• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.251-267
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• 2023

In this paper, an experimental investigation is carried out to assess the inherent self-compacting properties of geopolymer mortar and its impact on flexural strength of thin-walled ferro-geopolymer box beam. The inherent self-compacting properties of the optimal mix of normal geopolymer mortar was studied and compared with self-compacting cement mortar. To assess the flexural strength of box beams, a total of 3 box beams of size 1500 mm × 200 mm × 150 mm consisting of one ferro-cement box beam having a wall thickness of 40 mm utilizing self-compacting cement mortar and two ferro-geopolymer box beams with geopolymer mortar by varying the wall thickness between 40 mm and 50 mm were moulded. The ferro-cement box beam was cured in water and ferro-geopolymer box beams were cured in heat chamber at 75℃ - 80℃ for 24 hours. After curing, the specimens are subjected to flexural testing by applying load at one-third points. The result shows that the ultimate load carrying capacity of ferro-geopolymer and ferro-cement box beams are almost equal. In addition, the stiffness of the ferro-geoploymer box beam is reduced by 18.50% when compared to ferro-cement box beam. Simultaneously, the ductility index and energy absorption capacity are increased by 88.24% and 30.15%, respectively. It is also observed that the load carrying capacity and stiffness of ferro-geopolymer box beams decreases when the wall thickness is increased. At the same time, the ductility and energy absorption capacity increased by 17.50% and 8.25%, respectively. Moreover, all of the examined beams displayed a shear failure pattern.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.465-479
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• 2020

Two waste forms, namely cement and geopolymer, were investigated and tested in this study to solidify the corrosive sludge generated from the surface and precipitates of the tubes of steam generators in nuclear power plants. The compressive strength of the cement waste form cured for 28 days was inversely proportional to waste loading (24.4 MPa for 0wt% to 2.7 MPa for 60wt%). The corrosive sludge absorbed the free water in the hydration reaction to decrease the cementation reaction. When the corrosive sludge waste loading increased to 60wt%, the cement waste form showed decreased compressive strength (2.7 MPa), which did not satisfy the acceptance criteria of the repository (3.45 MPa). Meanwhile, the compressive strength of the geopolymer waste form cured for 7 days was proportional to waste loading (23.6 MPa for 0wt% to 31.9 MPa for 40wt%). The corrosive sludge absorbed the free water in the geopolymer when the water content decreased, such that a compact geopolymer structure could be obtained. Consequently, the geopolymer waste forms generally showed higher compressive strengths than cement waste forms.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2010

Geopolymer materials are attractive as inorganic binders due to their superior mechanical and eco-friendly properties. In the current study, geopolymer-based cement was prepared using aluminosilicate minerals from fly-ash with KOH as an alkaline-activator and $Na_2SiO_3$ as liquid glass. Then, calcium carbonate powder from a clam shell was mixed with the geopolymer and the mixture was coated on a concrete surface to provide points of attachment for environmental organisms to grow on the geopolymers. We investigated the effect of the shell powder grain size on the microstructure and bonding property of the geopolymers. A homogeneous geopolymer layer coated well on the concrete surface via aluminosilicate bonding, but the adhesiveness of the shell powder on the geopolymer cement was dependent on the grain size of the shell powder. Superior adhesive characteristics were shown in the shell powder of large grain size due to the deep penetration into the geopolymer by their large weight. This kind of coating can be applied to the adhesiveness of eco-materials on the surface of seaside or riverside blocks.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.216-222
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• 2010

Portland cement has been restricted in applications to ecological area because of its environmental harmfulness and the $CO_2$ emission during a production process. Geopolymer materials attract some attention as an inorganic binder due to their superior mechanical and eco-friendly properties. In this study, geopolymer-based cement was prepared by using aluminosilicate minerals (flyash, meta-kaolin) with alkaline-activators and its compressive strength with concentration of alkaline-activators was investigated. Aluminosilicate-based geopolymers were obtained by mixing aluminosilicate minerals, alkaline solution (NaOH or KOH with different concentration) and water-glass under the vigorous stirring for 20 min. Compressive strength after curing at $30^{\circ}C$ for 3 days increased with the concentration of alkaline-activator due to the enhanced polymerization of the aluminosilicate materials and dense microstructure. Aluminosilicate-based geopolymer cement using KOH as an alkaline-activator showed high compressive strength compared with NaOH activator. In addition, geopolymer cement using fly-ash as a raw material showed higher compressive strength than that of meta-kaolin.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.453-458
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• 2019

Today, concrete remains the most important, durable, and reliable material that has been used in the construction sector, making it the most commonly used material after water. However, cement continues to exert many negative effects on the environment, including the production of carbon dioxide (CO2), which pollutes the atmosphere. Cement production is costly, and it also consumes energy and natural non- renewable resources, which are critical for sustainability. These factors represent the motivation for researchers to examine the various alternatives that can reduce the effects on the environment, natural resources, and energy consumption and enhance the mechanical properties of concrete. Geopolymer is one alternative that has been investigated; this can be produced using aluminosilicate materials such as low calcium (class F) FA, Ultra-Fine GGBS, and high calcium FA (class C, which are available worldwide as industrial, agricultural byproducts.). It has a high percentage of silica and alumina, which react with alkaline solution (activators). Aluminosilicate gel, which forms as a result of this reaction, is an effective binding material for the concrete. This paper presents an up-to-date review regarding the important engineering properties of geopolymer formed by FA and slag binders; the findings demonstrate that this type of geopolymer could be an adequate alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Due to the significant positive mechanical properties of slag-FA geopolymer cements and their positive effects on the environment, it represents a material that could potentially be used in the construction industry.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.27-40
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• 2011

