri University of
Science and Technology
Rolla, MO, USA
mashfiq@mst.edu
Graduate Research Assistant with a
focus on the fly ash based alkali
activated zero-cement geopolymer
materials.
Contact: mashfiq@mst.edu
Ahmed A. Gheni, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Missouri University of
Science and Technology
Rolla, MO, USA
gheni.a@mst.edu
Postdoctoral research fellow with an
interest of developing new Ecofriendly
alternatives for the conventional
construction materials.
Mohamed A. ElGawady, Ph.D.
Professor
Missouri University of
Science and Technology
Rolla, MO, USA
elgawadym@mst.edu
Professor and Benavides Faculty
Scholar, Associate Editor of American
Society of Civil Engineering Journal of
Bridge Engineering, Member of ACI
Committee 341.

1 Abstract
The era of research on fly ash based Zero-Cement (ZC) containing alkali activated geopolymer mortar and
concrete has already begun. By replacing 100% of cement which is the higher carbon footprint material and
also by maintaining a steady level on eco-system without causing severe environmental damage or exhausting
natural resources, geopolymer technology is on the way to be the most popular sustainable construction
material. However, the mixing mechanism of geopolymer is very difficult using the liquid alkaline activators
which are hazardous as well as difficult to handle in large construction works at sites. As a result, the
development of producing one-part geopolymer or “just add water” process similar to ordinary Portland
cement (OPC) construction, is necessary for the promotion of this green and sustainable construction material
to the society. To this end, two different sources of Class C fly ash (FA) from Missouri State, USA are used in
this study to investigate the mechanical as well as the fresh properties of ZC mortar and concrete. In this study,
the dry sodium hydroxide (SH) pellets and sodium silicate (SS) powder are used as solid alkaline activators.
Three different curing systems, e.g. ambient, oven and steam curing are employed in this study and
corresponding strength gains are evaluated. A significant enhancement of the compressive strength was
achieved by addition of 1.9 mass% sucrose (sugar) after curing in the elevated temperature.
Keywords: Geopolymer; Class C fly ash; fly ash (FA); mixing time; alkali activated; sustainability; sucrose;
sugar; Zero-cement (ZC).

type of mixing process for alkali activated

2 Introduction
Fly ash based alkali-activated zero-cement (ZC)
geopolymers possesses superior properties
compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), for
example, enhanced resistance to acids and sulfate,
improved heat resistance, lower creep and drying
shrinkage, and higher compressive and tensile
strength [1]. One-part or “just add water” zero-
cement geopolymer mixtures are a newly initiated
geopolymers, which is developed with an intend to
simplify the complexity in mixing as well as handling
the liquid chemical activators in the construction
sites. One-part zero-cement can be prepared by
mixing the dry aluminosilicate precursors (fly ash)
and solid alkaline activators and use this mixture to
produce geopolymer binder by just adding water
like a similar process of OPC mixing, which reduces
the vulnerability of handling corrosive alkaline
activators in the construction yard and also can

