Chapter 2

Literature review

2.1 GENERAL

Research studies in the past had shown that fly ash-based geopolymer has emerged as
a promising new cement alternative in the field of construction materials. The term
geopolymer was first coined and invented by Davidovits (1989). This was obtained
from fly ash as a result of geopolymerisation reaction. This was produced by the
chemical reaction of aluminosilicate oxides (Si2O5, Al2O2) with alkali polysilicates
yielding polymeric Si–O–Al bonds. Hardjito and Rangan (2005) demonstrated in their
extensive studies that geopolymer based concrete showed good mechanical properties
as compared to conventional cement concrete. A comprehensive analysis on the
various works done in geopolymer concrete is listed in Table 2.1.
The geopolymer can be produced with the basic raw materials containing silica and
alumina rich mineral composition. Several studies have reported the use of the
beneficial utilization of these materials in concrete. Most of the studies investigated
the use of alkali activators containing sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate or a
potassium hydroxide and potassium silicate. Cheng and Chiu (2003) reported the
production of geopolymer concrete using slag and metakaolin with potassium
hydroxide and sodium silicate as alkaline medium.
Palomo et al (1999) produced geopolymers using fly ash with sodium hydroxide and
sodium silicate as well as with potassium hydroxide with potassium silicate
combinations. The results from the studies exhibited an excellent formation of
geopolymer with rapid setting properties. It can be noted that the presence of calcium
content in fly ash played a significant role in compressive strength development (Van
Jaarsveld et al, 2003). The presence of calcium ions provides a faster reactivity and
thus yields good hardening of geopolymer in shorter curing time.

7
2.2 NEED FOR HIGH EARLY STRENGTH GEOPOLYMER
CONCRETE

The geopolymer based concrete received a wider acceptance among many researchers
and can be a prospective application in future construction. The production of this
material is cost effective and environment friendly as it is produced primarily from
the industrial waste. The considerable research towards its potential use as a
concreting material has led to the production of geopolymer concrete (Davidovits,
1989). Synthesis of different geopolymer derivatives was found to be dependent on
any silicate rich source material such as fly ash, furnace slag, bentonite, metakaolin,
and rice husk ash. Like cement concrete, geopolymer based cementitious material is
also a highly brittle material which exhibits poor tensile properties. This necessitates a
comprehensive investigation to be conducted for improving the tensile properties of
geopolymer concrete.
Fibre addition in brittle cementitious matrix is a well-known technique to improve the
toughness properties of the composite. Fibres are typically a discrete reinforcement
mechanism used in either cement concrete or a geopolymer based concrete in order to
provide adequate bending resistance (Pereira et al, 2006). The binder generally used
in geopolymer concrete consisted of either slag or fly ash based system. Since fly ash
and furnace slag is produced in large quantity as a waste from industry and needs to
be disposed safely.
This inevitably finds a potential alternative to be used as a construction material
which can consume a large quantity (Gokulram et al, 2013). Good toughening
characteristics and crack resistance of geopolymer concrete can be achieved with the
addition of discrete fibre leading to good matrix strengthening and reduced crack
deflection properties. The matrix densification and fibre matrix interface can provide
a higher load carrying capacity of geopolymer concrete depending upon the stiffness
of the fibres.
The steel fibres addition in geopolymer based cementitious composites provides post-
crack ductility even upon repeated loading cycles (Vijai K et al, 2012). Even though
there exist several advantages of geopolymer based concrete, the poor toughness
characteristic is the negative effect which restricts the wider applications. Different
types of short fibre inclusions were also investigated in geopolymer concrete with slag
based binder. The results demonstrated that the fibre addition provided adequate

8
flexural strength enhancement and toughness to provide stability in the failure mode
(Ng et al, 2010; Deepa Raj et al, 2013; Natali et al, 2011).
Limited studies investigated the reinforcing efficiency in geopolymer concrete and
lack a systematic evaluation on its flexural performance. It is also understood from
previous studies that the incorporation of fibres in geopolymer based concrete
provided additional matrix strengthening leading to higher tensile performance
provided with strain softening properties (Sarker et al, 2013). Compared to normal
geopolymer concrete specimens fibre reinforced geopolymer concrete specimens are
known to provide long term durability in terms of lower water absorption and chloride
penetration. This could be anticipated due to the crack bridging properties of the
fibres in geopolymer concrete as a result of fibres stretching the crack opening around
the cracks (Shaikh, 2013).
Several studies reported that curing regime of geopolymer based concrete specimens
requires a typical high temperature curing leading to faster geopolymer reactions and
in this case of normal cured geopolymer specimens the activation energy can be
provided with higher alkali concentration compared to lower level concentration
(Moser et al, 2013). It was reported that fibre addition had shown a reduction in
strength gain in early ages; however upon subsequent hardening the matrix
strengthening provided higher composite strength (Shaikh, 2013).
Flexural strength gain in geopolymer concrete showed higher bending strength
leading to higher toughness. In another study it was reported that incorporation of
steel fibres provided good toughening mechanism with the increased volume fraction
of steel fibres up to 0.7%. (Sakulich, 2011; Bernal et al, 2006; Bernal et al, 2010;
Bernal et al, 2012). Also, a reasonable increase in compressive, split tensile and
flexural properties was anticipated with the increase in volume fraction of steel fibres
(Yunsheng et al, 2008).
It is understood from the earlier studies that more appropriate method is required for
characterizing the toughness properties of geopolymer concrete. In addition, the
effects of activators on the strength enhancement and the rate of hardening properties
under different high temperature curing need special attention.

