SUSTAINABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF FLY ASH BASED GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE INCORPORATING ALCCOFINE, ZEOLITE AND RUBBER FIBERS

Development of sustainable and energy efficient construction material has been the viewpoint of research efforts worldwide in recent years. Although the use of Portland cement is unavoidable, many efforts are being made to minimize the use of Portland cement in concrete to a greater extent in infrastructure applications. It is time to utilize new technology materials like geopolymers that offer waste utilization and emissions reduction with enormous ability. An alternate binding material to the OPC has been found out known as geopolymer concrete (GPC). In this study, GPC will be made of fly ash incorporating alccofine in various percentages of 5%, 10%,15% and 20% as partial replacement to fly ash. Zeolite was partially added to fine aggregate at 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%. Rubber fibers were added at 2% by the weight of binder. Alkaline activator for geopolymerisation was prepared by mixing Sodium hydroxide solution at 10M with Sodium silicate solutions are used. Control mix is casted for M30 grade concrete. The samples are proposed to be cured by hot-curing for 24 hours thus mechanical and durability properties were examined. Addition of zeolite at 30% and alccofine at 15% is found to be an optimal content in geopolymer content and when the concentration of zeolite in geopolymer concrete is increased the slump value decreases. The rubber fiber contents kept constant at 2%, only lesser voids are generated due to improper bonding between rubber fiber particles, which does not contribute more in compressive strength. Geopolymer presents denser microstructure, lower total pore volume and optimized pore structure c ompared to OPC paste and therefore geopolymer concrete is much more durable in an aggressive environment.