Construction and Building Materials 141 (2017) 325–334

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Strength, permeability and micro-structural characteristics

of low-calcium fly ash based geopolymers
Ankur Mehta ⇑, Rafat Siddique
Civil Engineering Department, Thapar University, Patiala 147004, India

h i g h l i g h t s

Effect of OPC replacement on workability properties.

Effect of OPC replacement on compressive and split tensile strength.

Effect of OPC replacement on chloride permeability.

SEM, EDS and XRD analysis of fly ash based geopolymer concrete.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The paper presents the properties of low-calcium fly ash based geopolymer concrete in which fly ash was
Received 21 October 2016 partially replaced (0, 10, 20 and 30%) with ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Tests were conducted for
Received in revised form 17 February 2017 workability, compressive strength, split tensile strength and rapid chloride permeability (RCPT) up to
Accepted 5 March 2017
the age 28 days. SEM, EDS and XRD analysis were also carried out.
Test results indicate that workability of low-calcium fly ash based geopolymer concrete decreased with
increase in OPC content. Further, inclusion of OPC enhanced the compressive strength and reduced the
Keywords:
permeability at all ages (3, 7 and 28 days). However optimum results were obtained for geopolymers
Geopolymer
Fly ash
with 20% OPC. SEM, EDS and XRD analysis confirmed the modifications in matrix making it denser, com-
Compressive strength pact and less permeable.
Split tensile strength Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Workability
Permeability

1. Introduction minosilicate three-dimensional networks whose strength can be

With the ever increasing growth in the infrastructure sector, the
demand for concrete and its binder material such as ordinary Port-
land cement (OPC) is increasing exponentially. But from last few
years, questions are being raised regarding its environmental haz-
ards caused by clinker production [1,2]. This major issue has
prompted the researchers to develop supplementary cementitious
materials (SCMs) as a replacement and or as addition to cement to
develop a whole new range of cement-less binder known as
geopolymers [3–6]. Geopolymers are formed by the combination
of materials rich in silica and alumina like bottom ash, fly ash,
metakaolin, etc and alkali solutions like potassium hydroxides of
sodium and potassium, etc with soluble silicates of sodium and
potassium. The resultant aluminium oxides and silica oxides fur-
ther undergo the polymeric reactions resulting in formation of alu-
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ankurmehta07@gmail.com (A. Mehta).
even higher to that of conventional concrete. For curing purpose,
heat is generally applied ranging from 60° C to 100° C to the
geopolymer specimens for about 24–48 h and then can be left at
room temperature for use. Based on above mechanism all the
materials that can dissolute silica and alumina in the system can
be used which in the presence of strong alkalis and high tempera-
ture forms geopolymers. For instance, GGBS, which is a waste pro-
duct of iron industry, have been found satisfactory in various
studies when used as raw material for geopolymer concrete [7,8].
Similarly other waste products such as pulverized fuel ash [9], fly
ash [10], oil fuel ash [3,11], rice husk ash [6,12] are also being used.
These waste products from various industries, when used as a raw
material in geopolymer technology, not only reduce the disposal
problems but also lower the cement usage for concrete applica-
tions. Also apart from excellent strength properties, due to its
dense microstructure, they exhibit good durability properties as
well such as acid resistance, sulphate resistance, etc. For instance
geopolymer synthesized with fly ash has better sulphuric acid