9
2.3 UTILIZATION OF FLY ASH IN GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE
Polymerization reaction is best observed in the presence of alkaline medium such as
sodium hydroxide, or potassium hydroxide and the addition of silicates can be
additional ionic composition with good bonding effects. The reactants in the chain
reaction can be accelerated due to higher molar concentration of alkali ions; however,
the increase in the concentration leads to rapid loss in consistency during mixing
attributed to faster polymer reaction. The inclusion of sodium silicate in sodium
hydroxide solution provides higher silicate content and due to which the gel formation
is likely to provide faster polymerization.
A similar reaction is observed in the case of potassium silicate added to potassium
hydroxide solution. It is known that the conventional organic polymerization involves
the formation of monomers in a given solution in which the reaction can be made
faster to polymerize and form a solid polymer. The geopolymerisation process
involves three separate processes and during initial mixing, the alkaline solution
dissolves silicon and aluminium ions in the raw material (fly ash, slag, silica fume,
bentonite, etc.). It is also understood that the silicon or aluminium hydroxide
molecules undergo a condensation reaction where adjacent hydroxyl ions from these
near neighbors condense to form an oxygen bond linking the water molecule, and it is
seen that each oxygen bond is formed as a result of a condensation reaction and
thereby bonds the neighboring Si or Al tetrahedra. A clear representation of the chain
reaction involved during the polymerization.

Polymers are sensitive towards heat and can form a stronger chain due to
polycondensation. It is noted from the basic chemical reaction when subjected to heat
causes silicon and aluminium hydroxide molecules to polycondense or polymerize, to
form rigid chains or nets of oxygen bonded tetrahedra. Also, at higher elevated
temperatures it produces stronger geopolymers. Aluminium ions require metallic Na+
ions for charge in balance. Davidovits and Davidovics (1988) reported that
geopolymers can harden rapidly at room temperature and can gain the compressive
strength up to 20MPa in 1 day. Comrie et al (1988) conducted tests on geopolymer
mortars and reported that most of the 28 day strength was gained during the first 2
days of curing. The geopolymer cement is found out to be acid resistant, because,
unlike the Portland cement, geopolymer cements do not depend on lime and are not

10
dissolved by acidic solutions. Most of the studies concluded that the concentration of
NaOH solution plays the most important role on the strength of the fly ash based
geopolymers.
The addition of calciumoxide along with sodium hydroxide accelerates the
geopolymerisation in fly ash. Guo et al (2010) conducted experimental studies in class
C fly ash-based geopolymers using a mixed alkali activator of sodium hydroxide and
sodium silicate solution. It was reported that a high compressive strength can be
obtained when the molar ratio of silicate to sodium is 1.5, and the mass proportion of
Na2O to class F fly ash was 10%. The compressive strength of these samples was
around 63MPa when it was cured at 75°C for 8h followed by curing at 23°C for 28
days. Low-calcium fly ash is preferred than high calcium (ASTM class C) fly ash for
the formation of geopolymers, since the presence of calcium in high amount may
affect the polymerization process (Gourley, 2003).
The suitability of different types of fly ash can be a potential source for studying the
type and efficiency of geopolymerization reaction. It was also reported that
geopolymerisation reaction can be effective in low calcium fly ash depending on if it
contains unburnt carbon less than 5% and 10% CaO content, reactive silica about 40–
50%, and particles finer than 45microns (Fernández-Jiménez and Palomo, 2003; Van
Jaarsveld et al, 2003). That fly ash with higher amount of CaO produced higher
compressive strength, due to the formation of calcium-aluminate hydrate and other
calcium compounds, especially in the early ages.
The most preferred alkaline solution used in geopolymerisation is a combination of
sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH) and sodium silicate or
potassium silicate. Palomo et al, (1999) reported that reactions occur at a high rate
when the alkaline liquid contains soluble silicate, either sodium or potassium silicate,
compared to the use of only alkaline hydroxides. Xu and Van Deventer (2000)
confirmed that the addition of sodium silicate solution to the sodium hydroxide
solution as the alkaline liquid enhanced the reaction with fly ash. Furthermore,
geopolymerisation with the NaOH solution resulted in higher dissolution of minerals
than KOH solution.
A combination of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solution, after curing the
specimens for 24 hours at 65°C, provided higher strength (Xu and Van Deventer,
2002). It was reported that the proportion of alkaline solution to aluminosilicate
powder by mass should be approximately 0.33 to allow the geopolymeric reactions to

