GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE 1

LITERATURE REVIEW

This Chapter presents the background to the needs for the development
of alternative binders to manufacture concrete and the use of fly ash in
concrete. The available published literature on geopolymer technology is
also briefly reviewed.

1.1 CONCRETE AND ENVIRONMENT

The trading of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is a critical factor for the
industries, including the cement industries, as the greenhouse effect
created by the emissions is considered to produce an increase in the global
temperature that may result in climate changes. The ‘tradeable emissions’
refers to the economic mechanisms that are expected to help the
countries worldwide to meet the emission reduction targets established
by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Speculation has arisen that one ton of
emissions can have a trading value about US$10 (Malhotra 1999; Malhotra
2004).

The climate change is attributed to not only the global warming, but also
to the paradoxical global dimming due to the pollution in the atmosphere.
Global dimming is associated with the reduction of the amount of sunlight
reaching the earth due to pollution particles in the air blocking the sunlight.
With the effort to reduce the air pollution that has been taken into
implementation, the effect of global dimming may be reduced; however it
will increase the effect of global warming (Fortune 2005). From this point
of view, the global warming phenomenon should be considered more
seriously, and any action to reduce the effect should be given more
attention and effort.

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The production of cement is increasing about 3% annually (McCaffrey

2002). The production of one ton of cement liberates about one ton of
CO2 to the atmosphere, as the result of de-carbonation of limestone in the
kiln during manufacturing of cement and the combustion of fossil fuels
(Roy 1999).
The contribution of Portland cement production worldwide to the
greenhouse gas emission is estimated to be about 1.35 billion tons
annually or about 7% of the total greenhouse gas emissions to the earth’s
atmosphere (Malhotra 2002). Cement is also among the most
energy-intensive construction materials, after aluminium and steel.
Furthermore, it has been reported that the durability of ordinary Portland
cement (OPC) concrete is under examination, as many concrete structures,
especially those built in corrosive environments, start to deteriorate after
20 to 30 years, even though they have been designed for more than 50
years of service life (Mehta and Burrows 2001).

The concrete industry has recognized these issues. For example, the U.S.
Concrete Industry has developed plans to address these issues in ‘Vision
2030: A Vision for the U.S. Concrete Industry’. The document states that
‘concrete technologists are faced with the challenge of leading future
development in a way that protects environmental quality while projecting
concrete as a construction material of choice. Public concern will be
responsibly addressed regarding climate change resulting from the
increased concentration of global warming gases. In this document,
strategies to retain concrete as a construction material of choice for
infrastructure development, and at the same time to make it an
environmentally friendly material for the future have been outlined
(Mehta 2001; Plenge 2001).

In order to produce environmentally friendly concrete, Mehta

(2002) suggested the use of fewer natural resources, less energy,
and minimise carbon dioxide emissions. He categorised these
short-term efforts as ‘industrial ecology’. The long-term goal of
reducing the impact of unwanted by-products of industry can be
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attained by lowering the rate of material consumption. Likewise,

McCaffrey (2002) suggested that the amount of carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions by the cement industries can be reduced by
decreasing the amount of calcined material in cement, by
decreasing the amount of cement in concrete, and by decreasing
the number of buildings using cement.
1.2 FLY ASH

According to the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee 116R, fly

ash is defined as ‘the finely divided residue that results from the
combustion of ground or
powdered coal and that is transported by flue gasses from the combustion
zone to the particle removal system’ (ACI Committee 232 2004). Fly ash is
removed from the combustion gases by the dust collection system, either
mechanically or by using electrostatic precipitators, before they are
discharged to the atmosphere. Fly ash particles are typically spherical,
finer than Portland cement and lime, ranging in diameter from less than 1
µm to no more than 150 µm.

The types and relative amounts of incombustible matter in the coal

determine the chemical composition of fly ash. 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 major
influence on the fly ash chemical composition comes from the type of coal.
The combustion of sub-bituminous coal contains more calcium and less
iron than fly ash from bituminous coal. The physical and chemical
characteristics depend on the combustion methods, coal source and
particle shape. The chemical compositions of various fly ashes show a wide
range, indicating that there is a wide variations in the coal used in power
plants all over the world (Malhotra and Ramezanianpour 1994).

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Fly ash that results from burning sub-bituminous coals is referred as ASTM
Class C fly ash or high-calcium fly ash, as it typically contains more than 20
percent of CaO. On the other hand, fly ash from the bituminous and
anthracite coals is referred as ASTM Class F fly ash or low-calcium fly ash.
It consists of mainly an aluminosilicate glass, and has less than 10 percent
of CaO. The colour of fly ash can be tan to dark grey, depending upon the
chemical and mineral constituents (Malhotra and Ramezanianpour 1994;
ACAA 2003). The typical fly ash produced from Australian power stations is
light to mid-grey in colour, similar to the colour of cement powder. The
majority of Australian fly ash falls in the category of ASTM Class F
lowcalcium fly ash, and contains 80 to 85% of silica and alumina (Heidrich
2002).

Aside from the chemical composition, the other characteristics of fly ash
that generally considered are loss on ignition (LOI), fineness and
uniformity. LOI is a measurement of unburnt 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.

In 2001, the annual production of fly ash in the USA was about 68 million
tons. Only 32 percent of this was used in various applications, such as in
concrete, structural fills, waste stabilisation/solidification etc. (ACAA 2003).
Ash production in Australia in 2000 was approximated 12 million tons,
with some 5.5 million tons have been utilised (Heidrich 2002). Worldwide,
the estimated annual production of coal ash in 1998 was more than 390
million tons. The main contributors for this amount were China and India.
Only about 14 percent of this fly ash was utilized, while the rest was
disposed in landfills (Malhotra 1999). By the year 2010, the amount of fly
ash produced worldwide is estimated to be about 780 million tons
annually (Malhotra 2002). The utilization of fly ash, especially in concrete
production, has significant environmental benefits, viz, improved concrete
durability, reduced use of energy, diminished greenhouse gas production,

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reduced amount of fly ash that must be disposed in landfills, and saving of
the other natural resources and materials (ACAA 2003).

1.3 USE OF FLY ASH IN CONCRETE

One of the efforts to produce more environmentally friendly concrete is to

reduce the use of OPC by partially replacing the amount of cement in
concrete with by-products materials such as fly ash. As a cement
replacement, fly ash plays the role of an artificial pozzolan, where its
silicon dioxide content reacts with the calcium hydroxide from the cement
hydration process to form the calcium silicate hydrate (CS-H) gel. The
spherical shape of fly ash often helps to improve the workability of the
fresh concrete, while its small particle size also plays as filler of voids in the
concrete, hence to produce dense and durable concrete.