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2019 IABSE Congress – The Evolving Metropolis
September 4-6, 2019, New York City
make one part geopolymer system commercially
popular [2].
There are several efforts done by researchers on
preparing one-part zero-cement mixture, some
researchers mixed dry alkaline activators with
aluminosilicate precursors to make one-part zero-
cement binder. Yang et al. [3] and Yang and Song [4]
used sodium silicate powder or combination of solid
sodium silicate with sodium hydroxide to activate
the pure fly ash and pure slag systems at ambient
temperature. With the pure slag system, the
resulting binder could gain compressive strength of
50 MPa, and the pure fly ash system gained up to
9.45 MPa after 28 days. Nematollahi et al. [5]
worked with different combination of fly ash, slag
and hydrated lime with different grades of sodium
silicates and proposed the formulae to produce 37
MPa one-part geopolymer concrete.
Hajimohammadi and Deventer [2] worked with
Class F fly ash, sodium silicate and sodium
hydroxide and achieved 65 MPa at ambient
temperature. Most of the work on one-part zero-
cement is done with Class F fly ash.
The major chemical structural form of alkali
activated materials, e.g. geopolymer, is generally
consists of aluminosilicate skeleton that is formed
by a process called geopolymerization, which is
different from hydration reaction of OPC and The
formation CSH (calcium silicate hydrate) gel. In case
of alkali activated zero-cement products, the
Aluminium (Al) and Silicon (Si) are dissolved from
the source material particles (fly ash) and that is
why low calcium fly ash is commonly preferred as
the main source material to be activated with
alkaline solution. Moreover, the presence of high
CaO content in Class C FA induces CSH phase by
hydration reaction similar to OPC [10] which can
interfere with the geopolymerization process that
results in the reduction of mechanical strength of
the zero-cement binder. On the other hand, the
plasticity of geopolymer produced from of Class C
fly ash containing high quantity of CaO is prone to
rapid stiffening [6]. Kusbiantoro et al. [6] reported
that, many researches have conducted to resolve
this issue using commercially available high range
water reducing admixture but the improvement is
not significant. They worked with two-part (solid
precursors and liquid alkaline activators)
geopolymer also reported that addition of sucrose
2
improved the rheology of geopolymer mix but did
not report in the increase of compressive strength
even after oven curing in 60C for 24 hours.
Rattanasak et al. [7] also added 1% and 2% sucrose
in the geopolymer mix to improve the workability.
They reported that, with addition of sucrose of 1%
and 2%, the compressive strength increased 16%
and 6% respectively after oven curing at 65°C for 48
hours to complete geopolymerization. Assi et al. [8]
worked with Class F fly ash (low calcium content)
and liquid alkaline activator with sucrose as a
additive and reported improves initial setting time
and workability but no effect on compressive
strength after oven curing of 75C for two days. So
sucrose is found with no effect on compressive
strength on Class F fly ash.
This current research represents the results results
of fresh and mechanical properties of one-part
zero-cement mortar and concrete prepared using
mixing of Class C FA, dry sodium hydroxide (SH)
pellets and sodium silicate (SS) powder with water.
Two types of Class C FA are used in this study (e.g.
C37 and C21, the number represents % of CaO
content). Pannetier et al. [9] reported that sucrose
molecules react with calcium ion and form
monomers followed by the formation of linear
oligomers and gradually a branched or fractal
polymer-like aggregates. This current research also
aims to investigate the effect of sucrose addition on
compressive strength of one-part zero-cement
mortar and concrete produced from Class C fly
ashes. The effects of sucrose (sugar) addition on the
fresh, mechanical and micro-structural properties
are critically investigated with scanning electron
micrographs, x-ray diffraction data and
temperature changes from adiabatic calorimeter.
3 Experimental program, materials,
mixing and curing methods
Two sources of Class C fly ash (C37 and C21) from
Missouri State, USA are used in this study to
prepare 50mm x 50mm x 50mm mortar cubes and
100mm dia x 200mm length cylinder specimens.
Table 1 represents the mix design of mortars and
concrete specimens. Initially, a total of 11 mortar
mixes are performed to achieve satisfactory
compressive strength and out of them 5 mixes are
employed to produce concrete. Missouri river sand
of specific gravity 2.7 and passing through sieve #8
2019 IABSE Congress – The Evolving Metropolis
September 4-6, 2019, New York City

is used to prepare the mortar cube specimens. For curing (23C for 28 days) and in case of curing of
concrete preparation, the nominal coarse concrete, steam and oven (both 70C for 36 hours)
aggregate size was maintained 25 mm. Silica fume and ambient curing (23C for 28 days) are
is also added in some mixes to achieve a compact performed.
matrix.
Table 1. Mix design of mortar and concrete 4 Results and discussion
Mix Sand FA SH SS W CA SU SF
Figures 1 and 2 represent the compressive strength
ID % by mass mass % of FA
M1 64.8 23.5 1.4 1.4 8.8 - 0.0 0.0 behavior of the ZC mortar and concrete specimens
M2 64.8 23.5 1.4 1.4 11.0 - 0.0 0.0 respectively from different mixes. The maximum
M3 64.8 23.5 1.4 1.4 13.2 - 0.0 0.0 compressive strength of mortar specimens was
M4 64.8 25.9 1.6 1.6 9.6 - 0.0 0.0 achieved upto 83 MPa (for M8) using C21 FA after
M5 64.8 25.2 1.8 1.8 9.6 - 0.0 0.0 steam curing and in case of C37 FA the achievement
M6 64.8 23.5 1.8 1.8 8.8 - 0.0 0.0
is 73 MPa (for M10).
M7 64.8 23.5 1.8 1.8 8.8 - 1.9 0.0
M8 64.8 23.5 1.8 1.8 7.0 - 1.9 0.0 The results of 28-days ambient curing was found
M9 64.8 23.5 1.8 1.8 8.8 - 1.9 5.0 significantly higher than 7-days cured one-part
M10 64.8 23.5 2.3 2.3 8.8 - 1.9 5.0
zero-cement mortar. In case of concrete specimens,
M11 64.8 23.5 2.7 2.7 8.8 - 1.9 5.0
CC1 32.8 18.9 1.5 1.5 8.8 39 0.0 0.0 the compressive strengths are 81 MPa and 71 MPa
CC2 32.8 18.9 1.5 1.5 6.8 39 1.9 0.0 for ZC from C21 (for CC4) and C37 (for CC3)
CC3 32.8 18.9 1.5 1.5 6.8 39 1.9 2.5 respectively after steam curing.
CC4 33.4 16.8 1.2 2.4 6.4 40 1.9 0.0
CC5 33.4 16.8 1.2 2.4 6.4 40 1.9 5.0
Note: W= water, SU= sucrose (sugar), SF= silica fume, CA= 100
coarse aggregate, M= mortar, CC= concrete. C37 (Steam) C37 (7d Ambient) C37 (28d Ambient)
Compressive strength (MPa)

