Journal of Sustainable Cement-Based Materials

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Effect of fly ash/silica fume ratio and curing

condition on mechanical properties of fiber-
reinforced geopolymer

Piti Sukontasukkul, Prinya Chindaprasirt, Phattharachai Pongsopha,

Tanakorn Phoo-Ngernkham, Weerachart Tangchirapat & Nemkumar Banthia

To cite this article: Piti Sukontasukkul, Prinya Chindaprasirt, Phattharachai Pongsopha, Tanakorn
Phoo-Ngernkham, Weerachart Tangchirapat & Nemkumar Banthia (2020): Effect of fly ash/silica
fume ratio and curing condition on mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced geopolymer, Journal of
Sustainable Cement-Based Materials, DOI: 10.1080/21650373.2019.1709999

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/21650373.2019.1709999

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Journal of Sustainable Cement-Based Materials, 2020
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21650373.2019.1709999

Effect of fly ash/silica fume ratio and curing condition on

mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced geopolymer
Piti Sukontasukkula
, Prinya Chindaprasirtb,c, Phattharachai Pongsophaa,
Tanakorn Phoo-Ngernkhamd, Weerachart Tangchirapate and Nemkumar Banthiaf
a
Construction and Building Materials Research Center, Department of Civil Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology-North Bangkok, Bangkok,
Thailand; bSustainable Infrastructure Research and Development Center, Department of Civil
Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Khon Kaen University, Kaen, Thailand; cSustainable
Infrastructure Research and Development Center, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering, Academy of Science, the Royal Society of Thailand, Dusit, Bangkok, Thailand;
d
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Rajamangala
University of Technology Isan, Nakorn Rachasima, Thailand; eDepartment of Civil Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok,
Thailand; fDepartment of Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver,
BC, Canada

In this study, the effects of fly ash/silica fume (F/S) ratio and curing conditions on
mechanical performance of fly ash based plain and steel fiber reinforced geopolymer
(SFRG) was investigated. Plain geopolymer was prepared using NaOH solution of
14 molarity, Na2SiO3/NaOH of 2.5 and paste/fine aggregate of 0.36. For SFRG, the
volume fractions of 0.5% and 1% were used. The F/S ratio was varied from 100/0 to
70/30. The specimens were cured under normal and accelerated conditions. Four
experiments were carried out: flow, setting time, compression, and flexural
performance tests. The results indicated that the addition of fibers enhanced the
mechanical properties. The effect of F/S ratio depended strongly on the curing
condition. Under ambient curing, the optimum F/S ratio of 90/10 was observed. For
accelerated curing, the addition of silica fume provided negative effect on the
mechanical properties. The optimum F/S ratio was observed in mix without
silica fume.
Keywords: fiber-reinforced geopolymer; curing condition; fly ash/silica fume
ratio; flexural performance; accelerated curing; normal curing

1. Introduction containing no Portland cement and this

Portland cement production emits large
amount of greenhouse gases in the process.
In recent years, the production of cement
has grown rapidly worldwide resulting in it
becomes the third-largest source of carbon
dioxide emissions [1]. Geopolymer is
known as a cementitious material
makes it qualified as one of the green con-
struction materials which can help reducing
Portland cement usage and lead to a reduc-
tion of greenhouse gases emission [2]. The
manufacturing of geopolymer involves the
chemical activation of silica and aluminum
oxides in a high alkali solution [3–6]. This

Corresponding author: piti@kmutnb.ac.th; piti.s@eng.kmutnb.ac.th; piti.kmutnb@gmail.com

Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/21650373.
2019.1709999.
ß 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 P. Sukontasukkul et al.
allows geopolymer to be produced from
raw materials containing aluminosilicate
such as metakaolin [7, 8], fly ash [5, 9, 10],
bottom ash [11, 12], rice husk ash [13, 14],
and blast-furnace slag [15–19]]. Due to the
fact that geopolymers are produced from
by-products such as fly ash and slag, the
use of geopolymer can help utilizing
byproduct wastes and diverting them from
becoming landfill materials.
In Thailand, fly ash and silica fume are
two of the most used byproducts country-
wide because of their availability and cost
effective. Thailand’s fly ash production
increases from 400,000 tons in 1998 to
3,000,000 tons [20]. The silica fume pro-
duction in Thailand during the last 3 years
increases from 21.6 to 28.8 tons [21]. The
supply depends strongly on the global
demand of silicon. About 60-70% of silica
fume produced are utilized in the country.
Since a large quantity fly ash is produced
annually, researches related to fly ash-
based geopolymer can contribute signifi-
cantly toward to the utilization of excess
fly ash and bottom ash, and prevent them
from being disposed of as landfill.
In general, the harden geopolymer pos-
sess similar properties to those harden
ordinary cement products, in which, it
exhibits outstanding compressive strength
but inferior tensile strength and toughness.
In order to improve these, an addition of
short fibers randomly can be utilized. The
development of short steel fibers to
improve brittleness and enhance toughness
of concrete has been carried out since 1960
[22]. Nowadays, several kinds of steel fiber
are available commercially and their ability
to enhance concrete strength and toughness
are well documented [22–25]. In case of
geopolymer, several studies on the use of
fibers to enhance the mechanical properties
and toughness have also been carried
out [26–31].
In addition, it is known that the proper-
ties of geopolymer can be significantly
affected by the silica to alumina ratio
which, when combine together between fly
ash and silica fume, the majority of silica
comes directly from silica fume. For
example, Okoye et al. [32] replaced fly ash
in geopolymer with silica fume at 10 and
20% by weight. The geopolymer was cured
at 100  C for the first 72 h and at room tem-
perature for 28 days. The 28-day compres-
sive strength was found to increase from
33 to 63 MPa when silica fume replace-
ment increased from 0 to 20%. Similarly,
Adak el al. [33] reported the increase in
both compressive and splitting tensile
strength of fly ash based geopolymer con-
taining nanosilica at 6% by weight.
On the contrary, Dutta et al. [34] incor-
porated 2.5-5.0% silica fume in fly ash
based geopolymer paste (cured at 85  C for
48 h) and the increase in silica fume con-
tent beyond 5.0% resulted in geopolymer
with decreased compressive strength and
increased porosity. Similar findings were
also reported by Memon et al. [35], in
which the reductions of compressive and
splitting tensile strength were observed in
the geopolymer containing silica fume
higher than 10%. Phoo-ngernkham et al.
[36] reported an optimum nanosilica con-
tent of 2% for fly ash based geopolymer.
Chindaprasirt et al. [37] similarly reported
the decrease in compressive strength of
geopolymer paste with the SiO2/Al2O3
ratio higher than 3.5. However, the opti-
mum SiO2/Al2O3 ratio depended on pre-
cursors for making geopolymer matrix. For
instance, Nimwinya et al. [38] used rice
husk ash as silica source and found an opti-
mum SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of 4.9. Phoo-
ngernkham et al. [39] reported an optimum
SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of 3.5 for alkali-activated
high-calcium fly ash with Portland cement.
For low calcium fly ash, Tennakoona et al.
[40] reported the optimum SiO2/Al2O3
content of 3.31.
Since the effect of silica content plays
an important role on the mechanical prop-
erties of harden fly ash based geopolymer,
their effects on the properties of fiber-
 Journal of Sustainable Cement-Based Materials 3

Table 1. Chemical composition of the fly ash and silica fume.

Oxide (%)
Material SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO SO3 LOI
Fly ash (FA) 36.02 20.58 15.91 18.75 2.24 0.07
Silica fume (SF) 88.30 1.17 4.76 0.48 1.05 –

reinforced geopolymer were investigated in Table 2. Chemical composition of Sodium