11
occur. Alkaline solutions formed a thick gel instantaneously upon mixing with the
aluminosilicate powder. The previous studies also reported that mixtures with high
water content, that is, H2O/Na2O = 25, developed very low compressive strengths.
Palomo et al (1999) reported that curing temperature is an important indicator for
strength gain in fly ash-based geopolymers and improves the mechanical strength.
Higher curing temperature and optimum curing time were found to influence the
compressive strength gain in geopolymer concrete. Alkaline liquid that contained
soluble silicates was proved to increase the rate of reaction compared to alkaline
solutions that contained only hydroxide.

2.3.1 GEOPOLYMER CEMENT (GPC)

Polymerization reaction is best observed in the presence of alkaline medium such as

sodium hydroxide, or potassium hydroxide and the addition of silicates can be
additional ionic composition with good bonding effects. The reactants in the chain
reaction can be accelerated due to higher molar concentration of alkali ions; however,
the increase in the concentration leads to rapid loss in consistency during mixing
attributed to faster polymer reaction. The inclusion of sodium silicate in sodium
hydroxide solution provides higher silicate content and due to which the gel
formation is likely to provide faster polymerization. A similar reaction is observed in
the case of potassium silicate added to potassium hydroxide solution. It is known that
the conventional organic polymerization involves the formation of monomers in a
given solution in which the reaction can be made faster to polymerize and form a
solid polymer.
The geopolymerization process involves three separate processes and during initial
mixing, the alkaline solution dissolves silicon and aluminium ions in the raw material
(fly ash, slag, silica fume, bentonite, etc.). It is also understood that the silicon or
aluminium hydroxide molecules undergo a condensation reaction where adjacent
hydroxyl ions from these near neighbors condense to form an oxygen bond linking
the water molecule, and it is seen that each oxygen bond is formed as a result of a
condensation reaction and thereby bonds the neighboring Si or Al tetrahedra. A clear
representation of the chain reaction involved during the polymerization with a
fundamental understanding from the literature.

12
2.4 STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT OF SLAG BASED GEOPOLYME
CONCRETE

The 5% of alkali activators and 25% of slag/silica ratio was most effective ratios in
the geopolymer concrete and addition of superplasticizer reduced the water
requirement in the concrete and improves the workability (Sayed, 2012). It was found
that slag pastes have less porosity and compressive strength was better when
specimens cured in autoclave. It was identified that autoclaved specimens produce
calcium silicate hydrates and tobermorite gel has a main hydration (Rashad et al,
2012). The effect of oven curing of specimen results the better compressive strength.
The slag aggregates and addition of slag in the flyash attain the higher compressive
strength at early age (Bagheri and Nazari, 2014). The addition of AASC fibre in the
concrete reduces the compressive strength but large improvement observed in the
splitting tensile and flexural strengths of the concrete (Bernal et al, 2010).
The durability properties like carbonation resistance, water sorption and permeability
properties are also improved at higher binder contents with AASC fibre (Bernal et al,
2011). The slag/metakaolin blends with higher concentration of alkali activators
shows the higher compressive and flexural strength similarly it reduced water
sorptivity and lower chloride permeability (RCPT) (Bernal, 2012).
The presence of aluminosilicate gel in the slag accelerated the carbonation is highly
polymerised and decalcification mechanism also consistent. When flyash and slag
blends it forms (C–A–S–H and N–A–S–H). This delivers the better durability
property of geopolymer concrete (Bernal, 2013). The role of Ca in the slag leads to
hydration process metakaolin has the higher surface area and small particle shape.
This requires the high water content and higher drying shrinkage in concrete.
The geopolymer concreter specimen cured in the saline water shows the better
strength and the microstructural studies like scanning electron microscopy, Energy-
dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were also shoes the very lesser
sorptivity in the concrete (Giasuddin et al, 2013). The presence of Sodium hydroxide
and sodium silicate improves the bulk density and compressive strength in the slag
based geopolymer concrete. Sulphate resistance of the concrete was higher by
observing the samples immersed in the sea water for 6 months (El-Didamony, 2012).
Addition of Cu–Ni in the slag results in better geopolymerisation reaction in concrete
improved the compressive strength (Kalinkin et al, 2012). The studied Ca(OH)2-based

