Abstract
As a promising alternative to OPC concrete, geopolymer concrete has been investigated and has demonstrated superior mechanical performance. Studying the thermal behaviour on the scale of a structural element is significant for introducing a new material to engineering applications. Four geopolymer concrete beams and four OPC concrete counterparts with the same reinforcement structure and similar concrete strength were subjected to three different heating cases at the rate of ISO834. The experimental results showed that the geopolymer concrete beams underwent a colour change, severe cracking, and no spalling after the exposure. While under load, the geopolymer concrete specimens exhibited a lower crack resistance and flexural stiffness. The residual load capacities were 110%, 107%, and 90% of the ambient specimen for the geopolymer concrete samples and 103%, 97%, and 80% for the OPC concrete samples. To some extent, the geopolymer concrete beams achieved superior fire endurance compared to their OPC concrete counterparts.
Highlights
With the increasing awareness of emission reduction in all industries, geopolymer concrete (GC) has been seen as a promising alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete
Due to the use of industrial by-products, such as fly ash (FA), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), metakaolin, and mine tailings, the carbon footprint emitted by the production of geopolymer cement is reported to be 80%–90% less than that of OPC [1]
GGBFS was first employed as an additive to FA-based GC, which generally needs thermal curing to catalyse the reaction for better strength
Summary
With the increasing awareness of emission reduction in all industries, geopolymer concrete (GC) has been seen as a promising alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete. Due to the use of industrial by-products, such as fly ash (FA), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), metakaolin, and mine tailings, the carbon footprint emitted by the production of geopolymer cement is reported to be 80%–90% less than that of OPC [1]. These raw materials, which are abundant in aluminium and silicon, can dissolve in alkaline solution, breaking down to covalent O-Si and O-Al and eventually forming a Si-O-Al tetrahedral structure [2]. Reports [3,4,5] showed that the addition of GGBFS with an angular shape enhanced its early-stage strength and enabled it to attain a strength and workability similar to those of heatcured GC dominated by FA with a spherical shape at room temperature
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