Effect of Bamboo Leaf Ash on The Properties of Geopolymer Concrete at Ambient Curing Temperature

Abstract

As a result of the growing environmental concerns in the cement industry and the rising cost of building materials, alternative cement technologies have become an area of increasing interest. In this study, geopolymer concrete containing fly ash class F and bamboo leaf ash was chosen as a cement substitute in concrete manufacturing. This research was an experimental study evaluating the effect of bamboo leaf ash (BLA) on geopolymer concrete by addition as a partial replacement of fly ash. The test samples were 100 x 100 x 100 mm cubes and 300 x 150 mm cylinders at the ambient curing temperature. The design mix of C25 was used for this study. This research aimed to explore the suitability of the use of bamboo leaf ash as a mixing material in geopolymer concrete in more environmentally friendly industries. The properties that were investigated in this study are the basic aggregate tests, XRF analyses of BLA and fly ash, and workability tests by evaluating slump and compaction factor tests. In addition, compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of 28, 56, and 90 days. Therefore, in this study, various levels of bamboo leaf ash were utilized, including 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% BLA. The alkaline liquid-to-binder ratio for all mixes was constant at 0.6, while the Na2SiO3 to NaOH ratio was 2.5. The test results of the workability show that the increased amount of bamboo leaf ash gradually reduces the alkaline liquid. The result of compressive and splitting tensile showed that fly ash substitutes that contained 5% and 10% of the bamboo leaf had higher strengths of about 38.7 MPa, 40.8 MPa, 4 MPa, and 4.22 MPa, respectively than other mixtures. Therefore, bamboo leaf ash can be one of the constituent materials used to improve the mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete