Study of mechanical and microstructural properties of geopolymer concrete with GGBS and Metakaolin

Geopolymers are a new type of artificial polymer which is developed when an aluminosilicate source is triggered or activated by the application of alkaline hydroxide and silicate solution. They have shown good mechanical properties and shows good resistance to chemicals, lesser shrinkage, no damage to environment and shows formidable durability. Ground granulated blast furnace slag(GGBS) is a good aluminosilicate source as it contains high amounts of alumina and silica which are necessary for the geopolymerisation reaction to take place. In this paper, three variations in terms of weight percentages of GGBS and metakaolin clay have been taken with 80%-20%, 50%-50%, and 20%-80% respectively. A 10M solution of sodium hydroxide with sodium silicate was used as alkaline activator solution. For practical purposes ambient curing of the geopolymer samples has been adopted. The Degree of reaction was evaluated for all the percentage variations of the geopolymer concrete at 7 days of curing. The mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete have been studied by compressive test, split tensile test and four-point loading test. To understand the structural integrity of the casting of the geopolymer specimens, ultrasonic pulse velocity test was performed. The study of micro-structure of geopolymer concrete was carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) technique. (c) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.