POTENTIAL OF INDUSTRIAL WASTES TO PRODUCE GEO-

POLYMER CONCRETE OF PRACTICAL UTILITY

Jaya Prakash S -960515103309

Ram Surath R -960515103033
Gokul Krishnan GU -960515103703
Sadanand S -960515103035

under the guidance of

Mr.P.SAGAYA AROKIA RAJ.,M.E.,
Assistant Professor
Civil Engineering Dept.,
CIT
 ABSTRACT

• Ordinary Portland cement is a major construction material

worldwide. Cement manufacturing industry is one of the carbon
dioxide emitting sources besides deforestation and burning of fossil
fuels. The global warming is caused by the emission of greenhouse
gases, such as CO2, to the atmosphere. Among the greenhouse
gases, CO2 contributes about 65% of global warming. The global
cement industry contributes about 7% of greenhouse gas emission to
the earth’s atmosphere. In order to address environmental effects
associated with Portland cement, there is a need to develop
alternative binders to make concrete.
• One of the efforts to produce more environmentally friendly
concrete is the development of inorganic alumino-silicate polymer,
called geopolymer, synthesized from materials of geological origin or
by-product materials such as fly ash that are rich in silicon and
aluminum.
• In this project work, low-calcium (Class F) fly ash-based geopolymer
from Ennore Thermal power plant has been used for the production
of geopolymer concrete. The combination of sodium silicate solution
and sodium hydroxide solution was used as alkaline solution for fly
ash activation. Alkaline solution to fly ash ratio was varied as 0.35,
0.40 & 0.45.The concentration of sodium hydroxide solution was
maintained as 8M (Molars).The curing condition of geopolymer
concrete was varied as ambient curing and oven curing at 60°C and
100°C. The compressive strength of the geopolymer concrete was
tested at various ages such as 7, 14 and 28 days.
• From the test results it was found that (a) as the alkaline solution to
fly ash ratio increases, the compressive strength of geopolymer
concrete also increases. (b) Compressive strength of oven cured
concrete was more than that of ambient cured concrete. (c)
Compressive strength of concrete increases as the curing
temperature increased from 60°C to 100°C.
 INTRODUCTION
GENERAL
• Concrete is the widely used construction material that makes best foundations,
architectural structures, bridges, roads, block walls, fences and poles. The production
of one ton of Portland cement emits approximately one ton of CO2 into the
atmosphere. Among the green house gases, CO2 contributes about 65% of global
warming. The contribution of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) production worldwide
to greenhouse gas emissions is estimated to be approximately 1.35 billion tons
annually or approximately 7% of the total green house gas emissions to the earth‟s
atmosphere. However, the cement industry is extremely energy intensive. After
aluminium and steel, the manufacturing of Portland cement is the most energy
intensive process as it consumes 4GJ of energy per ton. After thermal power plants
and the iron and steel sector, the Indian cement industry is the third largest user of
coal in the country. The industry‟s capacity at the beginning of the year 2008-09 was
about 198 million tones. The cement demand in India is expected to grow at 10%
annually in the medium term buoyed by housing, infrastructure and corporate capital
expenditures. Considering an expected production and consumption growth of 9 to
10 percent, the demand-supply position of the cement industry is expected to
improve from 2008-09 onwards (Ragan & Hardjito,2006 2005) .
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
• GENERAL
• This chapter presents the information about the constituents of geopolymer
concrete and its applications. The available published literature on
geopolymer technology is also reviewed.
• GEOPOLYMER
• In 1978, Davidovits proposed that binders could be produced by a polymeric
reaction of alkaline liquids with the silicon and the aluminum in source
materials of geological origin or by-product materials such as fly ash and rice
husk ash. These binders were termed as geopolymers, because the chemical
reaction that takes place in this case is a polymerization process.
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. The
polymerization process involves a substantially fast chemical reaction under
alkaline condition on Si-Al minerals, that results in a three dimensional
polymeric chain and ring structure consisting of Si-O-Al-O bonds are formed.
The schematic formation of geopolymer material can be described by the
following equations (Ragan & Hardjito 2006).
n(Si205,Al202)+2nSi02+4nH20+NaOH or KOH →Na +,K + +n(OH)3-Si-O-Al +-O-Si-(OH)3
(Si-Al materials)

