Effect of Liquid to Binder Ratio and Curing Temperature on the Engineering Properties of the Geopolymer Concrete

Abstract

Geopolymer concrete(GPC) is a perfect alternative to conventional cement concrete. This experimental investigation examines the physical properties, chemical properties, mechanical properties, non-destructive test, and microstructural analysis of the various geopolymer concrete samples, varying the liquid-to-binder(LBR) ratio from 0.40 to 0.70, and curing temperature from 60 °C to 120 °C. After the experimental investigation, the workability increases with the increment of the liquid-to-binder ratio in the design mix, but the mix specimen density decreases with the same. In the mechanical properties, the compressive strength optimum at the ratio of 0.60 of liquid-to-binder ratio, and the poisson’s ratio increases with the increment of liquid to binder ratio from .14 to .18 consecutively. All the mixes mechanical properties got the optimum point at the ratio of 0.60 of LBR in both ambient and oven curing conditions. The curing temperature directly increases the gain strength rate at early ages, but it reduces beyond the 100 °C temperature. The drying shrinkage increases with the increment of curing temperature, similarly the modulus of elasticity increase with the increment of curing temperature, but it reduces beyond the 100 °C curing temperature. The thermal stability of the GPC specimens is higher and shows the weight remained up to 92% of the original at the 850 °C temperature.