The Effects of Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag Blending with Fly Ash Based Self Compacting Geo-polymer Concrete on the Workability and Strength Properties at Ambient Curing

Abstract

Next to water, cement is the largest used material in the construction world. The process of manufacturing ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is very detrimental to the environment as it releases a large amount CO2 to air. With the growing environmental problems for the cement industry, alternative technologies for the production of cement or cement-like materials are becoming an area of growing concern. Self-Compacting Geo-Polymer Concrete (SCGC) is an innovative method and better method of concreting that does not require vibration for placing and is produced by completely eliminating the use of conventional Portland cement. In this study, self compacting geo-polymer concrete was prepared using class F typefly ash with partial replacement of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) with percentage replacement of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50. In this paper self compacting geo-polymer concrete has been designed by considering solution to fly ash ratio, sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide solution ratio as 0.45 and 2.5 respectively and sodium hydroxide solution concentration as 8 M, 10 M, 12 M and 14 M. These designed proportions were then taken for studying the slump flow, L-box and V-funnel tests to assess the filling, passing and segregation resistance properties of fresh concrete and mechanical strength tests after 7, 28, and 56 days of ambient temperature curing. Replacing GGBFS helps SCGC mixes achieve significant increases in compressive strength throughout all ambient cure periods. Research has also shown that increasing the concentration of NaOH decreases fluidity; however, it increases the compressive strength of the SCGC.KeywordsSelf compacting geo-polymer concreteGGBFSFly ashAmbient curingWorkabilityCompressive strength