(OH)2
(Geopolymer precursor)

n(OH)3Si-0-A1*-0-Si-(OH)3 + NaOH or KOH → (Na+,K+)-(-Si-O-A1-O-Si.04) + 4nH20

(OH)2
O O O
(Geopolymer backbone)
CHEMICAL REACTION OF GEOPOLYMER
The equation revealed 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 (ragan & hardjito et al 2010).

A geopolymer can take one of the three basic forms, as a repeating unit as shown
in Figure.
• 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.

 CONSTITUENTS OF GEOPOLYMER
Source Materials
Any material that contains mostly Silicon (Si) and
Aluminum (Al) in amorphous form is a possible source material for the
manufacture of geopolymer. These could be natural minerals such as kaolinite,
clays, or byproduct materials such as fly ash, silica fume, slag, rice husk ash, red
mud, etc. The choice of the source materials for making geopolymers depends
on factors such as availability, cost and type of application and specific demand
of the end users.
Fly ash
According to the American Concrete Institute
Committee(ACI) 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
gases from the combustion zone to the particle removal system‟. Fly ash
particles are typically spherical, finer than Portland cement and lime, ranging in
diameter from less than 1µm to no more than 150µm.The chemical composition
is mainly composed of the oxides of silicon (SiO2), aluminum (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. 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 alumino-silicate glass, and
has less than 10 percent of CaO
 Alkaline Liquids
• The alkaline liquids are from soluble alkali metals that are usually sodium or
potassium based. 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. The
type of alkaline liquid plays an important role in the polymerization 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. Generally the NaOH solution caused a higher extent of
dissolution of minerals than the KOH solution. The sodium hydroxide (NaOH)
solution is prepared by dissolving either the flakes or the pellets in water.
The mass of NaOH solids in a solution varied depending on the
concentration of the solution expressed in terms of molar, M. For instance,
NaOH solution with a concentration of 8M consisted of 8x40 = 320 grams of
NaOH solids (in flake or pellet form) per liter of the solution, where 40 is the
molecular weight of NaOH. The mass of NaOH solids was measured as 262
grams per kg of NaOH solution of 8M. Similarly, the mass of NaOH solids per
kg of the solution for other concentrations were measured as 10M: 314
grams, 12M: 361 grams, 14M: 404 grams, and 16M: 444 grams
Basic forms of geopolymer as repeating unit
GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE AN OVERVIEW
Rangan [17] conducted studies on heat cured low calcium fly ash based
geopolymer concrete. The influence of salient factors such as water to geopolymer
solids ratio, mixing time, curing time and curing temperature on the properties of
geopolymer concrete in the fresh and hardened states were identified. The short
term and long term properties of geopolymer concrete, creep and drying shrinkage,
sulfate and sulfuric acid resistance of geopolymer concrete were discussed. The
economic benefits of the geopolymer concrete were also briefly discussed. This
paper concluded that heat cured low calcium fly ash based geopolymer concrete
possess excellent resistance to sulfate attack, good acid resistance, undergoes low
creep and drying shrinkage.
Hardjito and Rangan [9] had investigated the use of fly ash as binder to make
concrete with no cement. The experimental work has been done using low calcium
fly ash as binder and sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solution as activators. The
effect of salient parameters like concentration of sodium hydroxide solution, ratio of
sodium silicate solution to sodium hydroxide solution, curing temperature, curing
time, handling time, addition of super plasticizer, water content in the mixture and
mixing time on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete were discussed.
Based on the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete, the recommended values
for test variables are the following

