Mechanical and durability properties of geopolymer concrete composite at varying superplasticizer dosage

In the present work, a geopolymer concrete composite is developed using GGBS, Fly ash and superplasticizer. Two types of samples are prepared with increasing dosage of superplasticizer (i.e. 1%, 2% and 3%). In the first case, only ground granulated blast furnace slag is used and in the second case, 50% GGBS with 50% Fly ash is used. The developed geopolymer composite is tested for its mechanical and durability properties. Compressive strengths and split tensile strengths are determined to assess the mechanical properties and water absorption test is done for testing the durability of the composite. The results showed that, the maximum improvement in mechanical and durability properties are obtained with 3% superplasticizer dosage. The maximum compressive strength of 40.2 MPa and maximum split tensile strength of 2.87 MPa is obtained for G100F0-3 sample. The water absorption for this mix is found to be 2.41%. Therefore, 3% dosage of superplasticizer can be used to develop geopolymer concrete composite in an optimized manner. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Materials, Processing & Characterization.

Automated summary

A geopolymer concrete composite was developed using GGBS, Fly ash, and superplasticizer, with tests showing that a 3% dosage of superplasticizer yielded the best improvement in mechanical and durability properties, suitable for optimizing the development of geopolymer concrete composites.