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. HVFA
concrete has been proved to be more durable and resource-efficient than
the OPC concrete (Malhotra 2002). The HVFA technology
has been put into practice, for example the construction of roads in India,
which implemented 50% OPC replacement by the fly ash (Desai 2004).

1.4 GEOPOLYMERS

In 1978, Davidovits proposed that an alkaline liquid could be used to

react with the silicon (Si) and the aluminium (Al) in a source material of
geological origin or in byproduct materials such as fly ash and rice husk ash
to produce binders. Because the chemical reaction that takes place in
this case is a polymerisation process, Davidovits (1994, 1999)) coined the
term ‘Geopolymer’ to represent these binders.
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Geopolymers 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 instead of
crystalline (Palomo et al. 1999; Xu and van Deventer 2000). The
polymerisation process involves a substantially fast chemical reaction
under alkaline condition on Si-Al minerals, that results in a
threedimensional polymeric chain and ring structure consisting of
Si-O-Al-O bonds, as follows (Davidovits 1999):

Mn [-(SiO2)z–AlO2]n . wH2O
(2-1)

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
polycondensation or polymerisation; z is1,2,3, or higher, up to 32.

The schematic formation of geopolymer material can be shown as

described by Equations (2-2) and (2-3) (van Jaarsveld et al. 1997;
Davidovits 1999):

n(Si2O5,Al2O2)+2nSiO2+4nH2O+NaOH or KOH ! Na+,K+ + n(OH)3-Si-O-Al--O-Si-(OH)3 (Si-Al

materials) |
(OH)2 (2-2)
(Geopolymer precursor)

| | |
n(OH)3-Si-O-Al--O-Si-(OH)3 + NaOH or KOH ! (Na+,K+)-(-Si-O-Al--O-Si-O-) + 4nH2O
| | | |
(OH)2 O O O
(Geopolymer backbone) (2-3)

The chemical reaction may comprise the following steps (Davidovits 1999;
Xu and van Deventer 2000):

• Dissolution of Si and Al atoms from the source material through the

action of hydroxide ions. • Transportation or orientation or condensation

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of precursor ions into monomers. • Setting or

polycondensation/polymerisation of monomers into polymeric structures.

However, these three steps can overlap with each other and occur almost
simultaneously, thus making it difficult to isolate and examine each of
them separately (Palomo et al. 1999).

A geopolymer can take one of the three basic forms (Davidovits 1999): •
Poly (sialate), which has [-Si-O-Al-O-] as the repeating unit. • Poly
(sialate-siloxo),

which has [-Si-O-Al-O-Si-O-] as the repeating unit. • Poly (sialate-disiloxo),

which has [-Si-O-Al-O-Si-O-Si-O-] as the repeating unit.
Sialate is an abbreviation of silicon-oxo-aluminate.

The last term in Equation 2-3 reveals that water is released during the
chemical reaction that occurs in the formation of geopolymers. This water,
expelled from the geopolymer matrix during the curing and further drying
periods, leaves behind discontinuous nano-pores in the matrix, which
provide benefits to the performance of geopolymers. The water in a
geopolymer mixture, therefore, plays no role in the chemical reaction that
takes place; it merely provides the workability to the mixture during
handling. This is in contrast to the chemical reaction of water in a
Portland cement mixture during the hydration process.
Davidovits (1999) proposed the possible applications of the geopolymers
depending on the molar ratio of Si to Al, as given in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1: Applications of Geopolymers

Si/Al Application
1 Bricks, ceramics, fire protection

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2 Low CO2 cements, concrete, radioactive & toxic

waste encapsulation
3 Heat resistance composites, foundry equipments,
fibre glass composites
>3 Sealants for industry
20<Si/Al Fire resistance and heat resistance fibre composites
<35
Constituents of Geopolymer

1.4.1.1. Source Materials

Any material that contains mostly Silicon (Si) and Aluminium (Al) in
amorphous form is a possible source material for the manufacture of
geopolymer. Several minerals and industrial by-product materials have
been investigated in the past. Metakaolin or calcined kaolin (Davidovits
1999; Barbosa et al. 2000; Teixeira-Pinto et al. 2002), low-calcium ASTM
Class F fly ash (Palomo et al. 1999; Swanepoel and Strydom 2002), natural
Al-Si minerals (Xu and van Deventer 2000), combination of calcined
mineral and non-calcined materials (Xu and van Deventer 2002),
combination of fly ash and metakaolin (Swanepoel and Strydom 2002; van
Jaarsveld et al. 2002), and combination of granulated blast furnace slag
and metakaolin (Cheng and Chiu 2003) have been studied as source
materials.

Metakaolin is preferred by the niche geopolymer product developers due

to its high rate of dissolution in the reactant solution, easier control on the
Si/Al ratio and the white colour (Gourley 2003). However, for making
concrete in a mass production state, metakaolin is expensive.

Low-calcium (ASTM Class F) fly ash is preferred as a source material than

high- calcium (ASTM Class C) fly ash. The presence of calcium in high
amount may interfere with the polymerisation process and alter the
microstructure (Gourley 2003).

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Davidovits (1999) calcined kaolin clay for 6 hours at 750oC. He termed this
metakaolin as KANDOXI (KAolinite, Nacrite, Dickite OXIde), and used it to
make geopolymers. For the purpose of making geopolymer concrete, he
suggested that the molar ratio of Si-to-Al of the material should be about
2.0 (Table1.1).

On the nature of the source material, it was stated that the calcined
source materials, such as fly ash, slag, calcined kaolin, demonstrated a
higher final compressive strength when compared to those made using
non-calcined materials, for instance kaolin clay, mine tailings, and
naturally occurring minerals (Barbosa et al. 2000). However, Xu and van
Deventer (2002) found that using a combination of calcined (e.g. fly ash)
and non-calcined material (e.g. kaolinite or kaolin clay and albite) resulted
in significant improvement in compressive strength and reduction in
reaction time.

Natural Al-Si minerals have shown the potential to be the source materials
for geopolymerisation, although quantitative prediction on the suitability
of the specific mineral as the source material is still not available, due to
the complexity of the reaction mechanisms involved (Xu and van Deventer
2000). Among the by-product materials, only fly ash and slag have been
proved to be the potential source materials for making geopolymers. Fly
ash is considered to be advantageous due to its high reactivity that comes
from its finer particle size than slag. Moreover, low-calcium fly ash is more
desirable than slag for geopolymer feedstock material.

