A Taguchi Approach for Optimizing Design Mixture of Geopolymer Concrete Incorporating Fly Ash, Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag and Silica Fume

Sundaravadivelu Karthik,Kaliyaperumal Saravana Raja Mohan

doi:10.3390/cryst11111279

Sundaravadivelu Karthik, Kaliyaperumal Saravana Raja Mohan

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11111279

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Journal: Crystals	Publication Date: Oct 22, 2021
Citations: 24	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: SASTRA University

Abstract

In recent decades, geopolymer concrete (GPC) has been extensively researched as a potential substitute sustainable building material that may reduce CO2 emissions due to its utilization of industrial by-products. Fly ash (FA) and ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) are preferred geopolymer raw materials due to their obtainability and high alumina and silica concentrations. GGBFS-FA based GPC offers a clean and sustainable development technology alternative. In this study, the Taguchi method was used to optimize the mixed proportions of geopolymer concrete to achieve desired strength criteria. Four factors and four levels were considered: binder content, including four combinations of FA and GGFBS dosage, dosage of superplasticizer (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2%), Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio (1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3), and molarity (6, 8, 10 and 12). Using these ingredients and factors, the effect of compressive strength was examined. The Taguchi approach using an L16 orthogonal array was employed to find the optimum condition of every factor while limiting the number of experiments. The findings indicated that the optimum synthesis conditions for maximum compressive strength obtained from the binder comprised 45% of FA, 45% of GGBFS and 10% of silica fume, 1.5% dosage of superplasticizer, Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio = 1.5, and 12 molar contents.

Highlights

Concretes with various purposes have become more popular as urban building has progressed at a fast pace
A combination of the Fly ash (FA), ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS), and silica fume (SF) was used to produce geopolymer concrete (GPC) and specimens were cured at room temperature
Earlier studies have reported that the polymerization process was accelerated according to GGBFS and calcium oxide (CaO) content

Summary

Introduction

Concretes with various purposes have become more popular as urban building has progressed at a fast pace. The need for essential cement construction materials is progressively increasing. Green construction materials must be used instead of conventional building materials which generate significant environmental damage. Friendly alternatives for binding materials include geopolymers and alkali-activated binders which are both considered environmentally friendly. Some studies have shown that geopolymer concretes caused lower emissions of CO2 compared to the production of ordinary Portland cement [8], with the emissions decreasing by as much as 4% to 9% [9]. To effectively support the use of geopolymer in buildings, it is essential to investigate its more beneficial characteristics

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Conclusion