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.03.031
0950-0618/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
326 A. Mehta, R. Siddique / Construction and Building Materials 141 (2017) 325–334
resistance than conventional OPC concrete [13]. Similar conclu-
sions were made by Tho-in et al. [14] which showed excellent
durability characteristics for fly ash based geopolymers. Apart from
all the advantages of geopolymers the only thing that resists its use
in the field applications is its curing method. As already mentioned
it requires heat curing period of 24–48 h at 60–100° C which
becomes very difficult in actual field applications. Researchers
are more focussed to develop geopolymers using various additives
such as GGBS, metakaolin, Portland cement, etc [15–17].
The addition of OPC to the geopolymers can be an effective
measure to improve the properties as at normal temperature as
it has exothermal reaction mechanism which can increase the tem-
perature and help in strength development of the resultant
geopolymer. Also OPC is the most common commodity that is
being used in construction industry and so there can be no issue
regarding the availability as compared to other materials. The
aim of this research is to study the effect of replacing fly ash with
OPC at different percentages (0%, 10%, 20% and 30%). Kong and San-
jayan [18] tested compressive strength of geopolymer specimens
up to 3 days only which was reported as equivalent to 28 days
strength development of conventional OPC concrete [19]. It is also
observed from other studies [20,21] that after the completion of
temperature curing period, as the mechanism is related to poly-
merization reactions, there is no significant increase in strength
after that. Joseph and Mathew [9] also reported no significant
development in strength beyond 7 days. Based on this, as no signif-
icant effect of age after temperature curing period is reported, the
properties in this paper are studied up to 28 days only. The main
objective of this study is to develop the geopolymer concrete with
high strength characteristics and to observe the effect of adding
calcium content (in the form of OPC) at different proportions on
its strength and permeability properties. As this concrete aims at
very high early age strength, it can overcome the use of conven-
tional cement in various industrial applications. The properties
such as workability are studied for fresh concrete, strength param-
eters are studied for up to 28 days and chloride permeability is
studied at 28 days. In addition scanning electron microscopy
(SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) & X-ray diffrac-
tion (XRD) analysis are also performed on 28 days specimens. Also,
the relationship between workability, strength parameters and
chloride permeability are also discussed.
2. Experimental details
2.1. Materials
Fly ash (FA) was procured from Rajiv Gandhi thermal power
plant in Khedar, India and 43 grade ordinary Portland cement
(OPC) was obtained from the local vendors. The physical tests on
OPC [22] as shown in Table 1 and chemical tests on OPC and fly
ash as shown in Table 2 were performed. The specific gravity of
fly ash was observed to be 2.31 and its specific surface area was
found to be 270 m2/kg. SEM and EDS analysis of OPC and fly ash
were performed as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 respectively. As expected
the fly ash particles found to be spherical in shape with a high con-
tent of silica and alumina whereas OPC found to have high calcium
Table 1
Physical properties of OPC and fly ash.
Physical properties OPC Standard values
Standard consistency 31% – compacting factor test was also performed in addition to slump
Initial setting time 89 min Not less than 30 min
Final setting time 373 min Not greater than 600 min
Specific gravity 3.04 –
Fineness (m2/kg) 318 –
Table 2
Chemical properties of OPC and fly ash.
Oxides OPC (%) Fly ash (%)
Silica Oxide (SiO2) 21.68 37.6
Aluminium oxide (Al2O3) 4.69 14.79
Iron oxide (Fe2O3) 4.37 18.56
Calcium oxide (CaO) 64.27 19.61
Magnesium oxide (MgO) 0.98 2.7
Potassium oxide (K2O) 0.76 0.98
Sodium oxide (Na2O) 0.28 0.73
Sulphur trioxide (SO3) 2.69 4.81
content in addition to silica. Natural river sand obtained from the
local sources of fineness modulus 2.56 as fine aggregates and
12.5 mm diameter crushed stone aggregates as coarse aggregates
were used. The aggregates were tested as per Indian standards
[23]. The specific gravity of fine and coarse aggregates was 2.57
and 2.74 whereas water absorption was 0.21% and 1.04% respec-
tively. In addition, the alkali solution consisting of hydroxides
and silicates of sodium or potassium was required to liberate silica
and aluminas from the source materials i.e. fly ash and OPC which
undergo polymerization to form NASH, CASH and CSH. In this
study, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution of molarity 10 M was
prepared from NaOH pellets, which were obtained from Fisher Sci-
entific Company, and sodium silicate solution (Na2SiO3) with
16.20% Na2O, 34.72% SiO2 and 49.08% water was used.
2.2. Mixing, casting, and curing
As observed from the previous studies [24,25] that the mixing
of alkali solutions releases a large amount of heat, before mixing
to the dry mixture it should be left at room temperature for about
24 h to bring down the temperature. On the other hand, few stud-
ies suggested that the alkali solutions should directly be mixed to
the dry mixture [26,27]. However, in this study, the alkali solutions
were mixed together 24 h prior to use to bring down its tempera-
ture to ambient temperature. Naphthalene based admixture at 2%
dosage by total weight of fly ash and OPC was added to the alkali
solution before mixing them to the dry mixture. The mixture pro-
portion of geopolymer specimens with the addition of OPC at dif-
ferent levels is shown in Table 3. The dry mixture was obtained
by mixing fly ash, OPC and aggregates in addition to previously
mixed alkali solution with plasticizer in the pan mixture for about
15 min. The mixes were denoted as G100C0, G90C10, G80C20 and
G70C30 as OPC was added as fly ash replacement at 0%, 10%, 20%
and 30% respectively. After mixing the concrete specimens were
cast in different moulds for example 150 mm cubical moulds for
compressive strength test, 150  300 mm cylindrical moulds for
split tensile strength and 100  200 mm cylindrical moulds for
rapid chloride permeability test (RCPT) which were further cut in
the size 100  50 mm. Table vibrator was used for the compaction
of specimens. They were covered with steel plates at room temper-
ature for an hour followed by temperature curing at 80° C for 24 h
in an oven. The moulded specimens were de-moulded and covered
by cling film to avoid moisture loss at room temperature till their
testing age.
2.3. Testing procedures
Due to the high viscosity of geopolymer concrete specimens,
test. For strength testing, the specimens were placed inside the
compression testing machine (CTM) where the load was applied
without the jerk till it breaks down and no further load was sus-
tained. The tests were conducted as per ASTM C109 and the results
 A. Mehta, R. Siddique / Construction and Building Materials 141 (2017) 325–334 327