The suitability of various types of fly ash to be geopolymer source material

has been studied by Fernández-Jim nez and Palomo (2003). These
researchers claimed that to produce optimal binding properties, the
low-calcium fly ash should have the percentage of unburned material (LOI)
less than 5%, Fe2O3 content should not exceed 10%, and low CaO content,
the content of reactive silica should be between 40-50%, and 80-90% of
particles should be smaller than 45 µm. On the contrary, van Jaarsveld et
al (2003) found that fly ash with higher amount of CaO produced higher
compressive strength, due to the formation of calcium-aluminate-hydrate
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and other calcium compounds, especially in the early ages. The other
characteristics that influenced the suitability of fly ash to be a source
material for geopolymers are the particle size, amorphous content, as well
as morphology and the origin of fly ash.

2.4.1.2. Alkaline Liquids

The most common alkaline liquid used in geopolymerisation is a

combination of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH)
and sodium silicate or potassium silicate (Davidovits 1999; Palomo et al.
1999; Barbosa et al. 2000; Xu and van Deventer 2000; Swanepoel and
Strydom 2002; Xu and van Deventer 2002). The use of a single alkaline
activator has been reported (Palomo et al. 1999; TeixeiraPinto et al. 2002),

Palomo et al (1999) concluded that the type of alkaline liquid plays an

important role in the polymerisation process. Reactions occur at a high
rate when the alkaline liquid contains soluble silicate, either sodium or
potassium silicate, compared to the use of only alkaline hydroxides. Xu
and van Deventer (2000) confirmed that 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 geopolymerisation 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.

2.4.2. Mixture Proportions

Most of the reported works on geopolymer material to date were related

to the properties of geopolymer paste or mortar, measured by using small
size specimens. In addition, the complete details of the mixture
compositions of the geopolymer paste were not reported.

Palomo et al (1999) studied the geopolymerisation of low-calcium ASTM

Class F fly ash (molar Si/Al=1.81) using four different solutions with the
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solution-to-fly ash ratio by mass of 0.25 to 0.30. The molar SiO2/K2O or

SiO2/Na2O of the solutions was in the range of 0.63 to 1.23. The
specimens were 10x10x60 mm in size. The best compressive strength
obtained was more than 60 MPa for mixtures that used a combination of
sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solution, after curing the specimens
for 24 hours at 65oC. Xu and van Deventer (2000) reported that the
proportion of alkaline solution to alumino-silicate powder by mass should
be approximately 0.33 to allow the geopolymeric reactions to occur.
Alkaline solutions formed a thick gel instantaneously upon mixing with the
alumino-silicate powder. The specimen size in their study was 20x20x20
mm, and the maximum compressive strength achieved was 19 MPa after
72 hours of curing at 35oC with stilbite as the source material. On the
other hand, van Jaarsveld et al (1998) reported the use of the mass ratio of
the solution to the powder of about 0.39. In their work, 57% fly ash was
mixed with 15% kaolin or calcined kaolin. The alkaline liquid comprised
3.5% sodium silicate, 20% water and 4% sodium or potassium hydroxide.
In this case, they used specimen size of 50x50x50 mm. The maximum
compressive strength obtained was 75 MPa when fly ash and builders’
waste were used as the source material.

Following the earlier work of Davidovits (1982) and using calcined kaolin as
source material, Barbosa et al (2000) prepared seven mixture
compositions of geopolymer paste for the following range of molar oxide
ratios: 0.2<Na2O/SiO2<0.48; 3.3<SiO2/Al2O3<4.5 and 10<H2O/Na2O<25.
From the tests performed on the paste specimens, they found that the
optimum composition occurred when the ratio of Na2O/SiO2 was 0.25,
the ratio of H2O/Na2O was 10.0, and the ratio of SiO2/Al2O3 was 3.3.
Mixtures with high water content, i.e. H2O/Na2O = 25, developed very low
compressive strengths, and thus underlying the importance of water
content in the mixture. There was no information regarding the size of the
specimens, while the moulds used were of a thin polyethylene film.

2.4.3. Fresh Geopolymers and Manufacturing Process

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Only limited information on the behaviour of the fresh geopolymers has

been reported. Using metakaolin as the source material, Teixeira-Pinto et
al (2002) found that the fresh geopolymer mortar became very stiff and
dry while mixing, and exhibited high viscosity and cohesive nature. They
suggested that the forced mixer type should be used in mixing the
geopolymer materials, instead of the gravity type mixer. An increase in the
mixing time increased the temperature of the fresh geopolymers, and
hence reduced the workability. To improve the workability, they suggested
the use of admixtures to reduce the viscosity and cohesion.

While Teixeira-Pinto et al (2002) concluded that Vicat needle apparatus is

not appropriate to measure the setting time of fresh geopolymer concrete,
Chen and Chiu (2003) reported the only information available to date on
the quantitative measure of the setting time of geopolymer material using
the Vicat needle. For the fresh geopolymer paste based on metakaolin and
ground blast furnace slag, they measured the setting time of the
geopolymer material both at room and elevated temperature. In the
elevated temperature, the measurement was done in the oven. They
found that the initial setting time was very short for geopolymers cured at
60oC, in the range of 15 to 45 minutes.

Barbosa et al (1999) measured the viscosity of fresh metakaolin-based

geopolymer paste, and reported that the viscosity of the geopolymer
paste increased with time.

Most of the manufacturing process of making geopolymer paste involved

dry mixing of the source materials, followed by adding the alkaline
solution and then further mixing for another specified period of time (van
Jaarsveld et al. 1998; Swanepoel and Strydom 2002; Teixeira-Pinto et al.
2002).

However, Cheng and Chiu (2003) reported the mixing of the KOH and
metakaolin first for ten minutes, followed by the addition of sodium
silicate and ground blast furnace slag and a further mixing for another five

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minutes. The paste samples were then cast in 50x50x50 mm cube moulds
and vibrated for five minutes.

For curing, a wide range of temperatures and curing periods were used,
ranging from room temperature to about 90oC, and from 1 hour to more
than 24 hours. Geopolymers produced by using metakaolin have been
reported to set at ambient temperature in a short time (Davidovits 1999).
However, curing temperature and curing time have been reported to play
important roles in determining the properties of the geopolymer materials
made from by-product materials such as fly ash. Palomo et al (1999)
stated that increase in curing temperature resulted in higher compressive
strength.