this study. The fly ash/silica fume ratios
were varied from 100/0 to 70/30. The geo-
polymer also subjected to two curing con-
ditions: normal (28 days under ambient
temperature) and accelerated (24 h at
60  C) curing. Two experiments on com-
pressive (ASTM C39) and flexural per-
formance (ASTM C1609) were carried out.
2. Experimental procedure
2.1. Materials
 Byproduct materials consist of
 Fly ash (FA) obtained from
Mae Moh electrical power
plant in Thailand. It consisted
of 5 major compounds (SiO2,
Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, and SO3)
as shown in Table 1.
 Silica fume (SF) contained
88.3% of SiO2 as a main com-
pound with properties as
shown in Table 1.
 Sodium hydroxide solution
(NaOH) with concentration of
14 molarity.
 Sodium silicate solution
(Na2OSiO3) (Table 2).
 Hooked end type steel fibers
(Table 3).
 River Sand.
 Superplasticizer Type F.
2.2. Mix proportions
Two types of byproducts were used: fly
ash and silica fume with properties as
shown in Table 1. To study the effect of F/S
ratio, the ratio by weight between fly ash to
silicate solution.
Property
Sodium Oxide (Na2O) % 15.36
Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) % 33.28
Mole Ratio (SiO2/ Na2O) 2.17
Specific Gravity (At 20  C) 1.598
Density (Baume’) 54.2
Table 3. Properties of steel fiber.
Tensile
strength
Mat. Shape L(mm) Sec. l/d (MPa)
Steel 35 Round64 1050
silica fume were set at 100:0, 90:10, 80:20
and 70:30. The mix proportion for the con-
trol mix (plain geopolymer) consisted of a
fly ash þ silica fume weight/total weight
ratio of 0.65, liquid/binder ratio of 0.54,
NaOH solution with concentration of 14
molarity (14 M), Na2OSiO3/NaOH of 2.5
by weight and paste/fine aggregate ratio of
1/2.75 by weight. For the concentration of
NaOH solution, a scheme of trial test was
carried out on plain geopolymer and 14 M
NaOH was selected as it gave the highest
compressive strength.
In the case of steel fiber reinforced geo-
polymer (FRG), two volume fractions of
steel fibers were used at 0.5 and 1%. The
detail mix proportions are given in Table 4.
The selection of fiber volume fractions was
selected based on actual fiber content used
in industry. In general, the amount of fibers
used in concrete depending on the usage
purposes. For toughness enhancement, the
volume fraction of 0.5% (or 40 kg) is
4 P. Sukontasukkul et al.

Table 4. Geopolymer mix proportions by weight.

Mix proportion (kg/m3)
Type FA SF Na2SiO3 NaOH River sand Steel fiber SiO2/Al2O3 ratios
PG100/0 381 – 147 59 1613 – 4.03
PG90/10 343 38 147 59 1613 – 4.99
PG80/20 305 76 147 59 1613 – 6.18
PG70/30 267 114 147 59 1613 – 7.73
0.5FRG100/0 381 – 147 59 1613 39 4.03
0.5FRG90/10 343 38 147 59 1613 39 4.99
0.5FRG80/20 305 76 147 59 1613 39 6.18
0.5FRG70/30 267 114 147 59 1613 39 7.73
1.0FRG100/0 381 – 147 59 1613 78 4.03
1.0FRG90/10 343 38 147 59 1613 78 4.99
1.0FRG80/20 305 76 147 59 1613 78 6.18
1.0FRG70/30 267 114 147 59 1613 78 7.73
Note:.
1. PGab, a ¼ fly ash percentage and b ¼ silica fume percentage
2. cFRGab, a ¼ fly ash percentage, b ¼ silica fume percentage, and c ¼ fiber volume fraction

recommended. For flexural strength and of 23–28  C for 28 days. (2) Accelerated
toughness enhancement, the volume frac- curing: the specimens were cured in an
tion of 1% (or 80 kg) is recommended. oven with temperature set at 60  C for 24 h.

