DESIGN MIX PROPORTIONS OF GEO-POLYMER CONCRETE AND ITS EFFECT ON SHRINKAGE AND STRENGTH PROPERTIES
Abstract
The current era of "Sustainable Development" necessitates the development of new concrete that consumes fewer natural resources, electricity, and CO2 while maintaining its strength and toughness properties.The call for the day is search for a new environmental-friendly cementing material that will be better and overcome the drawbacks of Portland cement such as lack of durability, huge raw materials, and energy requirements. Research work on concrete without Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) involving aluminosilicates are of great significance. This mix is formed using fly ash andriver sand as raw materials, along with a sodium silicate-catalyte solution (NaOH) and sodium hydroxide pellets, river sand as fine and granite as coarse aggregate.The present study investigates on the preparation of Geopolymer concrte (GPC) for different sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide and water to powder ratios. Ninemixtures were developed and castedto measure their compressive strength and check the shrinkage properties by casting the beams.Out of the nine mixes, best four mixes were tested for the compressive.The tensile properties of GPC concrete are close to those of standard Portland concrete in terms ofcracking, and shrinkage (OPC). The compressive and tensile strength properties seemed to have strengthened when the Na2SiO3 / NaOH ratio was increased. Thestrain values due to shrinkage for Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) was observed to be less than the Geopolymer Concrete (GPC).