A Study on the Mechanical Properties of Alkali Activated Concrete Using Various Types of Synthetic Zeolites

Abstract

Abstract -The world's most common man-made material is concrete. Portland cement is a key component of a typical concrete mix. However, about 5% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions are brought on by the manufacture of cement. Engineers and scientists need to invent and use a green building material to make the world more sustainable. Due to its corrosion resistance, geopolymer concrete is also significantly more durable than regular concrete. It is also significantly stronger than regular concrete. The development of green construction will be facilitated by the innovative sustainable building material known as geopolymer concrete. Alkali- activated materials also known as geopolymers, are made from a variety of materials (usually industrial byproducts) known as precursors. These are combined with an alkaline medium to create a cementitious material that can be used in place of Portland cement in the production of concrete. Mineral admixtures (such as fly ash and GGBS) are typically added in larger amounts in concrete to improve its workability, resistance to thermal cracking, alkali-aggregate expansion, and sulphate attack, and to allow for a reduction in cement content. In the current study, sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate were used as alkaline activators with a Molarity of 12M, and fly ash, GGBS, and types of synthetic zeolites as binder ingredients. 40% of GGBS is kept constant and fly ash is replaced with zeolite in various percentages. In this paper, zeolite is replaced with 5%, 7.5%, and 10% of fly ash to create geopolymer concretes. Zeolite powder obtained by the calcination process with the aid of sodium hydroxide and fly ash, industrial wastages. The performance of the created concrete is then evaluated using mechanical behavior on developed mix. Key Words: Alkali activator, fly ash, Ground granulated blast- frunace slag, synthetic zeolites, strength properties.