2.3. Specimen preparation 2.4. Experiments

A sodium hydroxide solution and a sodium
silicate solution were prepared to the con-
centration level as mentioned in 2.1. Both
solutions were mixed with fly ash and sil-
ica fume in a pan mixer for 3 min. For
SFRG, steel fibers were added into the
fresh mix and continue mixing for another
3 min to ensure uniform fiber distribution.
The fresh geopolymer was removed from
the mixer and placed into molds and com-
pacted with a steel rod and vibrating table.
Two types of specimens were prepared:
cylinder (diameter of 150x300 mm) and
prism (100x100x350 mm), the former is
used for the compressive tests and the latter
is for the four-point bending tests. After
compaction, the excessive geopolymer was
removed, and the specimens were wrapped
with plastic sheets and left in the molds at
23–28  C for 24 h. After demolding, two
curing conditions (normal and accelerated
cures) were applied to the specimens to
investigate their effect. (1) Normal curing:
the specimens were wrapped with plastic
sheet and cured under ambient temperature
Four experiments were carried out: flow
table test (ASTM C1437), setting time test
(ASTM C807), compression test (ASTM
39), and flexural performance test
(ASTM C1609).
The flexural performance test was car-
ried out in accordance to the ASTM C1609.
To begin a test, a specimen was placed on a
simple support with a clear span length of
300 mm. A rectangular rig with two LVDT
was installed on the specimen to measure
deflections. The specimen was loaded at its
third point of the clear span length. The
results were recorded and used in calculat-
ing flexural performance parameters such
as: first-peak strength (f), residual strength
D D
(fL=150 ) and toughness (TL=150 ) at net deflec-
tion of L/150, and equivalent flexural
strength ratio using Eqs. (1)–(4) below.
First Peak Strength, f ¼
PL
(1)
bd 2
Residual strength at L=150,
PL=150  L (2)
L=150 ¼
fD
bd 2
 Journal of Sustainable Cement-Based Materials 5

Figure 1. Flow of plain and fiber-reinforced geopolymer.

Toughness at L=150 Table 5. Setting time of plain geopolymer.