13
GGBS concrete enhanced workability by low slump value and improved rate of
compressive strength by W/B ratio in geopolymer concrete.
The investigation shows Ca(OH)2-based GGBS concrete has a substantial potential
when the W/B ratio is ower than 30% in concrete (Yang et al, 2012). The study shows
inorganic polymers are synthesised from low-Ca electric arc ferronickel slag. The
result of experimental conditions on the compressive strength of the final products is
evaluated. The consumption of certain potentially hazardous mining and metallurgical
wastes headed for an increased sustainability of the wider minerals area (Komnitsas et
al, 2009). In the slag setting time NaOH concentration increases the setting time
decreases, 15 to 20% of the total weight of binder were used as the concentration of
alkali activators to achieve the high compressive strength in room temperature itself
(Lee and Lee, 2013).

2.5 LITERATURE REVIEW ON SLAG BASED GEOPOLYMER

CONCRETE PROPERTIES

A low ratio of Ca/Si∼0.3 in Alkali Activated Slag was the significance of coexistence
of C–S–H (I) gel and silica gel. Throughout decalcification of Alkali Activated Slag
almost ample leaching of sodium and tetrahedral aluminum from C–S–H (I) gel also
took place. Alkali Activated Slag showed considerably higher resistance to
decalcification in relation to the standard CEM II due to the lack of portlandite, high
level of geopolymerisation of silicate chains, low level of aluminum for silicon
exchange in the structure of C–S–H (I), and the creation of protective layer of
polymerized silica gel throughout decalcification process (Komljenović et al, 2012).
The Scanning Electron Microscope coupled with Energy dispersive spectroscopy
(SEM + EDS) contribution on H2O/Na2O MRs analysis for microstructural
morphology to the product nature, compactness, and the reactivity of Ca 2+ and Al3+
while Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy indicates that H2O/Na2O ratios
donated to the creation amorphousity and carbonation development but sparingly
affected its formed polymerized structural units (SiQn(mAl), n = 2 and 3 (Yusuf,
2014).
The specimens with variable compositional ratios was synthesised from a blend of
ladle slag and metakaolin or ladle slag and fly ash. Ambient cured alkali-activated
materials of compressive strengths ranging between 11 and 46 MPa were attained.

14
Samples which are under temperatures up to 1000°C and investigated for residual
strength, thermal expansion, and phase and microstructural changes (Murri, 2013).
The influence of slag is found to be likely same to that of the granulated blast furnace
slag. A try has been made to correlate the reaction in C–S–H gel, structure and
properties. It is found that slag, which is generated by a different method of iron
making, provides the related kind of outcome as granulated blast furnace slag in fly
ash based geopolymer (Nath and Sanjay Kumar, 2013).
The mostly amorphous geopolymer cured under ambient conditions transmits to the
crystalline phases start when the mixture is cured at high temperature, and zeolitic
precursor creates in sodium based high alkaline environment can be considered as a
disordered form of the basic structure unit of the ABC-6 group of zeolites which
contains poly-types for example hydroxycancrinite, hydroxysodalite and chabazite-Na
(Oh et al, 2010). The concrete activated with Na2CO3 had insignificant tensile
strengths after 1 day, increasing to ~2.5 MPa after 28 day. The key strengthening
phase was shown to be calcium–silicate–hydrates in all formulae; those activated with
Na2CO3 also showed the presence of hydrotalcite. The concrete activated with
Na2CO3 also exhibited the occurrence of hydrotalcite. No sign of geopolymeric
segments was originated, though combination of sodium to form N–S–H that balances
charges arising from Aluminium replacement of Si in C–S–H is possible. Despite the
short (~120 s) pot life of the sturdiest formula, NaCl was shown to be an active
retarding agent, who decreases the strengths of different formulae, at poorest, by less
than 25% after 28 day of curing (Sakulich et al, 2009). Alumino–silicate– hydrate (A–
S–H) and calcium–silicate–hydrate (C–S–H) gels with changing Si/Al and Ca/Si ratio
are create to be the main reaction products. Co-occurrence of A–S–H and C–S–H gel
supplementary indicates the interaction of fly ash and GBFS during
geopolymerisation. Effort has been made to transmit the microstructure with the
properties of the geopolymers (Kumar et al, 2010).
The two kinetic models are used to extract the significant parameters of the activation
reaction. The temperature rise within the studied range impacts the total heat released
by the fly ash rich pastes more than those of slag pastes. For the fly ash rich blends, it
is exposed using the Knudsen rate constant that higher reaction temperatures are
essential to extract realistic model-based kinetic parameters (Chithiraputhiran et al,
2013). The physical and mechanical properties of the geopolymer also interrelated
well with the concentration of alkaline activator solution and the quantity of
15
metakaolinite that is additional. The maximum compressive strength attained was
79MPa. For fire resistance tests, a 10 mm thick geopolymer panel was open to an
1100°C flame, with the measured reverse-side temperatures getting less than 350°C
after 35 min (Cheng et al, 2003). The mesoporous characteristic of AGBFSCM was
helpful to enhancement of separation productivity of photogenerated electron–hole
pairs; whereas the yield of hydrogen construction can be enhanced by natural oxide
semiconductors of Fe2O3 and TiO2 as active type of catalyst existed in AGBFSCM
matrix (Zhang et al, 2014).

16
 Table 2.1 Summary of various research works carried out in geopolymer concrete

Sl. Authors and Types of binder and

Test conducted Curing regime Observations
no. Years alkali activator used

Hot air oven

Class C fly ash and The response was attributed to material loss by
curing at 80°C
Goretta et al Compressive Granulated blast- propagation of both lateral and radial cracks
1. to 120°C and
(2004) strength. furnace slag, sodium and presence of microcracks and aggregates in
ambient
silicate. the matrix.
temperature.

An increase of temperature of heat treatment

Class F fly ash.
Compressive Hot air oven at caused a decrease of Si/Al ratios in
Bakharev Sodium silicate and
2. strength, FTIR, 75°C to aluminosilicate gel, and long curing at room
(2005) Sodium hydroxide.
XRD, and SEM. 150°C. temperature narrowed the range of distribution
Potassium hydroxide
of the Si/Al ratios.

Fly ash activated by sodium silicate, 6 h heat

Class F fly ash. Hot air oven
Bakharev Compressive curing is more beneficial than 24 h heat.
3. Sodium silicate and curing at
(2005) strength. Fly ash activated by sodium hydroxide had
Sodium hydroxide. 75°C and 95°C.
more stable strength properties.

17
 Fernández- Class F fly ash and Hot air oven The particle size distribution and the mineral
Compressive
4. Jiménez, sodium hydroxide curing at composition of the starting fly ash, the type and
strength.
et al. (2005) Solution. 80°C. concentration of the activator, and so forth.

This demonstrates that the characteristics of

Metakaolin.
Hot air oven geopolymers can be tailored for applications
Duxson et al Compressive Sodium silicate and
5. curing at with requirements for specific
(2005) strength. sodium hydroxide
80°C. microstructural, chemical, mechanical, and
solution.
thermal properties.
The geopolymer materials prepared using class
Compressive Fly ash. F fly ash and
strength, Sodium silicate and sodium and potassium silicate show high
Bakharev Hot air oven at
6. shrinkage Sodium hydroxide. shrinkage as well as
(2006) 100°C.
measurements, Potassium hydroxide large changes in compressive strength with
XRD and SEM. increasing fired temperature in the range 800–
1200°C.
Fly ash and Ground
Hot air oven The hardness of geopolymer is approximately
Skvára et al Compressive Granulated Blast-
7. curing at twice higher than for OPC that could indicate
(2006) strength. furnace slag. Sodium
100°C-120°C. less deformability and higher brittleness.
hydroxide.

18
 Lignite fly ash (FA) The samples with a high strength were obtained
Sodium silicate and Hot air oven using the delay time after molding and before
Chindaprasirt et Compressive
8. Sodium hydroxide curing at subjecting the sample to heat of 1 h with heat
al (2007) strength.
solution as alkali 120°C. curing in the oven at 75°C of not less than two
activators. days.
Metakaolin and low-
Fly ash pores contain higher proportion of
calcium fly ash. Hot air oven
Kong et al Compressive microspores than metakaolin geopolymer. Fly
9. Grade D sodium silicate curing at
(2007) strength. ash-based geopolymer gives better strength than
solution and potassium 100°C.
metakaolin.
hydroxide.
Addition of the calcium compounds CaO and
Fly ash. Hot air oven Ca(OH)2 improves mechanical properties and
Temuujin et al Compressive Sodium silicate and curing at cured at ambient temperature.
10.
(2009) strength. Sodium hydroxide 75°C and Calcium compound addition reduces
solution. 100°C. mechanical properties cured at elevated
temperatures.
Kong and Compressive Low-calcium (class F) Hot air oven The strength declined with inclusion of
11.
Sanjayan strength. fly ash. Sodium silicate curing at 80°C. geopolymer/aggregate composites. While

