Evaluation on Microstructure Stability and Thermal Resistant Ability at High Temperature of Ternary-Blended Geopolymer

Abstract

Stability of microstructure and heat resistant ability at high temperature is one of the important properties in ceramics or silicate materials which are normally exposed with fire such as refractories and insulation or other materials used in furnaces. This study used a ternary-blended geopolymer which was synthesized from an optimized mixture of red mud (RM), rice husk ash (RHA), diatomaceous earth (DE), and water glass solution (WGS) with silica modulus of 2.5. The geopolymer samples were tested thermal properties of heat resistance (%), volumetric shrinkage (%), mass loss (%) at 1000°C to evaluate thermal resistant ability. Changes of microstructure of the ternary-blended geopolymer samples were also characterized before and after exposed at high temperature using methods of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis or thermal gravimetric analysis (DTA-TGA), and Scanning electron microscope (SEM). The experimental results showed the ternary-blended geopolymer has high thermal stability and unchanged microstructure even at high temperatures. Hence, the geopolymer in this study is suggested to apply as an insolation with the upper limit of temperature to work at 1000°C.