ð d¼L=150 (3) Final Setting time
TD
L=150 ¼ Pdd Type (minutes)
0
PG100/0 15
Equivalent flexural strength ratio at L=150, PG90/10 19
150:T D
L=150
PG80/20 21
T , L=150 ¼
RD 100% PG70/30 25
f 1 bd 2
(4)
reduction of flow was 5–8% of that of con-
trol geopolymer. As the fiber volume frac-
3. Results and discussion tion increased to 1.0%, the flow decreased
significantly to 22–35%. The reduction of
3.1. Flow test
workability was the direct result of fibers
The test on workability of plain and fiber obstructing the flow of geopolymer mortar.
reinforced geopolymer mortars was carried
out using flow table and the results are
shown in Figure 1. For plain geopolymer, 3.2. Setting time
the flow of control mix (PG100/0) was For the setting time, the test was carried out
110% and decreased with the increasing on plain geopolymer and the results are
amount of silica fume. The superfine silica shown in Table 5. The setting time increased
fume played an important role in increasing with the increasing silica fume content. The
the water requirement and reducing the final setting time of plain geopolymer was
flow of mortar. relatively short at 15 min due to the presence
The addition of fiber decreased the of high calcium content of fly ash. With the
flow geopolymer mortar. For mortar with replacement of fly ash by 10%, 20% and
fiber volume fraction at 0.5%, the 30% silica fume by weight, the final setting
6 P. Sukontasukkul et al.
Figure 2. Compressive strength of PG and FRG under different curing conditions.
times increased to about 19, 21 and 25 min.
Generally, the setting time of fly ash geopol-
ymer is controlled by the amount of calcium
available in the mix. The replacement of fly
ash with silica fume reduced the amount of
fly ash and also calcium which led to the
increase in setting time.
3.3. Compressive strength
The compressive strength results are shown
in Figure 2. Both curing condition and sil-
ica fume content played an important role
on the compressive strength of plain geo-
polymer (PG) and fiber reinforced geopoly-
mer (FRG). For both PG and FRG under
normal curing (28-day at ambient tempera-
ture) condition, the optimum F/S ratio of
90/10 (SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of 4.99) was
observed, in which the compressive
strength increased with silica fume content
up to about 10% then decreased slowly
with further addition of silica fume. The
maximum compressive strengths of 24.1,
27.1 and 25.9 MPa were observed in the
geopolymer with fly ash/silica fume (F/S)
ratio of 90/10 (i.e. PG9010, 0.5FRG9010
and 1.0FRG9010, respectively).
The results were in line with what
Memon et al. [35] and Phoo-ngernkham
et al. had reported [36]. The addition of sil-
ica fume into fly ash based geopolymer up
to an optimum level could enhance the
compressive strength due to the increase in
the reaction products of geopolymer paste
[41]. The chemical reactions between cal-
cium oxide, SiO2 and Al2O3 under high
alkali environment formed calcium silicate
hydrate (CSH) or calcium aluminosilicate
hydrate (CASH) and sodium aluminosili-
cate hydrate (NASH) gels which led to a
higher strength geopolymer.
It is likely that decrease in compressive
strength in geopolymer with silica fume
content higher than 10% was due to the
excessive amount of SiO2 (SiO2/Al2O3
ratio higher than 4.99 under normal curing)
which caused expansion and cracking in
geopolymer at later age (28 days). Similar
findings were also reported by
Songpiriyakij et al. [42], under normal cur-
ing, the increase in SiO2/Al2O3 higher than
15.9 caused expansion and cracks to occur
in geopolymer paste.
In the case of accelerated curing (24 h at
60  C), regardless of the geopolymer type,
 Journal of Sustainable Cement-Based Materials
the type of curing did not affect the com-
pressive strength of geopolymer containing
100% fly ash (PG100/0 and FRG100/0).
However, the accelerated curing provided
adverse effect on compressive when silica
fume was presented in the mixes. The high-
est compressive strength of 17.8, 20.0 and
18.8 MPa for this curing type was observed
in the PG100, 0.5FRG100, and 1.0FRG100
mixes, respectively.
The reasons are possibly due to the
increasing rate of chemical reactions under
1) high temperature in short duration and
2) the addition of silica fume. For geopoly-
mer with 100% fly ash, the increase chem-
ical reaction rate does not seem to affect
them because fly ash is known for its slow
rate of hydration reaction. However, in the
case of silica fume which is an active SiO2
and known to accelerate the of hydration
reactions [43]. The combination of both
can significantly increase the rate of hydra-
tion and resulted in premature microstruc-
ture formations which led to low strength.
Chindaprasirt et al. [37] pointed out that
increasing silica fume content in geopoly-
mer paste (SiO2/Al2O3 ratio higher than
4.0) could lead to faster setting time which
contributed to the lowering of compres-
sive strength.
The relationship between the compres-
sive strength of PG and SFG and silica
fume content under different curing condi-
tions are illustrated in Figure 3. All geopol-
ymer types exhibited similar trend under
the same curing condition. Based on the
obtained relationships, the maximum com-
pressive strength under normal curing con-
dition was found in the mixes containing
silica fume content around 10% and under
accelerate curing condition was found in
the mixes with no silica fume.
3.4. Flexural performance
3.4.1. Effect of fiber content on flexural
response
The flexural response of PG and FRG
under different curing conditions is
7
compared in Figures 4 and 5. Regardless of
the curing conditions, the flexural behav-
iors of all PG were in brittle manner. As
soon as the load reached its peak, cracks
occurred and propagated fast. The load
dropped abruptly and led to a quick failure.
The addition of fiber improved ductility of
geopolymer significantly, especially in the
region beyond the peak load (post-
peak response).
Regardless of the curing condition and
F/S ratio, the results showed the increase in
peak bending load of both 0.5FRG and
1.0FRG at different degrees depending on
fiber content. At 0.5%Vf, the increase of
10–17% were observed in PG under nor-
mal curing (Figure 6). The flexural strength
increase significantly by 54 to 88% under
normal curing condition with fiber content
increased to 1.0%Vf (Figure 6).
Beyond peak load (after first cracking),
the flexural responses were dominated by
the interaction between fiber and geopoly-
mer paste. The addition of fiber extended
the ability to carry load of geopolymer after
the first cracking. The effect of fiber bridg-
ing across the crack played an important
role in intercepting and slowing down
crack propagation which led to the
improvement in ductility and toughness
(Figures 4 and 5). The ability to carry load
beyond cracking was found to depend
strongly on the fiber content. This is
because the increase in fiber volume frac-
tion increased number of fibers and oppor-
tunities of fibers to intercepting cracks. The
post-peak response of the FRG, however,
appeared to depend strongly not only on
the fiber content but also curing condition
and F/S ratio.
3.4.2. Effect of curing condition and F/S
ratio
The flexural responses of PG with different
F/S ratio curing under normal and acceler-
ated conditions are illustrated in Figure 7.
For plain geopolymer without silica
fume (PG100/0), the curing condition have
8 P. Sukontasukkul et al.