75
Dry sodium hydroxide pellets and sodium silicate
powders are used as the alkaline activators in 50
preparation of one-part zero-cement and the pH of
the mix was maintained 13-14. 25

The ratio of SS/SH was maintained 1.0 in this study

0
except for CC4 and CC5. In this study, the mixing M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11
time is maintained 5 minutes and the mixing of (a) Mix ID
mortar specimens were performed using a Hobart
N50 commercial mixer and the concrete mixes are 100
C21 (Steam) C21 (7d Ambient) C21 (28d Ambient)
Compressive strength (MPa)

done in a gravity mixer.

75
The flow table test and setting time test are
performed for mortar specimens to investigate the 50
fresh properties and slump test is performed for
concrete specimens. In most cases the final setting
25
of mortar was 30 minutes even though the flow was
150% using sucrose. The slump value was achieved
0
50-75 mm for one-part zero-cement concrete. M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11
(b) Mix ID
Alkali activated zero-cement geopolymers
produced from Class C fly ash are hardened by both
the hydration (similar to OPC hydration) and the Figure 1. Compressive strengths of one-part ZC
geopolymerization processes (see also mortar using (a) C37 FA and (b) C21 FA.
Chindaprasirt et al. [10]) which leads to the early
setting of the mix. The mortar specimens are cured
by steam curing (70C for 36 hours) and ambient

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Compressive strength (MPa) 100

C37 (Steam) C37 (Oven) C37 (28d Ambient)
75

50

25

0
CC1 CC2 CC3 CC4 CC5
(a) Mix ID
(a)
100
C21 (Steam) C21 (Oven)
Compressive strength (MPa)

75

50

25

0
CC1 CC2 CC3 CC4 CC5
(b) Mix ID
(b)
Figure 2. Compressive strengths of one-part ZC
concrete using (a) C37 FA and (b) C21 FA.

80

70
Temperature (℃)

60 C37-ZC
CEM III
50

40

30 C37-ZC+SU (c)
CEM III+SU
20 Figure 4. SEM micrograph of (a) C37 FA, (b) ZC
0 4 8 12 16 20 24
(a) Time (hours)
from C37 and (c) ZC from C37 with sucrose.
The effect of mixing sucrose on compressive
Intensity
(counts) T strength for one-part zero-cement using Class C fly
ash was found very promising. The sucrose acted as
retarder against the hydration reaction and as a
Q Q
Q T Q T Q Q Q
T T C37-ZC+SU
result hydration reaction reduced and
C37-ZC geopolymerization process continued without
disturbance which leads to higher mechanical
HHH

2
H
(b)0 20
Figure 3. (a) effect of mixing sucrose with CEM III
and one-part zero cement using C37 FA on
temperature change, (b) XRD analysis of C37 FA
and respective zero-cements (Q=quartz, T=TiO2,
standard chemical, and H=hatrurite)
HH
HH H H H C37 FA bonding. Figure 3(a) shows that, by adding sucrose,
the temperature of ZC using C37 FA and CEM III
40 60 80 100
cement reduces significantly and gradually reduces
upto 24 hours which is an evidence of the
retardation of hydration reactions in these mixes.
Again from the XRD patterns in Figure 3(b), it is clear
that, the dissolution of quartz is lower for the mix
with sucrose (C37-ZC+SU). The Figure 4 shows the

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SEM micrographs of C37 FA, C37-ZC and C37-ZC+SU, geopolymer mixes with different grades of sodium
where, C37-ZC shows the formation of C-S-H, CH silicate”, Ceramics International. vol. 41, no. 4, pp
and ettringite needles where C37-ZC+SU does not 5696-5704, 2015.
show any trace of above materials, but a different
[6] A. Kusbiantoro, M.S. Ibrahim, K. Muthusamy, A.
polymer-like structure was observed which is
Alias, “Development of sucrose and citric acid as the
different from ettringite needles (Figure 4c). This
natural based admixture for fly ash based
may be an evidence of the polymer-like structure
geopolymer”, Procedia Environmental Sciences,
mentioned by Pannetier et al. [9] which require
vol. 17, pp 596-602, 2013.
more investigation.
[7] U. Rattanasak, K. Pankhet, P. Chindaprasirt,
5 Conclusions “Effect of chemical admixtures on properties of
high-calcium fly ash geopolymer”, International
The effect of curing methods, addition of SU and SF Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy, and Materials, vol.
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molecule with the high volume of calcium ions in improvement of initial and final setting times of
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