Fig. 1. SEM/EDS of fly ash particles.

Fig. 2. SEM/EDS of cement particles.

Table 3
Mixture proportions.

Mixture OPC (%) Fly ash (kg) OPC (kg) Coarse aggregates (kg) Fine aggregates (kg) Alkali content (kg) Super plasticizer (kg)
G100C0 0 310 0 1204 649 171 6.2
G90C10 10 279 31 1204 649 171 6.2
G80C20 20 248 62 1204 649 171 6.2
G70C30 30 217 93 1204 649 171 6.2

were reported as the average of three specimens. RCPT were also
performed at 28 days of testing as per ASTM C1202 [28]. To
observe the micro-structure, SEM (JEOL JSM 6510 LV, USA) and
EDS analysis were performed on the fractured pieces of 28 days
geopolymer concrete specimens and the images were obtained
using secondary electron (SE) image mode. XRD analysis was also
carried out on 28 days specimens for the identification of different
phases present in the concrete. The scanned spectrum in the form
of peaks was obtained which and identified by High Score Plus
software.
3. Results and discussions
3.1. Workability
Workability can be related to the ease and homogeneity of con-
crete related to rheological characteristics of fresh concrete includ-
ing its stability, mobility, and compactability. It was measured by
slump as well as compacting factor test. As shown in Fig.3, with
the increase in OPC dosage from 0% to 30%, a decrease in the slump
was observed. In other words, the workability with respect to
slump test decreased with the inclusion of OPC content in the sys-
tem. The decrease in slump was attributed to the increase in the
hardening process due to increasing calcium oxide content. As
the slump values obtained were on lower side compacting factor
test was also performed. A similar trend was observed as compact-
ing factor test decreased with increase in OPC. The increase in cal-
cium content was not only from the additional OPC but also from
the sources like fly ash, calcium hydroxide, etc. [29–32] that
formed additional nucleation sites which increased the rate of
solidification and hence increased its hardening. The results
obtained were also in accordance with previous studies [33–36]
which also explained the increase in hardening with the increase
in calcium content.
328 A. Mehta, R. Siddique / Construction and Building Materials 141 (2017) 325–334

90 0.92
80 0.91
Slump Compaction factor

Compacting factor
70 0.9

Slump (mm)
60 0.89
50 0.88
40 0.87
30 0.86
20 0.85
10 0.84
0 0.83
G100C0 G90C10 G80C20 G70C30

Mixtures

Fig. 3. Slump values and compacting factor test values for different mixtures.