Barbosa et al (2000) elaborated the process of manufacturing

geopolymers by allowing the fresh mixtures to mature in room
temperature for 60 minutes, followed by curing at 65oC for 90 minutes,
and then drying at 65oC.

2.4.4. Factors Affecting the Properties of Geopolymers

Several factors have been identified as important parameters affecting
the properties of geopolymers. Palomo et al (1999) concluded that the
curing temperature was a reaction accelerator in fly ash-based
geopolymers, and significantly affected the mechanical strength, together
with the curing time and the type of alkaline liquid. Higher curing
temperature and longer curing time were proved to result in higher
compressive strength. Alkaline liquid that contained soluble silicates was
proved to increase the rate of reaction compared to alkaline solutions that
contained only hydroxide.
Van Jaarsveld et al (2002) concluded that the water content, and the
curing and calcining condition of kaolin clay affected the properties of
geopolymers. However, they also stated that curing at too high
temperature caused cracking and a negative effect on the properties of
the material. Finally, they suggested the use of mild curing to improve the
physical properties of the material. In another study, van Jaarsveld et al

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(2003) stated that the source materials determine the properties of

geopolymers, especially the CaO content, and the water-to-fly ash ratio.

Based on a statistical study of the effect of parameters on the

polymerisation process of metakaolin-based geopolymers, Barbosa et al
(1999; 2000) reported the importance of the molar composition of the
oxides present in the mixture and the water content. They also confirmed
that the cured geopolymers showed an amorphous microstructure and
exhibited low bulk densities between 1.3 and 1.9.

Based on the study of geopolymerisation of sixteen natural Si-Al minerals,

Xu and van Deventer (2000) reported that factors such as the percentage
of CaO, K2O, and the molar Si-to-Al ratio in the source material, the type
of alkali liquid, the extent of dissolution of Si, and the molar Si-to-Al ratio
in solution significantly influenced the compressive strength of
geopolymers.

2.4.5 Geopolymer Concrete Products

1.Palomo et al (2004) reported the manufacture of fly ash-based

geopolymer concrete railway sleepers. They found that the geopolymer
concrete structural members could easily be produced using the existing
current concrete technology without any significant changes. The
engineering performances of the products were excellent, and the drying
shrinkage was small.

2.Earlier, Balaguru et al (1997; 1999) reported the use of geopolymer

composites to strengthened concrete structures as well as geopolymer
coating to protect the transportation infrastructures. They reported that
geopolymer composites have been successfully applied to strengthen
reinforced concrete beams. The performance of geopolymers was better
than the organic polymers in terms of fire resistance,

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durability under ultra violet light, and did not involve any toxic substances.
In that study, geopolymers with the Si/Al ratio of more than 30 was used.

3.suresh Thokchom et al., (2009) carried out an experimental program to

study the effect of waterabsorption, apparent porosity and sorptivity on
durability of fly ash based geopolymer mortar specimens in sulphuric acid
solution. Low calcium Class F fly ash was activated by a mixture of NaOH
and Na2SiO3containing 5% to 8% Na2O with water to fly ash ratio of 0.33
and river sand was used as fine aggregate. From the observations,
geopolymer mortar specimen manufactured with 8% Na2O resulted in
lesser values of water absorption, apparent porosity and sorptivity The
residual compressive strength after acid exposure also was found
maximum for specimen which contained 8% Na2O. It was concluded that
higher alkali content in the mix gives better reactivity with the fly ash
resulting in denser microstructure and the specimen with higher porosity
would allow more sulphuric acid solution to enter the geopolymer mortar
specimen and hence causing greater damage.

4.Temuujin et. al., (2011) intended to study the acid and alkaline
resistance of class F fly ash basedgeopolymer pastes. Geopolymer pastes
were prepared by mixing fly ash with the alkaline liquids to achieve a
composition Si:Al=2.3, Na:Al=0.88 and water:geopolymer solid = 0.19. The
alkaline compounds were 14 M NaOH and D-grade sodium silicate solution.
To know the surface crystallisation of non-reacted fly ash spheres, the
geopolymer pastes were calcined at 6000C and 10000C. The results
showed that the calcination of the geopolymers at 6000C caused about
12% weight reduction. The acid and alkali resistance of fly ash based
geopolymer pastes can be increased by calcination at 6000C.Calcining
geopolymer has reduced compressive strength by approximately 30%,
because of crack appearance and loss of the structural water. It was
observed that the acid or alkali resistance behaviour of the geopolymers
can also be improved by regulating the amount of quartz impurity and
level of iron oxides in the fly ash thus assisting the geopolymer calcination
process.
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5.Monita Olivia et al., (2011) presented a study on the strength

development, water absorption, waterpermeability and AVPV (Apparent
Volume of Permeable Voids) of low calcium fly ash geopolymer concrete.
Investigations were carried out with variations of water/binder ratio,
aggregate/binder ratio, aggregate grading, and alkaline/fly ash ratio. The
strength of fly ash geopolymer concrete was improved to a certain extent
by decreasing the water/solids ratio, the aggregate/solids ratio, and the
alkaline to fly ash ratio. The water absorption of fly ash geopolymer was
less than 5%. The water absorption got decreased by decreasing the
water/solids ratio, increasing the aggregate/solids ratio, and increasing the
alkaline/fly ash ratio. The overall percentage of AVPV and Water
absorption were less than 12%. The values can be improved by decreasing
the water/solids ratio, increasing the aggregate/solids ratio, and increasing
the alkaline/fly ash ratio. The water permeability test and void content
revealed that the concrete had “average” quality, varying from 8.2% to
13%. It was inferred that the water/solids ratio is the most influential
parameter to increase strength, and to decrease the water
absorption/AVPV and water permeability. The alkaline/fly ash ratio of 0.30
was found to increase strength and reduce porosity. It was found that an
optimum aggregate/binder ratio of 3.50 contributed to the high strength
of the concrete; however, to obtain a low porosity of fly ash geopolymer,
the ratio should be increased to 4.70.

