Effects of curing conditions and sand-to-binder ratios on compressive strength development of fly ash geopolymer

This paper investigates the effects of curing conditions on a high-strength geopolymer material synthesized by activating different combinations of Class F fly ash (FA), ground-granulated blast-furnace (slag), and ultrafine fly ash (UFFA) with a unified mixture of D-grade sodium silicate (Na 2 SiO 3...

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Main Authors: Khan, M., Shaikh, Faiz, Hao, Y., Hao, Hong
Format: Journal Article
Published: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2018
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160104557
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/61100
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author Khan, M.
Shaikh, Faiz
Hao, Y.
Hao, Hong
author_facet Khan, M.
Shaikh, Faiz
Hao, Y.
Hao, Hong
author_sort Khan, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This paper investigates the effects of curing conditions on a high-strength geopolymer material synthesized by activating different combinations of Class F fly ash (FA), ground-granulated blast-furnace (slag), and ultrafine fly ash (UFFA) with a unified mixture of D-grade sodium silicate (Na 2 SiO 3 ) and 12-M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions. The effect of ambient air and water curing on the strength properties, cumulative porosity, and microstructure of geopolymer mortar samples was evaluated at room temperature. Subsequently, the effects of two different sand-binder ratios, the amount of FA replacement with UFFA, and slag on the short-term mechanical properties and workability of geopolymer mixtures is also discussed. The results show that the geopolymer specimens cured in water possessed a higher total porosity in relation to the air-cured samples. Air curing resulted in additional polymerization and fewer microcracks were observed within the scanning electron microscope photographs, which led to an increased compressive strength. Moreover, the use of UFFAwas observed to significantly improve the strength of FA-slag blended geopolymers, where reduced porosity and denser microstructure in FA geopolymers was observed with the inclusion of slag at higher quantities.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T10:19:17Z
publishDate 2018
publisher American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-611002022-10-27T06:20:20Z Effects of curing conditions and sand-to-binder ratios on compressive strength development of fly ash geopolymer Khan, M. Shaikh, Faiz Hao, Y. Hao, Hong This paper investigates the effects of curing conditions on a high-strength geopolymer material synthesized by activating different combinations of Class F fly ash (FA), ground-granulated blast-furnace (slag), and ultrafine fly ash (UFFA) with a unified mixture of D-grade sodium silicate (Na 2 SiO 3 ) and 12-M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions. The effect of ambient air and water curing on the strength properties, cumulative porosity, and microstructure of geopolymer mortar samples was evaluated at room temperature. Subsequently, the effects of two different sand-binder ratios, the amount of FA replacement with UFFA, and slag on the short-term mechanical properties and workability of geopolymer mixtures is also discussed. The results show that the geopolymer specimens cured in water possessed a higher total porosity in relation to the air-cured samples. Air curing resulted in additional polymerization and fewer microcracks were observed within the scanning electron microscope photographs, which led to an increased compressive strength. Moreover, the use of UFFAwas observed to significantly improve the strength of FA-slag blended geopolymers, where reduced porosity and denser microstructure in FA geopolymers was observed with the inclusion of slag at higher quantities. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/61100 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002119 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160104557 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) restricted
spellingShingle Khan, M.
Shaikh, Faiz
Hao, Y.
Hao, Hong
Effects of curing conditions and sand-to-binder ratios on compressive strength development of fly ash geopolymer
title Effects of curing conditions and sand-to-binder ratios on compressive strength development of fly ash geopolymer
title_full Effects of curing conditions and sand-to-binder ratios on compressive strength development of fly ash geopolymer
title_fullStr Effects of curing conditions and sand-to-binder ratios on compressive strength development of fly ash geopolymer
title_full_unstemmed Effects of curing conditions and sand-to-binder ratios on compressive strength development of fly ash geopolymer
title_short Effects of curing conditions and sand-to-binder ratios on compressive strength development of fly ash geopolymer
title_sort effects of curing conditions and sand-to-binder ratios on compressive strength development of fly ash geopolymer
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160104557
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/61100