GEO POLYMERIC CONCRETE

(A substitute to cement in cement concrete mix)

ABSTRACT:
The basic and most important constructional material for
infrastructural development is ordinary Portland cement-OPC. Ordinary
Portland cement (OPC) is conventionally used as the Primary binder to
produce concrete. The environmental issues associated with the OPC are well
known. The amount of the carbon dioxide released during the manufacture
of OPC due to the calcinations of the limestone and combustion of fossil fuel
is in the order of one ton for every ton of OPC produced. In addition, the
extent of energy required to produce OPC is only next to steel and
aluminium.
India is third largest cement producing country in the world, next
only to china and Japan. Despite OPC being highly valuable and wonderful
building material, it suffers from variety of maladies. The maladies include
depletion of natural resources like lime stone in production of OPC, large
amounts of energy consumption in manufacture results in global warming
and climate change, cause panic in the whole world, spiraling cost of OPC in
developing countries like India .Research has been in progress all over the
world
accruing
several
benefits
replacement
of
OPC
with
CCMS(Complimentary Cementing materials) like Rice husk ash, silica fume,
fly ash and others has negated the ill effects of OPC to a large extent. Further
the availability of fly ash worldwide creates opportunity to utilize this byproduct of burning coal, as a substitute for OPC to manufacture concrete.
When fly ash used as a replacement of OPC, in the presence
of water and in ambient temperature (60- 90 degree Celsius), fly ash reacts
with the calcium hydroxide during the hydration process of OPC to form
calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gel. The development and application of high
volume fly ash concrete, which enabled the replacement of OPC up to 60% by
mass is a significant Development.

Fly ash increases concrete strength, improves sulphate resistance, decreases

permeability, reduces the water ratio required, and improves the workability
of the concrete.
In 1978, Davidovits proposed that binders could be prepared
by a polymeric reaction of alkaline liquids with the silicon and the
aluminium in sources materials of geological origin or by-products materials
such as fly ash and these binders are known as geo-polymers. The main
binder produced is a C-S-H gel, as the result of the hydration process.

SUBMITTED BY:
PRAFFUL GUPTA
BRANCH:
B.TECH CIVIL/5TH SEM