6.Nisha Khamar et al., (2013) analysed the properties of hybrid fibre

reinforced geopolymer concrete under ambient curing Crimped steel
fibres with aspect ratio 60 were added in the mix at percentages of 0, 0.25,
0.5, 0.75 and 1. As the percentage of polypropylene increased, the fresh
properties got decreased. From the compressive strength test, in
comparing to GPC, HFRGPC has showed an increase in strength of 40% at
28 days and 37% at 56 days and comparing to SFRGPC, HFRGPC has
showed an increase in strength of 20% at 28 days and 24% at 56 days.
Percentage increase in splitting tensile strength of HFRGPC was 70% when
compared to GPC and 7% compared to SFRGPC. Percentage increase in

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flexural strength of HFRGPC was 49 % when compared to GPC and 23%

compared to SFRGPC.

7.Prakash R. Vora and Urmil V. Dave, (2013) investigated on compressive

strength of geopolymerconcrete. It was observed that longer curing time
has improved the polymerisation process resulting in development of
higher compressive strength. Rapid rate of increase in the strength has
been observed up to the curing time of 24 hours. Due to the addition of
superplasticiser there was improved workability and higher dosage of the
admixture up to 4% has resulted into reduction of the compressive
strength of the geopolymerconcrete. It was stated that compressive
strength of geopolymer concrete reduces with increase in the ratio of
water
togeopolymer solids which gives reduction in compressive strength of 33%.
It was found that with 14 M concentration of sodium hydroxide solution
higher compressive strength was achieved.

8.Maria Rajesh et al.,(2014) studied the strength of geopolymer concrete

with alkaline solution of varying molarity. From the experimental results it
was found that the optimum compressive strength, split tensile strength,
flexural strength was obtained in 12M at 28 days after ambient curing. The
compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength of GPC
specimens with 12M was 1.25 times, 1.18 times and 1.058 times more
than that of GPC with other molarities after 28 days of hot curing.

9.Debabrata Dutta et al., (2014) made study to predict the ideal curing
temperature for fly ash basedgeopolymer blended with blast furnace slag.
The curing temperature was from 55oC-85oC for GP (without any calcium
compound) and sample GB (with 15% of blast furnace slag). Sodium
hydroxide and sodium silicate solution were used as activators and the
silicate modulus was varied from 0.5 to 1.5. The samples were subjected
to compression and observed that the strength values vary a lot at
different temperature of curing and the strength value was also increased
with the increment of curing temperature over 65oC for GP. However the
optimal strength is achieved at 65oC temperature for sample GB.
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From the results the compressive strength of GB was 47.09 MPa at 65oC
curing temperature, whereas non-blended geopolymer GP was 9.98 MPa.
It was found that contribution of calcium plays a major role for the faster
dissolution of reactive species than that of curing temperature for GB
specimens and concluded that higher curing temperature has little impact
on further strength of GB specimens rather it disturbs the stable
geopolymeric structure with excessive water pressure.

10.Marlene A. Jenifer et al., (2015) analyzed the fracture behaviour of

fibre reinforced geopolymer concrete to know the impact of with and
without steel fibres on compression, split tension, flexural strength and
bond strength of hardened geopolymer concrete. Crimped stainless and
crimped mild steel fibres of aspect ratio (a/d) 60 with volume fraction of
0.75% were used in the mix. It was found that the fracture energy tend to
be higher for GPC concrete as the compressive strength increased. It can
also be seen that critical stress intensity factor tend to increase with
compressive strength in GPC and the crack resistance of GPC was higher to
that of its compressive strength.

11.Sreenivasulu et al., (2015) made a study on mechanical properties of

geopolymer concrete (GPC) using granite slurry (GS) as sand
replacement.The different replacement levels were (0%, 20%, 40% and
60%) and the fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) were
used at 50:50 ratio as geopolymer binders. Compressive strength and
splitting tensile strength properties were studied at ambient room
temperature. From the results, it was observed that compressive strength
values and splitting tensile strength values of GPC mixes were increased
with the increasing replacement levels of GS from 20% to 40% at all ages
as in the case of 20% GS + 80% sand and 40% GS + 80% sand. But these
values were decreased at the 60% replacement level of GS. It was
concluded that optimum replacement level (40%) of GS can be used in
place of sand.

11.PrasannaPrasanna Venkatesan Ramani et al., (2015) conducted an

experimental study on the strength anddurability properties of
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geopolymer concrete prepared using the ground granulated blast furnace

slag and black rice husk ash. Test results reveals that the addition of BRHA
beyond 20% is not beneficial for geopolymer concrete. The 30% BRHA
replaced specimens neither achieved significant strength nor proved
durable. The strength results showed that an optimum proportion of BRHA
that can be used in geopolymer concrete is 20%, considering the target
strength of 30 MPa. It can also be seen from the durability studies that the
geopolymer concrete performed remarkably well with regard to chloride
penetration and corrosion resistance for up to 20 % BRHA replacement.

12.Chien-Chung Chen et al., (2015) made an experimental study on

ground granulated blast slag (GGBFS) / Class C fly ash-based geopolymer
concrete to investigate material properties and the slag/fly ash ratios were
taken as 25/75, 50/50, and 75/25. Results revealed that the setting time
could be extended to about 20 minutes for slag/fly ash ratios of 50/50 and
75/25. Air contents and unit weights were ranging from 1.5 to 1.9, and the
unit weights ranging from 2,387 kg/m3to 2,393 kg/m3. It was observed
the 7-day compressive strength increased with the increase of the slag/fly
ash ratio, but for 28-day similar trend was not observed and also for the
highest slag content, there were severe micro cracks on the surface. The
studies indicated that the dry shrinkage of the slag concrete was affected
by the curing conditions and alkaline solutions.

13.Minju Jo et al, (2015) made a study to find out the optimum mix design
of fly ash geopolymer paste and its use in pervious concrete for removal of
fecal coliforms and phosphorus in water. The four factors considered were
the percentages of liquid-to-binder (L/B), FA-to-binder (FA/B), NS-tobinder
(NS/B) and the concentrations of NaOH solution (NH). The Response
Surface Methodology (RSM) was utilized to optimize the mix design. It was
found that optimum mix was at 50% L/B, 60% FA/B, 0.04% NS/B and 1.71
M NH, with a maximum 7-day compressive strength at 22.2 MPa and the
targeted flow of the fresh paste at 110%. At the contact time of 8, 3, 0.5
and 0.5 h, pervious geopolymer concrete achieved an average FC removal
at 100%, 89.5%, 43.1% and 53.9% and an average P removal at 100%,
47.0%, 21.9% and 24.9%, respectively. For the removal of fecal coliforms
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FC and phosphorus P lower NH and greater L/B, the higher flow of paste
were observed. The greatest compressive strength was observed when L/B,
FA/B and/or NH were at lower levels. On the contrary, NS/B did not show
a significant effect on the 7-day compressive strength. A greater FC and P
removals were achieved at a higher pH.

