Shrinkage and Mechanical Resistance of Steel Fiber Reinforced Geopolymer Mortars Containing Industrial By-Product GGBS; Solution to Binder Affect in Oven Curing Condition

Abstract

Ground granulated blast furnace slag was amalgamated with silica fume to provide binder content (B) and mixed in varying proportions with a solution of diverse alkaline solution (S) to produce Geopolymer mortars (GPMs). The alkaline solution comprised a blend of sodium silicate (Na₂SiO₃) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH), maintaining a steady NaOH concentration of 12 M and a Na2SiO3/NaOH mass ratio ranging from 0.3 to 0.45. The GPMs were formulated with varying S/B ratios of 0.3, 0.35, 0.4, and 0.45. All mixtures were cured under 60 ⁰C oven conditions. To evaluate the effect of the S/B ratio on the GPMs, the compressive strength, tensile strength, and shrinkage of hardened GPMs were examined at 7 and 28 days of age. The experimental findings indicated that altering the S/B ratio affected the compressive strength of GPMs. The compressive strength was superior at an S/B ratio of 0.35 compared to both higher and lower ratios. At this optimal S/B ratio, a compressive strength of up to 11.25 and 24.23 MPa was observed at the 7days and 28 days.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52783/pst.942