Experimental Study on the Behavior of One Part Geopolymer Concrete Using Natural Binders and Activators

Abstract

The cement industry is one of the primary factors contributing to the process of global warming with a large carbon footprint. Approximately 8% of global CO2 emissions are attributed to cement. The development of cement substitute materials has advanced with the discovery of geopolymer concrete. The conventional geopolymers are two part mixes made up of an activator-containing liquid phase and an aluminum-silicate material-containing solid phase. Among the many benefits of geopolymers are their increased environmental friendliness, better workability, greater compressive strength, increased resistance to sulfate and acids, increased temperature resistance, and decreased drying shrinkage and creep. However, geopolymerization is a difficult procedure. Furthermore, there are still certain drawbacks to geopolymer concrete, such as the fact that alkaline solutions are difficult to handle and apply because they are viscous, corrosive, difficult to transport, as well as challenging to store in huge quantities. As a result, the creation of one-part geopolymer concrete gained more advantages over the traditional two part geopolymer. Solid aluminosilicate and solid alkali activator combine to form one part geopolymer concrete. The creation of one-part geopolymer concrete with natural binders is the primary goal of this research. It should be highlighted that GGBS based geopolymer concrete is challenging to make and has poor workability. As a result, various proportions of GGBS and silica fume are utilized as binders in this experiment. Powdered NaOH is utilized as alkaline activator. The mechanical properties are established by conducting necessary experiments for finding the best concrete mixture for this present work.The concrete mix with 80%, GGBS, 10% silica fume and 10% NaOH exhibits the expected quality of fresh properties and mechanical characteristics.