(i) The concentration of sodium hydroxide solution was in the range

between 8 M and 16 M.
(ii) The sodium silicate solution-to-sodium hydroxide solution ratio by mass
was in the range of 0.4 to 2.5.
(iii) The alkaline solution-to-fly ash ratio by mass was approximately 0.35 to
0.45.
SEM analysis of fresh transition zone ( Development of geopolymer concrete)
SEM analysis after hydration (Development of geopolymer concrete)
 EXPERIMENTATION AND METHODOLOGY

GENERAL
The physical and chemical properties of materials, mixture
proportions, the mixing process and the curing conditions of
geopolymer concrete were discussed in this chapter
MATERIALS AND THEIR PROPERTIES
The materials used for making fly ash-based geopolymer
concrete specimens were low-calcium fly ash, aggregates, alkaline
liquids, extra water and super plasticizer.
Fly ash
The fly ash used in this study was obtained from Ennore
Thermal power plant. It falls in the category of class F grade and its
chemical composition was given in Table 3.1, The physical properties
of fly ash were determined as per IS: 1727-1967 and given in Table
 Chemical composition of Ennore fly ash as
reported by Naik
Components SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 TiO2 CaO MgO Na2O K2O Loss on
ignition
% by mass 56.77 31.88 2.82 2.77 0.78 2.39 0.68 1.96 0.93

Physical properties of fly ash

Sl. No Properties Test Results

1 Specific gravity of fly ash 2.13

2 Fineness, Percentage 99.6%

passing on 150 µm sieve
3 Fineness, Percentage 98.1%
passing on 90 µm sieve
 Coarse aggregates
• Locally available crushed granite stone aggregate of 20mm maximum
size was used as coarse aggregate. The coarse aggregate passing
through 20mm and retaining 4.75mm was used for experimental
work. The following properties of coarse aggregates were
determined as per IS: 23861963 and given in Table3.3 and sieve
analysis were presented in a Table 3.4. The gradation curve for coarse
aggregate was shown in Figure

Sl. No Properties Test results

1 Specific gravity 2.68

2 Fineness modulus 8.65

3 Bulk density 1540 Kg/m3

4 Water absorption 0.5%

Properties of coarse aggregate

 Sieve analysis of coarse aggregate
IS Sieve Size Weight retained (%) Cumulative Weight Cumulative Weight
retained (%) Passing (%)
20mm 45.0 45.0 55

16mm 38.0 83.0 17

12.5mm 15.0 98.0 2

10mm 1.35 99.35 0.65

4.7mm 0.05 99.40 0.60

Gradation curve for coarse Aggregate
Fine aggregates

The locally available river sand, passing through 4.75 mm was used in this
experimental work. The following properties of fine aggregates were determined
as per IS: 2386-1963 and given in Table 3.5 and sieve analysis were presented in
a Table 3.6. The gradation curve for coarse aggregate was shown in Figure