Figure 3. Relationship between compressive strength and silica fume content of (a) PG (b)
0.5%FRG and (c) 1.0%FRG under different curing conditions.

no effect on the flexural response. Their
responses under both normal and acceler-
ated curing were brittle with flexural
strength and deflection of about 4.4 MPa
and 0.05 mm, respectively.
Under normal curing condition
(28 days), similar to the case of compres-
sive strength, the flexural strength was
found to increase with the increase silica
fume content up to 10%, then decreased as
the silica fume content became higher than
10%. The maximum flexural strength of
5.8 MPa was observed in PG90/10. The
increase in silica fume content up to 10%
resulted in the increase in CSH and
decrease in Ca(OH)2, this subsequently
improved the compressive strength, and
bond between fibers and geopolymer paste.
Under accelerated curing condition
(24 h at 60  C), the flexural strength was
found to decrease with the presence of sil-
ica fume. The maximum flexural strength
 Journal of Sustainable Cement-Based Materials 9

Figure 4. Flexural responses of PG and FRG with F/S ratio (a) 100/0, (b) 90/10 (c) 80/20 and
(d) 70/30 under normal curing condition (28 days).

of 4.4 MPa was observed in PG without sil-
ica fume (PG100/0) and the lowest flexural
strength of 3.0 MPa was found in PG70/30.
The accelerated curing condition together
with the presence of silica fume created
premature microstructure and caused
poorer bond between fiber and geopoly-
mer matrix.
The silica fume also affected the flex-
ural behavior of PG. The increasing silica
fume content caused the flexural responses
to shift from brittle to ductile modes as
seen by the increase in toughness (area
under load deflection curve). Under
28 days curing condition, the toughness
was found to increase from 0.5 to 4.3 N-m
with silica fume content increased from 0%
to 30% (Table 6). The effect of silica fume
content was more pronounce under acceler-
ated curing. With the increasing silica fume
content from 0 to 30%, the accelerated cur-
ing increased the toughness from 0.5 to
7.4 N-m. Comparing at the same F/S ratio,
the toughness of PG cured under acceler-
ated condition was about 12-71% higher
than those cured under normal condition.
The flexural responses of FRG under
different curing conditions are shown in
10 P. Sukontasukkul et al.

Figure 5. Flexural responses of PG and FRG with F/S ratio (a) 100/0, (b) 90/10 (c) 80/20 and
(d) 70/30 under accelerated curing condition (24 h at 60  C).

Figures 8 and 9. Similar to PG, the curing
condition only affected the flexural per-
formance of FRG with silica fume content.
For those control mixes without silica fume
(0.5FRG100/0 and 1.0FRG100/0), their
flexural performance parameters such as
strength, residual strength, toughness and
equivalent flexural strength ratio were
found to be in similar range (Table 7).
For FRG containing silica fume, the
curing condition provided effect on the
flexural performance differently. Under
normal curing condition, the maximum
flexural load, residual strength, and tough-
ness occurred in the mixes containing 10%
of silica fume (0.5FRG90/10 and
1.0FRG90/10) (Table 6). With silica fume
content higher than 10%, the flexural per-
formance dropped slowly in both types of
FRG. The lowest performance was
observed in the mixes with silica fume con-
tent of 30% (0.5FRG70/30 and 1.0FRG70/
30) (Table 7).
Under accelerated curing condition, the
maximum flexural performance was found
in the mixes containing no silica fume with
values of flexural load, residual strength
and toughness of 7.5 MPa,5.7 MPa and
42 N-m and 6.4 MPa, 5.4 MPa and 38.9 N-
m in 0.5FRG100/0 and 1.0FRG100/0,
 Journal of Sustainable Cement-Based Materials 11

Figure 6. Peak bending load.

Figure 7. Flexural response of plain geopolymer under different curing conditions.

Table 6. Flexural strength and toughness of PG.