3.2. Compressive strength
It was observed that with the increase in OPC from 0% to 30%,
there was an increase in strength as shown in Fig. 4. For example,
at 3 days, the strength of G100C0, G90C10, G20C20 and G70C30
were 41.32, 50.71, 61.37 and 63.16 MPa respectively. However,
the increase in strength was recorded up to 20% OPC which further
decreased at 30% OPC at 28 days. The strength of specimens
G100C0, G90C10 and G80C20 were 44.73, 54.76, 64.46 MPa
whereas for G70C30 strength slightly reduced to 61.74 MPa.
Although the strength decrement was not on a higher side, still
best results were obtained by the specimens with 20% replace-
ment. For geopolymer concrete specimens with 0% OPC, the nor-
mal trend of increasing strength with age was observed just like
conventional cement based concrete. The only difference being
the percentage increase of strength i.e. 3 day strength of geopoly-
mer concrete specimen was found to be 92% and 7 days strength
was found to be 97% of its 28 days strength whereas for conven-
tional cement concrete the normal 7 day strength can be consid-
ered as around 70% of the 28 days strength. This means that
geopolymer concrete can be considered as beneficial for the con-
struction applications where high early age strength is required.
Also when OPC was included at 30% replacement level, the 3 days
strength was even higher around 52% more than that of the spec-
imen with 0% OPC. The increase in early strength was due to the
calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) formed by the inclusion of OPC in
addition to the polymeric products CASH and NASH. Also at early
ages, with the increase in calcium content in the binder, due to
its quick reaction with the alkaline activators, the heat was pro-
duced which might also help in increasing the temperature of cur-
ing internally for geopolymers [37,38] and thus enhanced its
75.00
3days 7days
Compressive strength (MPa)
compressive strength products [39,40]. On the contrary, the
decrease in strength at 30% replacement level was due to the mod-
ifications in the microstructure of hydrated phases [41]. The high
OPC content relatively reduced the fly ash content, the major
source of silica and alumina, which influenced the polymerization
reaction and hence reduces the NASH and CASH in the system [33].
Although high CSH was introduced in the system due to high OPC
content but for high later age strength water curing was required
which was not provided. Previous studies also showed that
enhancement of mechanical properties by increasing the calcium
content in the system was limited to a certain extent only and after
that, it showed negative effects [1,42–44].
3.3. Split tensile strength
Fig. 5 showed the split tensile strength results for geopolymer
specimens. It was observed that with the increase in OPC content
in the system, the split tensile strength value increased up to
20% and after that, the value decreased at all ages. For example
for specimens G100C0, G90C10, G80C20, and G70C30, at 28 days
the values were 4.52, 4.61, 5.08 and 4.44 MPa respectively. Also
for all the specimens, even though not significant, but the increase
in strength was observed with the age. As geopolymer mechanism
involves polymeric reactions that initiate with high-temperature
curing, the bulk of the strength gets achieved at an early age only
[9]. The increase in strength up to 20% OPC was due to the addi-
tional calcium in the system which reacted and formed additional
CSH along with polymeric products. Whereas at higher replace-
ment levels i.e. at 30%, due to the absence of water curing as
required for OPC, loss of strength was observed. It can be assumed
from previous studies [39,45,46] that in the blended geopolymer
mixture of fly ash and OPC based, within the network of same
28days 90days
6.00

60.00
Split tensile strength (MPa)

5.00

45.00 4.00
G100C0
3.00
30.00 G90C10
2.00 G80C20
15.00 G70C30
1.00

0.00 0.00
0 10 20 30 3days 7days 28days 90days
Replacement of OPC (%) Curing ages

