STRENGTH CHARACTERSTICS OF BINARY BLENDED GEOPOLYMER

CONCRETE
Addepalli Mallinadh Kashyap1, Tanimki Chandra Sekhar Rao2, Naraparaju Venkata Ramana Rao3
1
Ph.D Scholar, Civil Engineering,Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad,India
2
Professor,Civil Engineering, Bapatla Engineering College, Bapatla,India
3
Director, National Institute of Technology, Warangal,India

ABSTRACT

This study furnishes the properties of a binary blended Geopolymer concrete that is prepared by
using industrial waste exhausts i.e., fly ash and GGBS as source materials at a proportion of (50%
+50%). An experimental study was carried out in two phases. In phase I, an effort was made to
produce binary blended Geopolymer concrete with different molarity concentrations of NaOH
ranging from 8-16 M with an increment of 2 M concentration and the compressive strength of
normal (M30) and high strength (M70) grade GPC is studied for a period of 1,3,7,14 and 28 days of
ambient curing. The test results revealed that the compressive strength increases with increase in
molarity concentration up to 12M. In the second phase of study, the mechanical characteristics of
binary blended GPC are studied and reported. An equation was proposed to determine the
compressive strength based on the molarity concentration of NaOH.

Keywords: Industrial Waste Exhausts, Molarity, Mechanical Characteristics

1.0 Introduction

OPC based concrete is the widely used concrete binder worldwide. OPC along with
aggregates and water form OPC based concrete and it is dominating the construction materials
market [1]. It is estimated that the production of OPC was about 3800 Million Tons in the year
2019.The extensive utilization of OPC is a great concern to the environmental pollution resulting in
GHG (green house gas) emissions that acts as a primary anthropogenic driver of changes in climate
[2-3]. Apart from these aspects, the problems with durability of OPC are crucial aspect as it directly
damages the structural safety of members [4].In this context, Geopolymer have gained the interest
of researchers as a suitable binder material with excellent environmental advantages, good
mechanical characteristics and with reliable durability aspects[5]. The word “Geopolymer” reports a
synthetic polymeric binding materials family which have a definite structure [6-7].The process of
synthesis is termed as “Geopolymerization” that includes dissolution, orientation and
polycondensation in an exothermic action [8]. The Geopolymer binder is eco-friendly as it utilizes
the industrial waste exhausts like Class F fly ash and GGBS as raw materials. When these raw
materials are activated by alkaline initiators, the glass structures are altered to amorphous
composites which posses similar mechanical properties as OPC [9]. Fly ash based GPC show
superior mechanical and durability characteristic than OPC concrete [10]. The utilization of fly ash
based GPC is proved to be an eco-friendly construction material than OPC in precast construction
elements. Further, the blending of 40% and 60% GGBS to fly ash reported to have better
mechanical strength characteristics in oven curing [12]. The optimal molarity concentration of
NaOH is reported to be 12M and the blending of 50% of GGBS to fly ash reported to have better
fresh and hardened properties of GPC in ambient curing [16]. In the present study, an attempt was
made to study the mechanical characteristics of binary blended Geopolymer concrete for two grades
of concrete. The study concluded that the strength characteristics of GPC are greatly influenced by
the molarity concentration of NaOH and with an increase in molar concentration, the strength of
GPC also increases up to certain limit.
2.0 Experimental Investigation
2.1 Materials

The experimental investigation is carried out in two phases. In the first phase of study, different
molarity concentrations of NaOH ranging from 8-16 M with an interval of 2 M is considered and
the effect of molarity concentration of NaOH is studied and in the second phase of study,
mechanical characteristics of normal(M30) and high strength (M70) grade HFRGPC is studied. The
constituent ingredients of the mixes are industrial waste exhausts i.e. Class F fly ash and GGBS
procured from VTPS Thermal power station and Vizag Steel industry, India. The oxide composition
of pozzolanic materials is presented in Table 1 and the specific gravity values of the two inert
materials are 2.65 and 2.86 respectively. Local river sand with specific gravity 2.67 in compliance
to Zone-II of IS:383-1978 and crushed granite with specific gravity 2.60 were used as fine and
coarse aggregates. The alkaline initiator solution is prepared with a combination of sodium silicate
(liquid form) and sodium hydroxide (pellet form) in a mass ratio of 2.5. The ratio of alkaline liquid
to binder ratio of 2.5 is adopted for GPC mix proportions. To attain a homogeneous mixture, the
alkali initiator solution is prepared one day prior to casting. To improve the workability of Hybrid
fibre Geopolymer mixes, CONPLAST SP 430 obtained from Fosroc Chemicals was utilized.