28 days curing 24 h at 60oC curing
Peak load Strength Toughness Peak load Strength Toughness
Type (kN) (MPa) (N-m) (kN) (MPa) (N-m)
PG100/0 14.5 4.4 0.5 14.6 4.4 0.5
PG90/10 19.2 5.8 2.4 11.4 3.4 2.7
PG80/20 17.5 5.2 4.6 10.8 3.2 5.8
PG70/30 13.6 4.1 4.3 10.0 3.0 7.4
12 P. Sukontasukkul et al.

Figure 8. Flexural response of 0.5FRG under different curing conditions.

Figure 9. Flexural response of 1.0FRG under different curing conditions.

respectively (Table 6). The flexural per-
formance then decreased with the addition
of silica fume. The lowest performance
was observed in the mixes with 30% silica
fume (0.5FRG70/30 and 1.0FRG70/30).
4. Conclusion
Based on the obtained results, the follow-
ing conclusion can be drawn:
Regardless of load type, under the nor-
mal curing condition (ambient temperature
for 28 days), the optimum F/S ratio which
gave the highest mechanical performance
was observed at 90/10. The increase in sil-
ica fume content over 10% led to an expan-
sion of specimen, formation of large void,
and the reduction in strength. Under the
accelerated curing condition (60  C for
24 h), the presence of silica fume reduced
the mechanical performance of geopoly-
mer. The highest mechanical performance
under accelerated curing was observed in
the geopolymer without silica fume (100/
 Journal of Sustainable Cement-Based Materials 13

Table 7. Flexural performance of FRG under different curing conditions.

L/150
Peak Peak Residual Residual Equivalent
Load Strength Load Strength Toughness Flexural strength
Type (kN) (MPa) (kN) (MPa) (N-m) ratio (%)
0.5FRG100/0-28d 16.1 4.8 11.2 3.3 25.1 78.3
0.5FRG90/10-28d 22.5 6.7 15.2 4.6 33.6 74.8
0.5FRG80/20-28d 20.1 6.0 14.4 4.3 30.8 76.9
0.5FRG70/30-28d 15.4 4.6 7.0 2.1 21.0 68.1
0.5FRG100/0-24h 18.8 5.6 13.8 4.1 30.0 80.1
0.5FRG90/10-24h 17.2 5.2 10.8 3.2 26.8 77.9
0.5FRG80/20-24h 16.5 5.0 16.2 4.9 27.1 82.0
0.5FRG70/30-24h 15.0 4.5 12.7 3.8 18.6 61.9
1.0FRG100/0-28d 24.9 7.5 19.0 5.7 42.0 84.3
1.0FRG90/10-28d 35.9 10.8 28.6 8.6 59.0 82.1
1.0FRG80/20-28d 32.9 9.9 31.8 9.5 51.8 78.8
1.0FRG70/30-28d 21.0 6.3 17.0 5.1 32.2 76.7
1.0FRG100/0-24h 21.4 6.4 18.0 5.4 38.9 91.0
1.0FRG90/10-24h 19.1 5.7 19.0 5.7 32.4 85.0
1.0FRG80/20-24h 17.2 5.2 17.2 5.2 28.6 82.9
1.0FRG70/30-24h 16.9 5.1 15.8 4.8 21.1 62.4

0). An addition of silica fume under accel- Funding

erate curing caused an increase in the rate
of hydration and resulted in premature
microstructure formations and the decrease
in strength.
In the case of flexural strength, the cur-
ing condition did not affect the plain geo-
polymer without silica fume under bending
load. Geopolymer with 100% fly ash sub-
jected to both curing conditions failed in
brittle mode with similar flexural load,
strength and toughness. The replacement of
fly ash with silica fume caused a change in
flexural behavior to shift from a brittle to
ductile mode. In the case of FRG, since the
load responses were already in a ductile
mode, the presence of silica fume caused
the responses to be more flexible with
smaller pre-peak stiffness and larger deflec-
tion at peak load.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was
reported by the author(s)
This research is funded by King
Mongkut’s University of Technology
North Bangkok under contract no. no.
KMUTNB-63-KNOW-024. The second
author would like to acknowledge funding
from Thailand Research Fund under con-
tract no. DPG6180002.
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