ABSTRACT

Concrete is by far the most widely used construction material worldwide in

terms of volume, and so has a huge impact on the environment, with consequences
for sustainable development. Portland cement is one of the most energy-intensive
materials of construction, and is responsible for some emissions of carbon dioxide
the main greenhouse gas causing global warming. Due to growing environmental
concerns of the cement industry alternative cement technologies have become an
area of increasing interest. It is now believed that new binders are indispensable for
enhanced environmental and durability performance. Geopolymer Concrete (GPC)
is an innovative method and is produced by complete elimination of ordinary
Portland cement. Geopolymer Concrete has two limitations such as delaying
setting time and necessity of heat curing to gain strength. The present research
therefore focuses on the shear behavior of reinforced low calcium fly ash and m-
sand based geopolymer concrete beams.

For the study of shear behaviour of geopolymer beams, a total of 10 beams

and 10 cube specimens were cast. The behaviour of reinforced geopolymer
concrete beams failing in shear, including the failure modes and crack patterns
were found to be similar to those observed in reinforced Portland cement concrete
beams. It was also found that the methods of calculation including code provisions,
used in the case of reinforced Portland cement concrete beams are applicable for
predicting the shear strength of reinforced geopolymer concrete beams.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER CONTENTS PAGE NO.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 GENERAL 1
1.2 SCOPE OF THE WORK 2
1.3 FLY ASH 3
1.3.1 FEATURES OF FLY ASH 5
1.3.2 SPECIFICATION 7
1.3.3 FLY ASH IN CONCRETE 9
1.3.4 ADVANTAGES OF FLY ASH IN 10
CONCRETE
1.3.5 LIMITATIONS ON QUANTITY OF 12
FLY ASH
1.4 CLASSIFICATION OF FLY ASH 13
1.4.1 CLASS F FLY ASH 13
1.4.2 CLASS C FLY ASH 13
1.5 GEOPOLYMERS
1.5.1 GENERAL 14
1.5.2 FLY ASH BASED GEOPOLYMER 15
CONCRETE
1.5.3 LOW CALCIUM FLY ASH BASED 16
GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE
1.5.4 ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS 23
1.5.5 PROPERTIES OF GEOPOLYMER 23

2 METHODOLOGY 24
3 LITERATURE SURVEY 25

4 EXPERIMENTAL WORK 34

4.1 INTRODUCTION 34

4.2 MIXING, CASTING AND CURING 34

4.3 EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION 34

5 MIXING, CASTING & CURING 35

6 MATERIAL TESTING 38

6.1 SIEVE ANALYSIS TEST FOR FINE 38

AGGREGATE
40
6.2 SPECIFIC GRAVITY TEST

7 REFERENCES 42
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE CONTENT PAGE NO.

1.1 PHOTOMICROGRAPH OF SCANNIC ELECTRON 4

MICROSCOPE

1.2 M-SAND AND RIVER SAND 18

5.1 PAN MIXER USED FOR MANUFACTURING 35

GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE

5.2 ADDITION OF LIQUID COMPONENT 35

5.3 FRESH GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE READY FOR 36

PLACING

5.4 SLUMP MEASUREMENT OF FRESH CONCRETE 36

5.5 COMPACTION INTO MOULDS 37

5.6 SPECIMENS IN STEAM CURING CHAMBER 37

6.1 SIEVE ANALYSIS 38

6.2 PYCNOMETER 40