19
 (2008) solution and potassium aggregates undergo expansion at elevated
hydroxide. temperatures, the geopolymer matrix
experienced contraction.
Class F fly ash.
Hot air oven Higher amount of fine particles will result in
Diaz et al Compressive Sodium silicate and
12. curing at higher surface area, higher reactivity resulting
(2010) strength. sodium hydroxide
80°C. in higher compressive strength.
Solution.
The rate of expansion of the aggregate with
Kong and Class F fly ash. Hot air oven
Compressive temperature is an influential factor in the
13. Sanjayan Sodium silicate and curing at
strength. performance of geopolymer concrete under
(2010) Sodium hydroxide. 100°C.
elevated temperatures.
Combined effect of particle size and change in
reactivity due to mechanical activation altered
Compressive Hot air oven at
Kumar et al Fly Ash. the geopolymerisation reaction.
14. strength, FTIR, 100°C to
(2010) Sodium hydroxide. The improvement in physical properties is
XRD, and SEM. 250°C.
related to the intrinsic structure developed due
to enhanced geopolymerisation.
Wongpa et al Compressive Fly ash and rice husk Paste content and the aggregate content
15.
(2010) strength. bark ash. Hot air oven P/Aggregate of 0.34 and Si/Al of 0.63 showed

20
 Sodium silicate and curing at 75°C the highest compressive strength.
sodium hydroxide to 125°C.
solution.
Kaolin
(Al2Si2O5(OH)4), fumed Samples with pore sizes of about 40 nm,
Hot air oven
Jämstorp et al Compressive silica. exhibited a satisfying initial release of 60–80%
curing at 100°C
16. (2010) strength. Metakaolin and sodium of the API content within 10 h and nearly all
to 150°C.
hydroxide. within 24 h, as well as fairly high compression
Fentanyl base and strengths of 50–60MPa.
Zolpidem tartrate.
Above 700°C, there is an increase of setting
Setting time,
Calcined at time.
linear shrinkage, Metakaolin, kaolinite
Elimbi et al 450°C and The compressive strength increases when the
17. compressive and sodium hydroxide
(2011) ambient calcinations temperature of kaolinite clays is
strength, XRD, and sodium silicate.
temperature. between 500 and 700∘C but drops above
and SEM.
700°C.
Flexural strength Metakaolin, ladle slag, Calcined at Geopolymer matrix is able to determine a
Natali et al
18. and fracture and sodium hydroxide 700°C for 5 flexural strength increment, ranging from 30%
(2011)
toughness. and sodium silicate. hours. up to 70% depending on the fiber type,

21
 compared to the unreinforced material.
Seeded fly ash and rice The highest strength was achieved using a 12M
Nazari et al Compressive husk bark ash. Hot air oven at NaOH solution. Oven curing of the specimens
19.
(2011) strength. Sodium silicate and 80°C. at 80°C was found to be the optimum
sodium hydroxide. temperature.
Comparative study of
There is an estimated 44–64% improvement in
OPC and fly ash.
McLellan et al Compressive Hot air oven at greenhouse gas emissions over OPC. Emissions
20. Sodium
(2011) strength. 100°C. from geopolymer concrete can be 97% lower up
silicate and sodium
to 14% higher.
hydroxide solution.
Sodium hydroxide-activated ground fly ash
cured at room temperature can be produced
Compressive Fly ash. Sodium silicate
Somna et al Hot air oven at with reasonable strength.
21. strength. and sodium hydroxide
(2011) 100°C. Ground fine fly ash can be used as a source
solution.
material for making geopolymer cured at
ambient temperature.

22
2.6 INFLUENCE OF STEEL FIBRE ADDITION IN SLAG BASED
GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE
The main results of investigational flexural tests on shallow reinforced concrete
beams strengthened with high strength steel cord and carbon fiber reinforced
geopolymers, cured at room temperature. The mechanical behaviour of the reinforced
beams was assessed by means of four-points bending tests. Two beam specimens for
each system (i.e. steel cord and carbon fiber reinforcement) and one unstrengthen
control beam were tested (Menna et al, 2013). The passivating capacity of specimens
synthetic with three various fly ash mortars treated with three activators and the
stability of the passive state under the effect of 0%, 0.2%, 0.4% and 2% chloride
accompaniments in relative to the binder material, in an environment of seemingly
constant humidity and in humidity cycles.