14.Kumaravel et al., (2015) studied the durability performance of various

grade of geopolymer concrete to resistance of acid and salt. HCl and
MgSO4 were used as chemicals to know the durability of geopolymer and
alumina-silicate is taken as the binder in GPC and the molarity of sodium
hydroxide was taken as 8, 12 and 14 for mix proportions of “M20, M30,
M40, M50 and

M60. The compressive strength loss for the specimens exposed in

magnesium sulphate were in the range of 4 to 10% in GPC.

15.SuriyaSuriya Prakash et al., (2015) experimented a study on

geopolymer concrete using steel fibres. The in compressive strength was
about 8.2% and 25.9 and decrease in compressive strength was about
18.1%. The increase in split tensile strength was about 26.9% and 57.4%
and decrease in split tensile strength was about 44.2% It was concluded
that the compressive strength and split tensile strength of 1% steel fiber
geopolymer concrete were found to be 5% increase in strength and found
that 1% concentration of steel fibers to be the optimum dosage.

16.Rajarajeswari and Dhinakaran (2016) attempted to produce ground

granulated blast furnace slag(GGBFS) based geopolymer concrete and to
find out its compressive strength characteristics by considering the
parameters such as ratio of alkaline liquid (AL) to (GGBFS), ratio of silicate
to hydroxide (SiO3/OH) and the age of geopolymer concrete with different
temperatures of thermal curing. The result showed that there was an
increase in compressive strength with increase in Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio and
with increase in age of concrete. It was also observed that rate of increase
of compressive strength was more for Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio from 0.5 to 1.5
than 1.5 to 2.5. It was also noted that the optimum values in preparing
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GGBFS based geopolymer concrete was with the temperature of 100°C

and Na2SiO3/NaOH = 1.5. Hence replacement of 100% of cement with
GGBFS is made possible without compromise in compressive strength.

17.Faiz Uddin Ahmed Shaikh (2016) presented the mechanical and

durability properties of geopolymerconcrete containing recycled coarse
aggregate (RCA). The results showed that the compressive strength,
indirect tensile strength and elastic modulus of geopolymer concrete
decrease with an increase in RCA contents. It was noted that the
measured durability properties increase with an increase in RCA contents.
From the comparison with OPC, it was found that there was a excellent
correlations of compressive strength with indirect tensile strength and
elastic modulus are also observed in geopolymer concrete containing RCA
and also very good correlations of compressive strength with volume of
permeable voids and water absorption of geopolymer concrete containing
RCA, while the correlation between the compressive strength and the
sorptivity is not that strong.

18.Anil Ronad et al., (2016) studied the mechanical properties of

geopolymer concrete reinforced with basalt fiber, both fly ash and GGBS
were utilized in making geopolymer concrete. Alkaline solution used was
sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide in the ratio of 2.5. Fibers were
added to the geopolymer concrete in the range of 0.5% to 2.5% at 0.5%
increments. The compressive strength of the GPC was observed to be
enhanced by 34.74 % on the addition of the fibers. The percentage
increase in tensile strength of the GPC was found to be 47.5% with the
incorporation of basalt fibers. Hence it was concluded that addition of
basalt fibers at 2% to the geopolymer concrete can increase both
compressive and tensile strength and also basalt fiber act as a crack
arrestors and prevent sudden failure of the structure.

19.Francis N. Okoye et al., (2017) investigated the effect of silica fume on

durability properties of fly ashbased geopolymer by conducting chemical
attack and measuring the change in the weights and percent losses in
compressive strength at different intervals of time. Low calcium fly ash (FA)
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was used as base material. Sodiumhydroxide and sodium silicate were

used as alkali activators and naphthalene sulfonate was used as chemical
admixture. The experiments were carried out with 2% Sulphuric acid
(H2SO4) and 5% sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions and with mixes of 0,10
and 20% silica fume named as GPC1, GPC2 and GPC3along with fly ash. It
was found that 20% incorporated silica fume GPC exposed to 2% H2SO4
for 90 d showed no deterioration in acid solution nor erosion of surface
and the weight loss was lower as compared to 0, 10% silica fume.
GPC3showed minimum loss in compressive strength on exposure to 2%
H2SO4 for 90 d. The results for the exposure in 5% NaCl solution showed
that there was no deterioration or erosion of surface GPC particularly
GPC3 and only a slight weight loss in all the GPC samples and for the
compressive strength there was a slow decrease in compressive strength
in the case of GPC1 and GPC2 and practically no decrease in GPC3.
Geopolymer concrete in presence of 20% silica fume possessed excellent
long term durability properties capable of resisting chemical attack.

20.Abhilash et al., (2017) made an experimental study to evaluate the

resistance of geopolymer concrete to acid environment. The materials
used were Low-calcium fly ash, slag as fine aggregate, crushed stone up to
70% by weight as coarse Aggregate and remaining 30% was replaced by
Coal washery rejects. M 25 grade concrete was designed and 6M molarity
was adopted. It was concluded that the weight of geopolymer concrete
decreases when the acid concentration increases and the reduction in
compressive strength of geopolymer concrete was 0.61% were as in
cement concrete it was 0.69%. Hence it has been proven that geopolymer
concrete has a good wear and tear resistance to acidic environment.

21.Boopalan et al., (2017) made an investigation of bond strength of

reinforcing bars in fly ash andGGBS based geopolymer concrete. 12 and 16
mm dia. bars were embedded in fly ash and GGBS based geopolymer
concrete and conventional Portland Pozzolana cement concrete
specimens. Bond stress increases with increase in compressive strength
for both GPC and PPCC. Bond stress in GPC was more than that of PPCC at
similar strength levels. The peak bond stress obtained from investigation
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were found to be 4.3 times more than the design bond stress as per
IS:456-2000 for GPC mixes and the same is 3.6 times more for PPCC mixes.
Hence, it is concluded that GPCs was found to possess higher bond
strength compared to conventional Portland cement concretes.

22.Lakshmi Prasad et al., (2017) studied the properties of GGBS and

Phosphogypsum blendedgeopolymer concrete. The results showed that
the strength of geopolymer concrete made by blending with GGBS has
increased with increase in GGBS percentage and in case of
Phosphogypsum the strength has increased upto certain limit and then the
strength decreased with increase in Phosphogypsum percentage.