Fig. 4. Compressive strength values for different mixtures. Fig. 5. Split tensile strength values for different mixtures.
 A. Mehta, R. Siddique / Construction and Building Materials 141 (2017) 325–334
chemical reaction, CSH was formed after the polymerization
[42,47]. This combined network at 7 and 28 days was expected
to have less dense micro-structure and therefore lower strength
values were observed with 30% replacement levels.
3.4. Rapid chloride permeability test (RCPT)
RCPT was conducted at the age of 28 days with the results as
shown in Table 4. The relationship between the chloride perme-
ability and the charge passed (in coulombs) is shown in Table 5
as per ASTM C1202 [28]. It was observed that with the addition
of OPC even at a low content of 10%, significant decrease of around
52% in values of total charge passed was observed. With the further
increase in OPC content of 20%, decrease in charge passed value of
around 63% was observed whereas with the increase in OPC to 30%,
the charge value increased slightly. However, for both the speci-
mens with 20% and 30% OPC, permeability range was of ‘‘Very Low”
category whereas for 10% OPC it was ‘‘Low” category. The decrease
in permeability was related to its microstructure which was attrib-
uted to the increase in calcium content with the increased OPC,
which further increased the CSH that helped in making the matrix
denser in addition to polymeric products NASH and CASH [36].
Similar observations were made regarding the modification of
microstructure with lesser pores due to increasing calcium content
by Skvara et al. [48]. Whereas at high replacement level of fly ash
by OPC the calcium content becomes too high such that silica and
alumina content in the system relatively becomes too low. This
would have resulted in less dissolution of silica and alumina by
the alkalis and hence fewer polymerization products were
obtained. Therefore the optimum content of fly ash replacement
by OPC can be reported as 20%.
3.5. SEM/EDS analysis
SEM and EDS analysis were carried out at 28 days as shown in
Figs. 6–9 for the specimens G100C0, G90C10, G80C20 and
G70C30 respectively. For specimen G100C0, unreacted spherical
shaped fly ash particles were observed that did not take part in
the polymerization reaction. The presence of voids and cracks were
also observed in large number indicating more porous microstruc-
ture with high permeability. For G90C10 specimen, fly ash particles
and the aggregates were found to be separated from each other as
indicated by the presence of cracks which propagated the branch-
ing of cracks in the weak points and thereby increased the fracture
mechanism and hence decreased the strength. Cracks were also
observed which probably was due to shrinkage when water evap-
oration took place during high-temperature curing. This excessive
shrinkage subsequently decreased the structural homogeneity and
integrity of the resultant geopolymer matrix [49,50]. For G80C20
specimens, micrograph was found to be denser, continuous and
more compact due to the higher degree of polymerization. This
fully reacted dense matrix and fibrous structure directly indicated
the presence of CSH, NASH, and CASH. The curing at a high temper-
ature of 80° C increased the power of hydrogen ion to dissolute the
alumina and silica from fly ash which transformed into geopoly-
meric alumina silicate gel matrix and thereby increased the bond-
Table 4
Rapid chloride permeability test results for specimens at 28 days.
Mixture OPC (%) Charge passed Permeability range
(in coulombs) (as per ASTM C1202 [28])
G100C0 0 2236 Moderate
G90C10 10 1081 Low
G80C20 20 404 Very Low
G70C30 30 612 Very Low
329
Table 5
Chloride ion permeability based on total charge passed [28].
Charge passed (in coulombs) Chloride ion permeability range
>4000 High
2000–4000 Moderate
1000–2000 Low
100–1000 Very low
<100 Negligible
ing between aggregate-geopolymer interface. This geopolymer gel
filled the pre water filled pores that evaporated during tempera-
ture curing and thereby increasing the mechanical strength charac-
teristics by micelles formation. The major failure of concrete
normally triggered by the presence of crack between matrix aggre-
gate interface. In this case, no significant cracks were observed that
indicated the proper bonding of the geopolymer matrix aggregate
interface and so enhanced the external load carrying capacity of
the concrete system by blocking the crack path. There were almost
no unreacted fly ash and OPC particles remained in the structure as
all the particles reacted into geopolymerization and hydration
which resulted in more compact matrix. Also due to quick solidifi-
cation characteristics of calcium, its reaction with the alkaline pre-
sent in OPC showed quick formation of hydration products.
Therefore 20% OPC replacement of fly ash was considered as opti-
mum as it resulted in partial CSH formation scattered in the entire
structure along with geopolymer products making it denser with
less permeability. For G70C30 specimen, the microstructure was
observed to be lack in homogeneity as some particles were
observed to be separated from the mixture. Even though the exter-
nal appearance of the microstructure indicated a properly set spec-
imen however, due to insufficient geopolymeric products, it had
weak matrix connectivity. Some unreacted fly ash particles sur-
rounded by the geopolymeric gel were also observed which
resulted in reduction of strength properties [51]. With the increase
in calcium content in the system more CaAO bonds than SiAO and
AlAO bonds were expected. Also at high temperatures, the reaction
kinetics dissolved more CaAO bonds even from the fly ash particles
than silica and alumina. Hence with the increase in OPC level in the
system, the more calcium gets added in the structure resulting in
more CaAO bonds [52]. However due to relatively weaker bonding
characteristics of CaAO bonds than SiAO and AlAO bonds, the
overall system resulted into weaker bonding and with lesser
mechanical strength. Also at higher OPC content, due to higher cal-
cium content, quick hydration mechanism and formation of CSH
took place but with the absence of water curing, there was lesser
strength of the resultant mixture. Hence the resultant geopoly-
meric structure was highly porous due to lack in geopolymeric
products that resulted in lower external load carrying capacity.
EDS analysis of 28 days specimens was also carried out. For high
strength fly ash based geopolymers NASH and CASH considered as
the major strength products. Whereas with the inclusion of OPC as
fly ash replacement at different contents, CSH also contributed to
the strength development in addition to NASH and CASH. For con-
ventional fly ash based geopolymer specimens, when EDS analysis
of fly ash was compared to geopolymer specimens, Si/Al ratio of
latter was observed to be greater than that of former. This indi-
cated that Al was likely to be dissolved in the system and migrated
into other phases that correspond to polymerization. For specimen
G90C10 needle-shaped particles were observed, their surface
showed the existence of iron (Fe) in addition to sodium (Na), oxy-
gen (O), potassium (K), Al, Si and Ca. Due to the porous and loose
structure of these needle-shaped particles, these particles even
grow more when they interacted with the matrix which created
confusion between the matrix elements and the elements from
these needle-shaped particles that could be carbonates of calcium,
330 A. Mehta, R. Siddique / Construction and Building Materials 141 (2017) 325–334