Table 1: Chemical composition in Class F-FA and GGBS

Material SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO Na2O
Class F-FA 66.80 24.50 4.00 1.50 0.45 0.40
GGBS 39.18 10.18 2.02 32.82 8.52 1.1

2.2 Preparation of GPC specimens

2.2.1 Mix Ingredients
The GPC mix constituents for estimation of mechanical properties are weigh batched as per the
quantities in Table 2.
Table 2 : Mix Ingredients of GPC concrete
S.No. Constituents M30 grade Quantity( kg/m3) M70 grade Quantity( kg/m3)
1. Binder 360 410.70
( FA+GGBS)
(50%+50%)
2. Na2SiO3 70.8 117.30
3. NaOH 28.3 47
4. SP (1.5%) 5.4 6.16
5. Fine aggregate 798 770
6. Coarse aggregate 20mm----529.2Kg 1155 20mm----693.0Kg
882 12mm----264.6Kg 12mm----346.5Kg
6mm ------88.2Kg 6mm------115.5Kg

2.3 Mixing
Phase-I
As a first step, the aggregates were mixed in a pan mixer for about 2 minutes and later , the blended
binder was mixed along with fine aggregate and the prepared alkaline initiator solution was mixed
along with SP and the mixing is continued for a period of 3 minutes until homogeneity in mixture
was identified. The slump cone test is conducted for all mix proportions to ascertain required
workability condition to structural elements as per IS code specifications. The mix was placed in
150x150x150 mm cube moulds and were demoulded after one day of casting and cured under
ambient environment conditions for 28 days. Figure.1 shows the fresh GPC mix and Fig.2 presents
the failure pattern of GPC cubes under C.T.M. The compressive strength of cubes are tabulated in
Table. 3
 Fig.1 Fresh GPC Mix

Fig.2 Failure Pattern of GPC cube

Table:3 Compressive strength of GPC mixes

Mix Designation Molarity Compressive strength of GPC at different days of ambient
concentration of curing
NaOH 1 day 3 days 7 days 14 days 21 days 28 days
GPC-I 8 3.10 10.64 17.75 26.20 34.21 37.31
GPC-II 10 3.99 11.53 19.10 26.63 35.09 38.20
GPC-III 12 4.80 12.00 19.52 27.10 35.12 38.62
GPC-IV 14 3.57 11.14 18.23 26.21 34.67 37.75
GPC-V 16 2.50 10.21 16.86 25.76 33.83 36.42
 Fig.3 Increase in compressive strength of M30 grade GPC with increase in alkali concentration at
different ages of ambient curing

Table:4 Compressive strength of GPC mixes

Mix Designation Molarity Compressive strength of GPC at different days of ambient
concentration of curing
NaOH 1 day 3 days 7 days 14 days 21 days 28 days
GPC-VI 8 9.75 40.42 54.68 61.30 71.78 76.03
GPC-VII 10 11.12 41.31 55.53 63.10 72.86 77.31
GPC-VIII 12 12.00 43.78 56.59 65.00 74.64 78.19
GPC-IX 14 10.67 40.00 54.24 62.64 71.52 75.57
GPC-X 16 8.89 39.10 53.75 60.00 69.79 75.10

Fig.4 Increase in compressive strength of M70 grade GPC with increase in alkali concentration at
different ages of ambient curing

From Fig.3 and 4, it is evident that with the increase in molarity concentration of NaOH, the
compressive strength of GPC mix is increased. All the specimens cured at ambient curing at
different ages exhibited a higher compressive strength values at molarity concentration of 12 M.
With further increase in concentration of alkali content, the compressive strength was found to be
decreased. Henceforth, GPC-III and GPC-VIII mixes are taken as reference mixes for phase-II
study.
Phase-II

As a first step, the aggregates were mixed in a pan mixer in dry condition for about 2 minutes.
Later, the blended binder was mixed along with aggregates and the prepared alkaline initiator
solution was mixed along with SP and the mixing is continued for a period of 3 minutes until
homogeneity in mixture was identified. The workability tests were performed. The cube, cylindrical
and prism specimens were cast to examine mechanical properties. The GPC test specimens were
demoulded after one day of casting and cured under ambient environment conditions for 28 days.
Figure.6 shows the cast and cured specimens. The workability and mechanical strength
characteristics are tabulated in Table 7.

Fig.5 Cast GPC specimens under ambient curing

 Fig. 6 Failure pattern of GPC specimen under split-tensile loading

Fig.7 Failure pattern of GPC specimen under flexural loading

Table 7: workability and mechanical strength characteristics of M30 and M70 grade concrete

S.N Mix Slump Compressive Split-tensile strength Flexural

o Designation (mm) strength (MPa) (MPa) strength
(MPa)
1. GPC-III 115 38.62 2.64 2.72
2. GPC-VIII 82 78.19 5.58 5.42

From the results obtained from the experimental study, two equations were proposed for calculating
the compressive strength of normal and high strength grade binary blended Geopolymer concrete
from the molarity concentration of NaOH. The proposed equation shown in eq.1 is valid for a mo-
larity range of 8-16 Molar for normal strength grade concretes and eq.2 is valid for a molarity range
of 8-16 Molar for high strength grade concretes up to M70 grade.

C= [-102.3M2 +2344M+25082]*10-3GPa ---eqn.(1)

C= [-125M2+2820M+61600]*10-3 GPa --- eqn(2)

Where C= compressive strength of GPC; M = Molarity concentration of NaOH

Conclusions

The influence of molarity concentration of NaOH on strength characteristics of binary blended GPC
normal and high strength grade concretes were examined for a curing period of 1-28 days of
ambient conditions. The following are the conclusions that are drawn from the study:
1. The molarity concentration of NaOH significantly influences the strength characteristic of
two grades of GPC.
2. The optimum concentration of molarity of NaOH was reported to be 12 M for both the
normal and high strength grades of concretes for all the ages of ambient curing.
3. The compressive strength is found to be increased up to 12 M and with further increase in
concentration, the compressive strength gradually decreased and an equation was proposed
for calculating the compressive strength of GPC based on molarity concentration of NaOH.

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