23.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 Geopolymer 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.

24. D. M. J. Sumajouw D. Hardjito S. E. Wallah B. V. Rangan (2007)

presents the results of experimental study and analysis on the behaviour
and the strength of reinforced Geopolymer concrete slender columns.
They concluded that heat-cured low-calcium fly ash-based geopolymer
concrete has excellent potential for applications in the precast industry.
The products currently produced by this industry can be manufactured
using geopolymer concrete. The design provisions contained in the current
standards and codes can be used in the case of geopolymer concrete
products.

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25. Shuguang Hu, Hongxi Wang, GaozhanZhang ,Qingjun Ding(2007) they

prepared three repair materials by using cement-based, geo-polymeric, or
geo-polymeric containing steel slag binders. They concluded that the
geo-polymeric materials had better repair characteristics than
cement-based repair materials, and the addition of steel slag could
improve significantly the abrasion resistance of geopolymeric repair. By
means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) it can also be concluded
that the steel slag was almost fully absorbed to take part in the
alkali-activated reaction and be immobilized into the amorphous
aluminosilicategeopolymermatrix.

27. Christina K. Yip, Grant C. Lukey, John L. Provis, Jannie S.J. van
Deventer(2008) in this paper at low alkalinity, the compressive strength of
matrices prepared with predominantly amorphous calcium silicates (blast
furnace slag) or containing crystalline phases specifically manufactured for
reactivity (cement) is much higher than when the calcium is supplied as
crystalline silicate minerals. They concluded that the compressive strength
of matrices containing natural (crystalline) calcium silicates improves with
increasing alkalinity, however the opposite trend is observed in matrices
synthesised with processed calcium silicate sources. 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.

[1]. Zhu Pan, Jay G. Sanjayan , B. V. Rangan(2009) they concluded that

the ductility of the mortars has a major correlation to this strength
gain/loss behaviour. They prepared the specimens with two different fly
ashes, with strengths ranging from 5 to 60 MPa, were investigated. They
concluded that the strength losses decrease with increasing ductility, with
even strength gains at high levels of ductility. This correlation is attributed
to the fact that mortars with high ductility have high capacity to
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accommodate thermal incompatibilities. It is believed that the two

opposing processes occur in mortars: (1) further geo-polymerisation
and/or sintering at elevated temperatures leading to strength gain; (2) the
damage to the mortar because of thermal incompatibility arising from
non-uniform temperature distribution. The strength gain or loss occurs
depending on the dominant process.

[2]. 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. They concluded that a high
compressive strength was obtained when the class C fly ash (CFA) was
activated by the mixed alkali activator (sodium hydroxide and sodium
silicate solution) with the optimum modulus viz., molar ratio of SiO2/Na2O
of 1.5. When CFA is alkali activated the sphere seems to be attacked and
broken due to the dissolution of alumino-silicate in the high pH alkali
solution. 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.

[3]. SmithSongpiriyakij,TeinsakKubprasit,ChaiJaturapitakkul,
PrinyaChindaprasirt(2010) they usedRice husk 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 was
15.9. Fly ash was more reactive than RHBA. [19]. N A Lloyd and B V
Rangan (2010) concluded based on the tests conducted on various
short-term and long-term properties of the geo-polymer concrete and the
results of the tests conducted on large-scale reinforced geo-polymer
concrete members show that geo-polymer concrete is well-suited to
manufacture precast concrete products that can be used in infrastructure
developments. In this paper a simple method to design geo-polymer
concrete mixtures has also described and illustrated by an example. The
paper also includes brief details of some recent applications of
geopolymerconcrete

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28.Jamdade P.K et.al (2014)[1] promoted the use of industrial waste fly
ash as the replacement for cement. Researchers done experiments on
curing time, curing temperature of geopolymer concrete. The compressive
strength rises from 12 hrs to 24 hrs at 60°c. The compressive strength is
considerably achieved but for the polymerization the temperature is not
sufficient. The study shows that, for polymerisation the temperature
90°c is quite sufficient. Geopolymer concrete gives more strength than
normal concrete in minimum period of curing. Geopolymer concrete has
larger compressive strength with higher curing temperature. Increase in
the curing temperature beyond 60° c did not increase the compressive
strength substantially. As the curing time is increased, it will improve the
polymerization and increase the compressive strength.
29.Krishnan L et.al (2014)[2] conducted studies and concluded that the
geopolymer technology is suitable for application in concrete industry as
an alternative binder to the Portland cement. Geopolymer binder is
prepared using fly ash and GGBS( ground granulated blast furnace slag)
with alkaline liquids sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate. A 12 Molarity
solution was taken to prepare the mix. The objective of this research work
was to produce a carbon dioxide emission free cementious material.
Geopolymer concrete is such a material that avoids such harmful effects.
The emission of carbon dioxide during the production of ordinary Portland
cement is very much high. The production of one ton of Portland cement
emits approximately one ton of CO2 into the atmosphere
30.Ali A. Aliabdo et.al (2016)[3] used an innovative industrial waste fly ash
as a replacement of cement and the effect of little addition of cement with
fly ash are described in this work. Objective of the study is to find out the
compressive strength, split tensile strength characteristics of fly ash based
geopolymer and also with some addition of cement. This paper also
intends to find out the alkaline solution resting time, curing period and
curing temperature on fly ash based geopolymer concrete. The study
results show that, generally adding cement improves all fly ash based
geopolymer properties but it does not improve workability. The increase
of fly ash content improves geopolymer concrete properties. Using 30 min
resting solution has a significant effect on geopolymer properties
compared with using 24 h resting solution.
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31.Hardijito et.al (2008)[4] observed that higher concentration of sodium

hydroxide resulted higher compressive strength. Higher compressive
strength of geopolymer concrete is also shown when the ratio of sodium
silicate-tosodium hydroxide liquid ratio by mass is higher. There is an
increase in compressive strength with the increase in curing temperature
in the range of 30 to 90 °C. Longer curing time also increased the
compressive strength.