The development with time of corrosion potential (Ecorr) and polarisation resistance
(Rp) was calculated. Polarisation curves and time constants (s) were also measured for
some specimens using little period galvanostatic pulses (Bastidas et al, 2008). The
predicted and the experimental pullout curves determined for all the circumstances for
firing and testing temperatures. The friction coefficient effects, the fibre Young’s
modulus and concrete rupture strength and the testing temperature on the pullout
performances was showing high performance (Cailleux et al, 2005). The adding of
ceramic fiber to plain concrete has considerably increased its properties, dynamic
strength, critical strain and energy absorption (Su et al, 2014).

MWCNTs fibres in the concrete for 0.1 to 0.5% of weight and fibres are dispersed
poorly and strictly agglomerated within 1% of concrete weight. MWCNT improves
the Young’s modulus, flexural strength and flexural toughness by as much as 160%,
109% and 275%, respectively. It also boosted the fracture energy and increased the
electrical conductivity by 194% (Saafi et al, 2013). Addition of Carbon fibers in
geopolymer concrete improves its electrical conductivity and the electrical resistance
of concrete analysed through AC-impedance spectroscopy (Vaidya et al, 2011).
Impact strength and compressive strength was determined for the concrete added with
carbon fibre from 0% to 1% of weight of concrete. The 0.5% of carbon fibre was the
optimum dosage which attains the better mechanical properties of concrete (Alomayri
et al, 2013).

23
The spherical shape of fly ash can increase the extrudability of geopolymer mixture,
follow-on in the denser microstructure of the finial geopolymeric boards with low
percentage of fly ash. However, when too much fly ash was combined, the
enhancement of the microstructure caused by fly ash cannot reward the reduction of
geopolymer because of the low pozzolanic reactivity of fly ash in situation of high
percentage of binder. So, the microstructure of fly ash-geopolymer boards converts
relatively loose (Yunsheng et al, 2006). The Boroaluminosilicate binder with high
flexural strength in together unreinforced and a reinforced condition is achievable.
Highest flexural strength of 9.5 ± 0.4 and 11.8 ± 0.9 MPa was reached for
unreinforced and reinforced specimens. In reinforced specimens, there is a respectable
bond between steel fibres and geopolymeric paste, which create it likely to effectively
use boroaluminosilicate pastes as a flexural-load barrier in constructions (Nazari et al,
2015).

The linear strain distribution across the effective thickness of shear-flow zone, which
has been normally expected in the analysis of reinforced concrete or SFRC torsional
members, is also evidently detected through the torsional tests on the SFRC beams,
and well assessed by the suggested models. A torsional behavior of SFRC beam
samples was studied by using the current analytical models and the suggested
approaches. The COV values were 9.1% and 10.4%, respectively. First modeling
provided the maximum accuracy in estimating their ultimate torsional strengths, and
second modeling shows the better simulation results on their torsional behavior (Ju et
al, 2015).

2.7 APPLICATION ORIENTED TESTING OF SLAG BASED

GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE
The stress-strain curves of concrete under the various impact loads. The strength
shows the effect of the strain rate and the impact resistance of concrete (Liu et al,
2012). The addition of ceramic fibre for 0.1% and 0.2% in concrete performed the
considerable increase in the dynamic strength and elastic modulus of concrete (Su et
al, 2013). From the various types of fibre used in concrete like cellulose,
polypropylene, and steel fibers for dosage of 0.15%, 0.15%, and 0.5%. The significant
impact strength was attained by the concrete with steel fibre (Rahmani et al, 2012).
The fibre addition of 2.4% in concrete have increased the post crack energy of 2.98 J.

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the improvement in the flexural and impact resistance of the concrete was due to the
discontinuous fibre distribution. Around 38.5% of strength increase was observed for
fibre concrete compared to reference concrete (Kwan et al, 2014).
The 65% strain rate and energy absorption of concrete was improved when the
BFRGC (Basalt Fiber Reinforced Geopolymeric Concrete) used in concrete. 0.3% of
optimum volume of fibre in concrete shows the improvement of 8.9% of specific
energy absorption for geopolymer concrete (Li et al, 2009).

