An experimental investigation on potassium activator based geopolymer concrete incorporated with hybrid fibers

Abstract

The concrete possesses low tensile strength due to its brittle behavior. The incorporation of hybrid fibers in the geopolymer concrete resists the propagation of cracks by improving its strength and makes it more ductile. The development of Geopolymer concrete (GPC) with binders like Fly Ash (FA) and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) to replace the Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) reduces the CO2 emission during the production of cement. This work aims to study the strength properties of Fly Ash and GGBFS based geopolymer concrete with the incorporation of hybrid Basalt and Steel fiber. The potassium hydroxide (KOH) of 12 M and potassium silicate solution (K2SiO3) are used as an alkali activator for the development of GPC. The different percentages of steel and basalt fiber are incorporated in the concrete with the total volume fraction of 2% and the properties were determined. The mechanical properties of concrete including Compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength tests were done to determine the strength properties. It was observed that the SF25BF75 (0.5% Steel Fiber and 1.5% Basalt Fiber) hybrid mix is considered as the optimum percentage of potassium activator based Geopolymer concrete with higher strength properties and it was compared with the OPC specimens.