Fig. 6. SEM/EDS image for specimen G100C0 at 28 days.

Fig. 7. SEM/EDS image for specimen G90C10 at 28 days.

Fig. 8. SEM/EDS image for specimen G80C20 at 28 days.

sodium or any kind of ferrous or ferric oxides. For G70C30 speci-
mens, some unreacted fly ash particles were observed that did
not take part in polymerization. Also, excess sodium particles were
also observed on the surface. It was also observed that in conges-
tion with the elements like Na, O, Si, Ca, K some impurity elements
like titanium (Ti), Fe was also present. According to Duxson et al.
[53] these impurity elements influenced the polymerization as
the actual polymeric binders get filled with other impurities like
haematite as well which affects the strength development of the
matrix to a great extent.
3.6. XRD analysis
The XRD analysis of OPC, fly ash and geopolymer specimens
G100C0, G90C10, G80C20 and G70C30 with the inclusion of OPC
at different levels were carried out as shown in Fig. 10. The pat-
 A. Mehta, R. Siddique / Construction and Building Materials 141 (2017) 325–334 331

Fig. 9. SEM/EDS image for specimen G70C30 at 28 days.

Fig. 10. XRD analysis of fly ash, OPC and geopolymer concrete specimens G100C0, G90C10, G80C20 and G70C30.
332 A. Mehta, R. Siddique / Construction and Building Materials 141 (2017) 325–334

terns of OPC showed the presence of crystalline phase with major 62.5
components like ettringite, portlandite, and calcite. On the other CS= 902-940.1(CF)
CS=902-940.1(CF)
60.0 R-Sq=85.6%
R2= 85.6%
hand, fly ash, which normally consists of amorphous as well as
crystalline phases [17,45,54], sharp peaks of quartz and mullite
57.5
were identified. The normal geopolymer system without OPC
showed the major peaks of crystalline phases like ettringite, 55.0
napheline in addition to phases like mullite, quartz and calcite.
With the inclusion of OPC in the geopolymer system, the broad 52.5
amorphous humps were also observed depicting the presence of
50.0
hydrated OPC product in addition to the polymeric products in
the same binder. This coexistence had a positive influence on the 47.5
strength characteristics of fly ash-OPC blended geopolymers [46].
The patterns for G90C10 specimens indicated mullite, quartz, 45.0
nepheline in addition with portlandite due to OPC inclusion. 0.895 0.900 0.905 0.910
Nepheline was associated with NASH formed by polymerization Compaction factor
reactions by silica and alumina in presence of alkaline solutions
and high temperature curing [17,45]. With the further increase in Fig. 12. Relationship between compaction factor and 28 days compressive strength.
OPC quartz and mullite decreased further whereas products like
CSH, nepheline, and hatrurite found to be increased. There was also
an increase in portlandite content with the increase in OPC which
65
further reacted and formed additional CSH just like conventional
CS= 240.473 (RCPT)-0.215559
concrete [55]. These hydration products coexisted with the poly- CS=240.473(RCPT)^-0.215559