32.Rashida A jhumarwala et.al (2013)[5] conducted an experimental

investigation on Self compacting geopolymer concrete (SCGC). SCGC were
synthesized from low calcium fly ash and it is activated by combination of
sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solution. Incorporation of super
plasticizer is done for self-compatibility. In this study it is observed that
maximum compressive strength of SCGC is achieved at higher temperature
cured concrete. It is also observed that, as molarity increases the strength
goes on decreasing.
33.Sashidhar C et.al (2015)[6] conducted study on Fresh and Strength
Properties of Self compacting Geopolymer Concrete Using Manufactured
Sand. In this study, SCGC mixes were manufactured using class F fly ash
and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) with proportion of 50:50
and with 100% manufactured sand (MS). This investigation is mainly
focused on the fresh and compressive strength properties of SCGC. It is
done by varying the molarity of sodium hydroxide. During all curing
periods at ambient temperature, the contribution of GGBS helps the SCGC
mixes to attain significant compressive strength development.

34.Ushaa T G et.al (2015)[7] investigated the performance of self

compacting geopolymer concrete containing different mineral admixtures.
In this study, fly ash was replaced by different mineral admixtures. The use
of such materials reduces the cost of self compacting geopolymer concrete.
It occurs especially if the mineral admixtures used are waste or industrial
by-product. From the study it was found that all the self compacting
geopolymer concrete mixes had a satisfactory performance in the fresh

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state. Good workability is found for blast furnace slag series compared to
silica fume series among the mineral admixtures considered.

35.Shankar.H.Sanni et.al (2013)[8] conducted experimental investigation

on the variation of alkaline solution on mechanical properties of
geopolymer concrete based on fly ash. The grades chosen for the
investigation were M-30, M-40, M-50, M-60 and the mixes were designed
for 8 molarity. The alkaline solution used for the study was the
combination of sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide solution and the
varying ratio taken are 2, 2.50, 3 and 3.50. The test specimens were
150x150x150 mm cubes and 100x200 mm cylinders. Specimens were
heat-cured at 60°C in an oven. The freshly prepared geopolymer mixes
were cohesive. Increase in the ratio of alkaline solution increases the
workability. The strength of geopolymer concrete can be improved by
decreasing the water/binding and also aggregate/binding ratios. The
curing period improves the polymerization process resulting in higher
compressive strength. The obtained compressive strength is in the range
of 20.64 – 60 N/mm2 and split tensile strength is in the range of 3 – 4.9
N/mm2. The optimum dosage for alkaline solution can be considered as
2.5 and because for this ratio, the strength is maximum for GPC specimens
of any grade in compression and tension.

36.Faiz uddin ahmed sheikh (2016)[9] in his paper, presents mechanical

and durability properties of geopolymer concrete that contains recycled
coarse aggregate (RCA). The RCA is collected from local construction and
demolition (C&D) waste in Perth, Australia. The RCA is used as a partial
replacement of natural coarse aggregate (NCA) in geopolymer concrete.
Replacement at 15%, 30% and 50% by weight which is corresponding to
series two, three and four, respectively, whereas the geopolymer concrete
containing 100% NCA is control and is considered as the first series. The
effects of RCA on the measured mechanical and durability properties of
geopolymer concrete follow similar trend in cement concrete.
Observations are done in very good correlations of compressive strength
with volume of permeable voids and water absorption of geopolymer
concrete containing RCA, whereas the correlation between the
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compressive strength and the sorptivity is not that strong. This paper
presents preliminary study on the effect of recycled coarse aggregates
(RCA) mainly on the mechanical and durability properties of fly ash based
geopolymer concrete. The mechanical properties are measured at 7 days
and 28 days whereas the durability properties are measured at 28 days.
37.Sabina kramar et.al (2015)[10] in her study, deals with the mechanical
and microstructural characterization of geopolymers synthesized from
locally available fly ash. Sodium silicate solution is used for activating low
calcium fly ash. Characterization of samples were done by means of
flexural and compressive tests, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier
transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy
(SEM). Mercury intrusion porosimetry and gas sorption were used to
identify porosity and pore size distributions. The compressive strength of
the geopolymers, which is in the range of 1.6 to 53.3 N/mm2, is strongly
related to the water content and also with the SiO2 / Na2O mass ratio of
an alkali activator. The compressive strength significantly increased with
decrease in the water content and also with the increased silicon
concentration used for the synthesis of geopolymers.

38.Emad Benhelal et.al(2013)[11] investigated that cement industry has

been always among the largest CO2 emission sources. Almost 5-7% of
global CO2 emissions are caused by cement plants, while 900 kg of CO2 is
emitted to the atmosphere for the production of one ton of cement. In
this particular work, discussions have been done on global strategies and
potentials toward mitigation of CO2 emissions in cement plant and the
most promising approaches have been introduced. More over the barriers
against worldwide deployment of such strategies are identified and
comprehensively described. Detail review have been done in three
strategies of CO2 reduction including energy saving, carbon separation and
storage as well as utilizing alternative materials. The significant industrial
CO2 emissions released impose an immeasurable impact on the
environment. Its atmospheric concentration was substantially enlarged
over the past decades from 1.1% per year for 1990-1999, to 3.5% per year
for 2000-2007 and eventually reached to 394.35 ppm in May 2011. With
the increase in the CO2 emissions to the environment for the past decades
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that contribute to the global warming phenomenon, more research was

done to overcome this problem. Beside that these emissions strictly forced
governments around the world to discuss promising approaches toward
emission control and mitigation that could be applied by all industries that
facing the same CO2 emission problem especially for the cement industry.
Cement plant has been always among industries which generate plenty of
CO2 aside from other sectors such as electricity and heat generation
sector and transportation sector. In addition to CO2 generation due to
fossil fuels combustion in the cement production, carbon dioxide is also
produced as by-product during decomposition reactions. Moreover in
conventional plants various near optimal design and operation lead to
extra and undesired emissions of CO2 into the environment. Therefore,
this analysis was done with objectives to clearly review all the factors that
need to be taken into consideration in implementing the strategic
approaches on reducing the CO2 emission to the environment by the
cement industries.

39.Daniel L Y(2010)[12] in his paper, presents a study on geopolymers and

geopolymer/aggregate composites made with class F flyash. Samples were
heated up to 800° C to evaluate strength loss due to thermal damage.
There is 53% of strength increase for geopolymer after temperature
exposure. The tests show that the aggregates steadily expanded with
temperature with an expansion of about 1.5–2.5% at 800°C.
Correspondingly, the geopolymer matrix undergoes contraction of about
1% between 200°C and 300°C and also a further contraction of 0.6%
30
between 700°C and 800°C. This apparent 30 incompatibility is concluded to
30
be the cause of the observed strength loss. 15 different geopolymer
combinations and four different aggregates are presented in this study.

DEPT,OF CIVIL ENGG GOVERNMENT ENGG COLLEGE ,HASSAN