Sl. No Properties Test results

1 Specific gravity 2.65

2 Fineness modulus 2.49

3 Bulk density 1260 Kg/m3

4 Water absorption 1%
Sieve analysis of fine aggregate

IS Sieve Size Weight retained ( Cumulative Cumulative

%) Weight retained ( Weight Passing ( %
%) )
4.75mm 1.15 1.15 98.85

2.36mm 0.6 1.75 98.25

1.18mm 20.85 22.6 77.4

600µm 25.55 48.15 51.85

300µm 29.75 77.9 22.1

150µm 20.5 98.4 1.6

Gradation curve for Fine Aggregate
 Alkaline solution
• A combination of sodium silicate solution and sodium hydroxide
solution was used as alkaline solution. The sodium silicate solution
A53 with SiO2 to Na2O ratio by mass approximately 2, ie (Na2O =
14.7%, SiO2=29.4% and water 55.9% by mass) was used. The sodium
with 97-98% purity, in flake or pellet form was used. The solids must
be dissolved in water to make a solution with the required
concentration. The concentrations of sodium hydroxide solution as 8
Molar. The ratio of sodium silicate solution to sodium hydroxide
solution by mass was fixed as 2.5.The reason being the sodium
silicate solution was cheaper than the sodium hydroxide solution.
Super Plasticizer
In order to improve the workability of fresh concrete, a sulphonated, naphthalene
formaldehyde condensate-based super plasticizer was used for the concrete mixtures
as water reducing agents. The super plasticizer was a dark brown solution containing
42% solids
Water Content of Mixture
• In ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete, water in the mixture chemically
reacts with the cement to produce a paste that binds the aggregates. In
contrast, the water in a low-calcium fly ash-based geopolymer concrete
mixture does not cause a chemical reaction. In fact, the chemical reaction
that occurs in geopolymers produces water that is eventually expelled from
the binder. However, water content in the geopolymer concrete mixture
affected the properties of concrete in the fresh state as well as in the
hardened state. The water content in the geopolymer concrete mixtures was
expressed by a single parameter called „water to geopolymer solids ratio by
mass.
• In this parameter, the total mass of water is the sum of the mass of water
contained in the sodium silicate solution, the mass of water in the sodium
hydroxide solution, and the mass of extra water added to the mixture. The
mass of geopolymer solids is the sum of the mass of fly ash, the mass of
sodium hydroxide solids, and the mass of solids in the sodium silicate
solution. In this project work, the „water to geopolymer solids‟ ratio was
fixed as 0.26 a constant value, to find out the influence of other parameters
on the compressive strength of Geopolymer concrete.
 MIXTURE PROPORTIONS
• As in the case of Portland cement concrete, the coarse and fine
aggregates occupy about 75 to 80% of the mass of geopolymer
concrete. The performance criteria of a geopolymer concrete depend
on the application. The compressive strength of hardened concrete
and the workability of fresh concrete are selected as the
performance criteria. In order to meet the performance criteria, the
alkaline liquid to binder ratio by mass, water to geopolymer solids
ratio by mass, the heat curing temperature and the heat curing time
are selected as parameters.
• Rangan has proposed guidelines for the design of heat cured low
calcium fly ash based geopolymer concrete. Based on the results
obtained from numerous mixtures made in the laboratory over a
period of four years, the data in Table 3.7 for the design of low
calcium fly ash based geopolymer concrete were proposed.
• The above proposed method for the design of mixture proportion
was adopted in this project work. The mixture proportions for various
alkaline solutions to fly ash ratios such as 0.35, 0.40 & 0.45 were
given in Table 3.8. The mix design for low–calcium fly ash based
geopolymer concrete for alkaline solution to fly ash ratio of 0.35 has
been reported in Appendix A.
 Data for Design of low calcium fly ash based
geopolymer concrete mixtures as reported by
Rangan
Water to geopolymer solids ratio, Workability Design compressive strength (wet
by mass mixing time of 4 minutes, steam
curing at 60°C for 24hrs after
casting), MPa
0.16 Very stiff 60