Compressive strength (MPa)

R2=q=87.4%
R-S 87.4%
meric products [56] and contributed to the strength development. 60
However additional OPC after certain level hampered the strength
due to less silica and alumina in the mixture resulting in less poly-
meric products. At 30% OPC the major polymeric products like 55
ettringite, napheline found to be decreased which showed less
polymerization reaction products at this replacement level. The
50
existence of CSH in addition to polymeric products like CASH and
NASH were also reported in previous researches [42,51,57–59].
45
3.7. Relationship between compressive strength and split tensile
500 1000 1500 2000 2500
strength
RCPT (coulombs)
The compressive strength and split tensile strength relationship Fig. 13. Relationship between compressive strength and RCPT at 28 days.
were derived for geopolymer specimens as shown in Fig. 11. In
conventional concrete, the high compressive strength corresponds
to a highly dense matrix with a strong interfacial zone of binders
with the aggregates. In this case, also high compressive strength The best relation between the two strength parameters were
values were associated with the dense microstructure formed by obtained as quadratic with the high value of R2 = 0.94 was
the polymerization and hydration reactions of OPC blended fly obtained, as shown in Eq. (1), where compressive strength was
ash based geopolymers which also promotes the tensile strength denoted by CS and tensile strength was denoted by STS.
and modifies the compressive-tensile relationship.
3.8. Relationship between workability and compressive strength
CS ¼ 108:5ðSTSÞ2 þ 1125ðSTSÞ  2855 ð1Þ
The relationship between workability parameter, compacting
factor, and compressive strength was fitted by using a linear curve
as shown in Fig. 12. The coefficient of determination R2 was
derived from the equation given in Eq. (2), where compacting fac-
62.5 tor was represented by CF and compressive strength was repre-
sented by CS.
60.0
Compressive strength (MPa)

CS ¼ 902  940:1ðCFÞ ð2Þ

57.5
2
CS= -108.5(ST) 2+1125(ST)-2855 The high value of R = 0.856 was obtained which indicated a
55.0 good correlation between the input and output results obtained.
R2= 94.4%

52.5
3.9. Relationship between compressive strength and chloride
50.0 permeability

47.5 Fig. 13 shows the chloride permeability and compressive

strength relationship of geopolymer specimens. The coefficient of
45.0
correlation R2 was determined for the equation given in Eq. (3),
4.8 4.9 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3
where compressive strength was represented by CS and chloride
Split tensile strength (MPa) permeability in terms of charge passed was denoted by RCPT.
Fig. 11. Relationship between compressive strength and split tensile strength at
28 days. CS ¼ 240:473ðRCPTÞ0:215559 ð3Þ
 A. Mehta, R. Siddique / Construction and Building Materials 141 (2017) 325–334
The high value of R2 = 0.874 was observed which showed a link
between compressive strength and chloride permeability. This cor-
relation was due to the good refinement of the pore structure of
specimens with high strength. With the increase in compressive
strength, there would be a decrease in chloride permeability due
to the enhancement in micro-structural characteristics. In other
words, the more the charge passed in RCPT test, lesser would be
its compressive strength.
4. Conclusions
1. The mechanical properties of fly ash based geopolymers found
to be improved with the inclusion of OPC at different levels as
fly ash replacement.
2. The high early-age compressive strength was obtained and it
was observed to be increased with increase in OPC content by
making the matrix denser due to the formation of CSH in addi-
tion to CASH and NASH.
3. Compressive strength and split tensile strength of the speci-
mens attained maximum values with 20% OPC.
4. The chloride resistance of geopolymer specimens were found to
be improved with the addition of OPC with ‘‘low” and ‘‘very
low” permeability range at all ages.
5. The relationships between compressive strength & split tensile
strength, compacting factor & compressive strength, and com-
pressive strength & chloride permeability exhibited fairly high
value of the coefficient of determination (R2).
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