Effect of Fine Aggregate Replacement by Granulated Blast Furnace Slag on the Self Cured Geopolymer Concrete

Abstract

Concrete is one of the most prominent construction materials since it serves as the foundation for all construction activities across the globe. The daily need for concrete is rising along with the necessity for infrastructural expansion. In accordance with the specifications, cement, aggregates (fine and coarse), water, and admixtures (mineral and chemical) are typically used in the proper proportion to construct concrete. The climate and human health are adversely affected due to the high use of cement. The studies informed that cement manufacturing accounts for 8 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is an acknowledged meaningful contributor to climate change. Previous research works reported that the production of one ton of cement releases almost the same amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Along with that, increasing demand for infrastructure has also led to excessive use of sand, which had a negative impact on the amount of natural sand available and has led to other harmful environmental issues such as groundwater recharge. Hence, finding an alternative material for river sand and cement is the need at this hour. newlineIn this investigation, an attempt was made to manufacture self-cured geopolymer concrete (SCGC) in an uncontrolled temperature and humidity environment. Previous investigations informed that the guidelines and standards for geopolymer concrete mix design are unavailable. Therefore, to optimize the essential elements, such as the quantity of aluminosilicate source material (ASM), molarity (M) of sodium hydroxide (SH), the ratio between the alkaline liquid (AL) to the ASM, and the sodium silicate (SS) to SH ratio, of geopolymer concrete, Taguchi approach had used. Results reported that the specimen with ASM of 450 kg/m3, AL/ASM ratio of 0.45, SS/SH ratio of 1.5, and molarity of SH 12M provides maximum compressive strength and minimum water absorption. It was also found that SCGC could construct in an environment with unregulated humidity and temperature. newlineFollowing this, river sa