0.18 Stiff 50

0.20 Moderate 40

0.22 High 35

0.24 High 30
Mixture proportion per m3 of geopolymer concrete
MANUFACTURE OF GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE
Preparation of Liquids
• The sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solids were dissolved in water to make the
solution. The mass of NaOH solids in a solution varied depending on the
concentration of the solution expressed in terms of molar, M. For instance,
NaOH solution with a concentration of 8M consisted of 8x40 = 320 grams of
NaOH solids (in flake or pellet form) per liter of the solution, where 40 is the
molecular weight of NaOH. The mass of NaOH solids was measured as 262
grams per kg of NaOH solution of 8M concentration. Note that the mass of
NaOH solids was only a fraction of the mass of the NaOH solution, and water
was the major component. The sodium silicate solution and the sodium
hydroxide solution were mixed together at least one day prior to use to
prepare the alkaline liquid. On the day of casting of the specimens, the
alkaline liquid was mixed together with the super plasticizer and the extra
water (if any) to prepare the liquid component of the mixture.
Manufacture of Fresh Concrete and Casting
• Geopolymer concrete can be manufactured by adopting the
conventional techniques used in the manufacture of Portland cement
concrete. In the laboratory, the fly ash and the aggregates were first
mixed together in the pan mixer for about 3 minutes. The aggregates
were prepared in saturated surface dry condition. The alkaline
solution was then added to the dry materials and the mixing
continued for further about 4 minutes to manufacture the fresh
concrete. The fresh concrete could be handled up to 120 minutes
without any sign of setting and without any degradation in the
compressive strength. The fresh concrete was shown in Figure
3.3.The fresh concrete was cast into the moulds immediately after
mixing, in three layers for cubical specimens of size 100mm x 100mm
x 100mm. For compaction of the specimens, each layer was given 60
to 80 manual strokes using a roding bar.
Fresh Geopolymer concrete
 Curing of geopolymer concrete
• Heat curing of low calcium fly ash based geopolymer concrete is generally
recommended. Heat curing substantially assists the chemical reaction that occurs
in the geopolymer paste. Both curing time and curing temperature influence the
compressive strength of geopolymer concrete. The curing time varied from 4
hours to 96 hours. Longer curing time improved the polymerization process
resulting in higher compressive strength. The rate of increase in strength was
rapid up to 24 hours of curing time and beyond 24 hours, the gain in strength was
only moderate.
• Higher curing temperature of geopolymer concrete resulted in higher
compressive strength. Heat curing can be achieved by either steam curing or dry
curing. Compressive strength of dry cured geopolymer concrete is approximately
15% more than that of steam cured geopolymer concrete. The temperature
required for heat curing can be as low as 30°. In tropical climates, this range of
temperature can be provided by the ambient conditions. Also, the start of heat
curing of geopolymer concrete can be delayed for several days. The delay in the
start of heat curing up to five days did not produce any degradation in the
compressive strength. In fact, such a delay in the start of heat curing substantially
increased the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete. This may be due to
the geopolymerisation that occurs prior to the start of heat curing.
 Curing of Test Specimens

• After casting, geopolymer concrete specimens were cured

immediately. Two types of curing were used in this study, i.e. Oven
curing and Ambient curing. For Oven curing, the test specimens were
cured in the oven and for Ambient curing, they were kept under
ambient conditions for curing at room temperature. The specimens
were oven-cured at 60OC and 100OC for 24 hours in the oven. After
the curing period, the test specimens were left in the moulds for at
least six hours in order to avoid a drastic change in the environmental
conditions. After demoulding, the specimens were left to air-dry in
the laboratory until the day of testing. The oven cured specimens and
the specimens under ambient curing were shown in Figure
Curing of Test Specimens
 EXPERIMENTS CONDUCTED
Workability Test
• Workability is the property of freshly mixed concrete that determines
the ease with which it can be properly mixed, placed, consolidated
and finished without segregation. The workability of the fresh
concrete was measured by means of the conventional slump test as
per IS: 1199(1989). Before the fresh concrete was cast into moulds,
the slump value of the fresh concrete was measured using slump
cone. In this project work, the slump value of the fresh concrete was
maintained in the range of 30mm to 40mm.
.
Compressive Strength Test
The compressive strength test on hardened fly ash based geopolymer concrete was
performed on standard compression testing machine of 3000kN Capacity, as per IS: 516-
1959. Totally 81 number of cubical specimens of size 100mm x 100mm x 100mm was
casted and tested for the compressive strength at the age of 7days, 14days and 28days.
The compressive strength test was performed as shown in Figure 3.6. Each of the
compressive strength test data corresponds to the mean value of the compressive
strength of three test concrete cubes
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
• INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, the experimental results are discussed and
presented in the form of tables and graphs. Compression test is the most
common test conducted on hardened concrete, partly it is an easy test to
perform, and partly because most of the desirable characteristic properties of
concrete are qualitatively related to its compressive strength.
• COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
The compressive strength different of geopolymer
concrete specimens for various alkaline solutions to fly ash ratio,
concentration of alkaline solution and curing conditions were found at 7, 14
and 28days. The test results are tabulated in Tables. 4.1 to 4.4 and plotted in
Figures 4.1 to 4.7.The test results reveals that the compressive strength of
geopolymer concrete ranged from a minimum of 3.2MPa to a maximum of
27MPa. The results show that the strength development is related to
variables such as alkaline to fly ash ratio, curing conditions that are
manipulated in this experimental study.
 Compressive Strength of geopolymer
concrete for Alkaline solution to fly ash ratio
of 0.35
 Compressive Strength of geopolymer
concrete for Alkaline solution to fly ash ratio
of 0.40
 Compressive Strength of geopolymer
concrete for Alkaline solution to fly ash ratio
of 0.45
 EFFECT OF SALIENT PARAMETERS