2.8 EFFECTS OF SLAG ON THE DURABILITY OF GEOPOLYMER

CONCRETE
The binary blend of slag and silica fume having the low reactivity in binder. For
improve the durability by the optimum content of slag and the silica fume. The
ternary blend shows the significant increase in the strength properties (Bagheri et al,
2012). The deterioration due to the chloride ingress and carbonation in concrete was
demonstrated by probabilistic models. The model describes that addition of slag in in
higher amount in concrete will resist the chloride penetration and resistance over the
carbonation shows the minor deterioration. The slag increase the density of the
concrete will results in improved microstructures and compressive strength (McNally,
2012).
The curing method doesn’t affect the strength of the concrete but the performance of
the concrete in durability property was improved. The specimens cured by bitumen-
based and coal tar epoxy was shown the better durability of the concrete (Ibrahim et
al, 2013). The solution having the pH value of 4 and 7 will affect the strength of the
concrete with minor weight loss. The dissolution of gel in geopolymer was noted in
the microscopic/spectroscopic analysis. The presences of heavy metals in the MT-
based geopolymer have the tendency of leaching when geopolymer bricks are
immersed in the solution (Ahmari and Zhang, 2012). The significant modification
was because of the cations to form a final structural product. The inorganic foams in
aqueous media for the durability and exposed to liberation of kinetic are. The
presence of alkaline element, amorphous silica and M2Si2O5 (M = K+, Na+) in the
porous geometrical networks (Delair et al, 2012).
The presence of Na2SO4 activated slag has a better resistance in the elevated
temperature up to 600°C. When the temperature increases pH value of concrete will

25
decreased. For the protection of the reinforcement in the concrete it has to maintain
the higher pH value in concrete (Rashad et al, 2012). The significant modification
will in the concrete depending upon the size of the specimen and size of aggregate
when under the elevated temperature of 800°C. The loss in strength will also in the
concrete because of the rearrangement of the matrix in the concrete due to the
temperature (Kong et al, 2010).
The geopolymer concrete is used as nozzles, aspirators and refractory linings because
it is stable at elevated temperatures. So infrastructure under the elevated temperature
can made up of geopolymer concrete (Patil et al, 2013). The crack surface was along
the punching stress distribution in the specimen and the effect of slab thickness plays
the important role in the punching strength compared in both experimental and
predicted results (Kumar et al, 2012). The deformation capacity was reduced when
the punching shear strength rises. The high loading rate on the slab affect the stiffness
of the slab by combination of the inertial effects and material strain-rate and it will
lead to change in mode of failure. The slab deformation was due to the dynamic
punching demand (Micallef et al, 2014). The geopolymer concrete has the better
resistance of the permeability in high pressure. The pressure rises for 10 to 25 MPa
the concrete permeability reduced from 35% to 60% (Nasvi et al, 2013).
When the water/binder ratio reduced to 0.3 in the geopolymer concrete water
absorption was reduced. It was evident that coefficient of water permeability ranging
from 2.46 x 10-11 to 4.67 x 10-11 m/s and void content of concrete differs from 8.2%
to 13% (Olivia et al, 2011).

2.9 GAPS IDENTIFIED IN THE EARLIER RESEARCH STUDIES

 It is found that from earlier work the major research studies has been carried
out in geopolymer based concrete more particularly fly ash based geopolymer
has been studied widely ; however, limited studies was carried out in slag
based geopolymer.
 Also, the importance of adding secondary admixtures for improving the
strength gain properties in normal curing has not been focused earlier.
 A wide range of mechanical properties such as flexural toughness, impact and
punching strength was not studied for slag based geopolymer concrete.

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  Durability characteristics of slag based geopolymer concrete exposed to
different types of deteriorating environment were not studied earlier.
 Efficiency of geopolymer reactions for various concentration of alkali was
determined.
 XRD, SEM and EDX analysis for new mineralogical presence.
 Sensitivity evaluation of geopolymerisation at higher temperature, controlled
humidity curing.
 Rate of hardening properties using ultrasonic pulse velocity technique.
 Effect of oven and steam curing on the strength properties of hardened
geopolymer mortar.

2.10 SUMMARY

It is understood from the earlier studies that good scientific information is available
on the evaluation of chemical and physical properties of geopolymer concrete. Also,
very few works has been reported on the effect of fibre reinforcement in geopolymer
concrete. Further studies are needed to investigate the fracture resistance of this brittle
composite. The addition of glass fibres can exhibit a reasonable improvement on the
strength properties of geopolymer concrete due to strain hardening properties at
failure. The concentration and type of alkali need to be investigated extensively to
choose the combination and dosage of alkali for fly ash. The effect of alkali activators
on the rate of hardening of geopolymers at different curing regimes needs to be well
documented. Curing regime on the hardening properties of geopolymeric concrete
needs special attention to improve the strength properties. The rate of strength gain in
different curing regimes needs to be explored using ultrasonic pulse velocity
measurements. The mechanical characteristics of geopolymer concrete specimens at
elevated temperature (600–800°C) need to be assessed for checking its potential
applications as heat resisting construction material.

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