Geopolymer concrete reinforced with basalt fibres: An experimental investigation

Abstract

A binder material called cement is used to manufacture concrete in addition to fine, coarse aggregates and water. A problem with cement production is that it releases enormous amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, resulting in global warming issues. On the other hand, many industries produce wastes as various ashes as industrial products, which leads to severe environmental pollution. Geopolymer concrete is an eco-friendly and cement-free concrete made from multiple industrial wastes as cementitious material with polymerization action addition to activator solution. Several kinds of research are performed on geopolymer concrete, but only limited work is found on Rice Husk Ash (RHA) utilized geopolymer concrete. In this research, tri-blended materials like fly ash (FA), Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (GGBS), and RHA are used as a binder, and basalt fibers (BF) were mixed with dissimilar volume fractions (1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%) to the volume of concrete. Sodium-based activator solution was used in this research work. In addition, water and superplasticizers were added to geopolymer concrete to enhance its workability properties. The strength properties such as compressive strength (cube), split tensile strength (cylinder), and flexural strength (Prism) were studied. In addition, density, bond strength, and Young’s modulus were also examined. The durability characteristic, such as water absorption in percentage and sorptivity in mm/min1/2, were also tested. The test findings revealed that adding basalt fiber with higher concentrations enhances the strength properties, and RHA presence does not enhance the appreciable durability properties.