• The following parameters which affect the compressive strength of

geopolymer concrete were considered in this project:
1. Ratio of alkaline solution to fly ash, by mass.
2. Curing conditions.

Ratio of Alkaline solution to fly ash

The effect of alkaline solution to fly ash ratio on compressive strength of
geopolymer concrete specimens were given in Table 4.4 and shown in Figures
4.1 to 4.3. The alkaline solution to fly ash ratio by mass was varied as 0.35, 0.40
& 0.45. The alkaline solution to fly ash ratio by mass has considerable effect on
the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete.
Increase in compressive strength at alkaline solution to fly ash ratio of 0.40 and
0.45 was about 22% and 35% with respect to 0.35 respectively. Increase in the
alkaline solution to fly ash ratio, increased the compressive strength of
concrete irrespective of other factors.
The reason for increase in compressive strength was concluded by previous researchers
as, in lower alkaline solution to fly ash ratios, only the glassy phases in fly ash were the
source of Al and Si to form alumino- silicate gel and also the reaction product was
quickly formed that engulfs the fly ash particle and slowing down the further activation
of the fly ash particles, thus resulting in only low to moderate degrees of reaction.
However, in a higher alkaline solution to fly ash ratios the quartz and mullite phases in
fly ash were completely dissolve and increases the amounts of reaction product
formation thereby increases the compressive strength.
Effect of alkaline solutions on Compressive
Strength
 Effect of alkaline solution to fly ash ratio on
compressive strength of oven cured concrete
at 60°C
 Effect of alkaline solution to fly ash ratio on
compressive strength of oven cured concrete
at 100°C
Effect of alkaline solution to fly ash ratio on
compressive strengthof ambient cured
concrete
 Curing conditions
• The effect of curing conditions on the compressive strength of geopolymer
concrete for various alkaline solutions to fly ash ratios are depicted in Figures
4.4 to 4.6. The compressive strength of oven cured specimens was more
than that of ambient cured specimens irrespective of age, alkaline solution
to fly ash ratio and concentration of sodium hydroxide solution. The test
results revealed that compressive strength of oven cured specimens at 0.45
ratio was 4.5 and 1.25 times more than that of ambient cured specimens at
7 and 28 days respectively.
• In ambient curing, compressive strength significantly increases with age up
to 28 days. In ambient curing, compressive strength at 28 days was about 3
times and 1.4 times higher than 7 and 14 days respectively. In oven curing,
compressive strength of geopolymer concrete has not increased
substantially after 7 days. In oven curing 28 days at 0.45 ratio compressive
strength was about 1.2 times and 1.1 times higher than 7 days 14 days
respectively. Since the chemical reaction of oven cured geopolymer concrete
is due to substantially fast polymerization process, the compressive strength
did not vary with age of concrete.
The effects of curing temperature on compressive strength are shown in Figure 4.7. The rate
of increase in compressive strength of oven curing at 100⁰ C was about 12% with respect to
curing temperature at 60°C. Increase in curing temperature from 60°C to 100°C, increases
the compressive strength but not significantly. From the test results, 60°C curing temperature
was recommended for oven cured concrete to produce desired compressive strength.