Geopolymer concrete is finding a growing number of niche applications in the field of civil engineering due to its high compressive strength and strength gain rate, retainage of structural properties in elevated temperature environments, chemical stability in highly acidic conditions and environmental benefits. Combining the above mentioned characteristics with induced electrical conductivity, could enable geopolymer cement to serve as a smart and sustainable cementitious material suitable for health monitoring of civil structures. Carbon fibers were added to fresh geopolymer and OPC (ordinary Portland cement) mixes to enhance their electrical conductivities. AC-impedance spectroscopy analysis was performed on the specimens with fiber fraction ranging from 0.008 to 0.8 with respect to the weight of cementitious binder, to measure their electrical resistivity values and to determine the maximum beneficial fiber content required to attain electrical percolation. Experimental observations suggest that CFR-geopolymer cement exhibits superior performance to CFR-OPC in terms of conducting electrical current.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.711-714
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• 2005

This paper focused on development of geopolymer for wood wool ceramic board. Geopolymer can substitude ordinary portland cement and its accelerator of wood wool cement board as inorganic polymer. In this study, what we would obtain geopolymer's properties such as initial setting time(KS L 5108), flow(KS L 5102) and compressive strength of 3days aged(KS L 5105), was less than 1 hour, more than $110\%$, more than 40Mpa. Geopolymer have three essential materials called filler, hardener and geopolymer liquor. So, We applied filler by quartz, hardener by blast furnace slag powder, metakaoline and fly ash, geopolymer liquor by NaOH, KOH and sodium silicate solution. As result of this experiment, what we could obtain best fitted geopolymer's properties such as initial setting time, flow and compressive strength of 3days aged, was 45min, $116\%$ and 43.6Mpa. This result can be applicable to commercial wood wool ceramic board.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.499-505
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• 2021

Geopolymer binders fascinate the attention of researchers as a replacement to cement binder in conventional concrete. One-ton production of cement releases one ton of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere. In the replacement of cement by geopolymer material, there are two advantages: one is the reduction of CO₂ in the atmosphere, second is the utilization of Fly ash and Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) are by-products from coal and steel industries. This paper focuses on the mechanical properties of steel fiber reinforced geopolymer concrete. The framework considered in this research work is geopolymer source (Fly ash, GGBFS and crimped steel fibre) and alkaline activator which consists of NaOH and Na₂SiO₃ of molarity 8M. Here the Na₂SiO₃ / NaOH ratio was taken as 2.5. The variables considered in this experimental work include Binder content (360,420 and 450 kg/m³), the proportion of Fly ash and GGBS (70-30, 60-40 and 50-50) for three different grades of Geopolymer concrete (GPC) GPC 20, GPC 40 and GPC 60. The percentage of crimped steel fibres was varied as 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4% and 0.5%. Generally, the inclusion of steel fibres increases the flexural and split tensile strength of Geopolymer concrete. The optimum dosage of steel fibres was found to be 0.4% (by volume fraction).

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.460-468
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• 2021

Owing to the production of conventional concrete/cement, the climate crises is increasing and is mainly caused greenhouse gas (GHG) emission into the environment by industrial process. To reduce the emission of GHG, and excessive consumption of energy, research on geopolymer binder is increasing as it is environmentally friendly compared to the conventional binders such as Portland cement. The research on improving the strength and durability of geopolymer cement becomes one of the trending researches. Generally, the strength and durability of geopolymer binders are improved by altering alkaline solution & its concentration, the precursor materials and curing temperature & time, which significantly influence the chemical composition and microstructure of geopolymer to which the strength and durability of geopolymers relies. This paper included the detailed discussion on the factors affecting the mechanical properties and durability of geopolymer binder and the influence of reaction mechanism on the strength and durability of geopolymer is also discussed in this paper.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2014

Increasing emphasis on energy conservation and environmental protection has led to the investigation of the alternatives to customary building materials. Some of the significant goals behind understaking such investigations are to reduce the greenhouse gasemissions and minimize the energy required formaterial production.The usage of concrete around the world is second only to water. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is conventionally used as the primary binder to produce concrete. The cement production is a significant industrial activity in terms of its volume and contribution to greenhouse gas emission. Globally, the production of cement contributes at least 5 to 7 % of $CO_2$. Another major problem of the environment is to dispose off the fly ash, a hazardous waste material, which is produced by thermal power plant by combustion of coal in power generation processes. The geopolymer concrete aims at utilizing the maximum amount of fly ash and reduce $CO_2$ emission in atmosphere by avoiding use of cement to making concrete. This paper reports an experimental work conducted to investigate the effect of curing conditions on the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete prepared by using fly ash as base material and combination of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate as alkaline activator.