Preliminary Study on Geopolymer Concrete using Copper Slag and Vermiculite

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume V, Issue III, March 2018 | ISSN 2321–2705

Preliminary Study on Geopolymer Concrete using Copper Slag and Vermiculite

Burri Yakshareddy^1*, J. Guru Jawahar¹, C. Sreenivasulu¹, C. Sashidhar²

  ¹Department of Civil Engineering, Annamacharya Institute of Technology & Sciences, Tirupati, India
²Department of Civil Engineering, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Anantapuram, India

Abstract: Geopolymer concrete (GPC) is becoming a sustainable concrete when comparing to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete. This investigation is mainly focused on the preliminary study on fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) based GPC using copper slag (CS) and vermiculite (VM) as fine aggregate replacement at different levels (0%, 20% and 40%). The compressive strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) values of GPC mixes (FA50-GGBS50) were determined after 7 and 28 days of ambient room temperature curing. In this study, sodium silicate (Na2SiO₃) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution is used as alkaline activator. Test results revealed that the increased replacement level of copper slag increased the GPC properties. Whereas, the increased replacement level of vermiculite decreased the GPC properties.

Keywords: Geopolymer concrete; fly ash, GGBS; compressive strength; ultrasonic pulse velocity; copper slag; vermiculite.

I. INTRODUCTION

Concrete is the most widely used construction material after water in the world and ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is the major ingredient used in concrete. The production of cement releases large amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere that significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that one ton of CO2 is released into the atmosphere for every ton of OPC produced [1]. Several efforts are in progress to supplement the use of Portland cement in concrete in order to address the global warming issues. In view of this, Davidovits proposed that geopolymer binders could be produced by a polymeric reaction of alkaline liquids with the silicon and the aluminium in source materials of geological origin or by-product materials such as fly ash, GGBS, rice husk ash etc [1]. The most common industrial by-products used as binder materials are fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) [2-4]. Geopolymers are made from source materials with silicon (Si) and Aluminium (Al) content and thus cement can be completely replaced by the materials such as fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag which are rich in silica and alumina [5-7].

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