Variation of Compressive Strength with Curing Conditions for alkaline solution

to fly ash ratio of 0.35
 Variation of Compressive Strength with
Curing Conditions for alkaline solution to fly
ash ratio of 0.40
 Variation of Compressive Strength with
Curing Conditions for alkaline solution to fly
ash ratio of 0.45
Effect of curing temperature on Compressive
strength
CONCLUSIONS
• Based on the test results, the following
conclusions are drawn:
1. The compressive strength of oven cured concrete was more than that of
ambient cured concrete irrespective of age, alkaline solution to fly ash
ratio.
2. 28 days compressive strength of oven cured specimens at 60⁰ & 100⁰ C is
25% and 35% more than that of ambient cured specimens, for alkaline fly
ash ratio of 0.35
3. 28 days compressive strength of oven cured specimens at 60⁰ & 100⁰ C is
1.3 times and 1.4 times more than that of ambient cured specimens, for
alkaline fly ash ratio of 0.4.
4. 28 days compressive strength of oven cured specimens at 60⁰ & 100⁰ C is
1.3 times and 1.1 times more than that of ambient cured specimens, for
alkaline fly ash ratio of 0.45.
5. Fly ash-based geopolymer concrete cured in the laboratory ambient
conditions gains compressive strength with age.
6. In ambient curing, compressive strength at 28 days is about 3 times and
1.4 times higher than 7 and 14 days respectively.
7. Increase in alkaline solution to fly ash ratio by mass, results in increase in the
compressive strength of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete.

i. When compressive strength was plotted against alkaline solution to fly

ash ratio, 0.4 & 0.45 ratio was seen to be 1.8 & 2.9 times respectively greater than
the 0.35 ratio and by percentage it was 44% &66% higher during the initial 7 days.

ii. Similarly, after 14 days for 0.4 & 0.45 ratio was seen to be 1.3 & 1.5
times respectively greater than the 0.35 ratio and by percentage it is 26% &34%
higher comparatively.

iii. Likewise at the interval of 28 days for 0.4 & 0.45 ratio was seen to be
1.1 & 1.3 times respectively greater than the 0.35 ratio and by percentage it is
11%&22% higher comparatively.

8. The maximum compressive strength achieved in this project work for low calcium
fly ash based geopolymer concrete is 27MPa.

9. There is no substantial gain in the compressive strength of oven-cured geopolymer

concrete with age beyond 7days.
 i. During ambient curing the compressive strength was increased by 77%
from 7 days to 28 days.

ii. Similarly, during oven curing the compressive strength was increased by
24% from 7 days to 28 days.

10. Increase in curing temperature in the range of 60°C to 100°C, causes marginal
increase in compressive strength of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete.
RECCOMMENDATION
APPLICATION
1. Geopolymer technology is most advanced in precast applications
due to the relative ease in handling sensitive materials (e.g.,high-alkali
activating solutions).
2. It is also used in precast structural elements and decks as well as
structural retrofits using geopolymer-fiber composites.

LIMITATIONS
The followings are the limitations of geopolymer concrete
1. High cost for alkaline solution
2. Safety risk associated with the alkalinity of the activating solution.
3. Practical difficulties in applying steam curing/high temperature curing
process
 APPENDIX – A
MIX DESIGN PROCEDURE FOR GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE

Assume that normal density aggregates in SSD condition are to be used and the
unit weight of concrete is 2400 Kg/m3

Take the mass of combined aggregates as 75% of the mass of concrete.

THANK U