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Geopolymer Concrete –A Review

Conference Paper · April 2013

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 GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE –A Review
Jindal Bharat Bhushan*, Department of Civil Engg, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab.-140413, India
Singhal Dhirendra, Department of Civil Engg. DCRUST Muruthal, Haryana
Goel Ajay, Department of Civil Engg, BUEST, Baddi, Himachal Pradesh
Sharma Devinder, IGCE, Abhipur, Chandigarh
* E-mail: jindalchdcivil@yahoo.com,

ABSTRACT

Concrete made up of cement, aggregates, water & additives is the world’s most consumed construction material since it
is found to be more versatile, durable and reliable. Concrete is the second most consumed material after water which
required large quantities of Portland cement. The production of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) causes havoc to the
environment due to the emission of CO2 as well mining also results in unrecoverable loss to nature. Estimated carbon
emissions from cement production in 1994 were 307 MtC, 160 MtC from calcination, and 147 MtC from energy use
which account for 5% of 1994 global anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
Hence, it is the need of hour to find an alternative material to the existing most expensive cement-concrete. Geopolymer
concrete is an innovative construction material which shall be produced by the chemical action of inorganic molecules.
Fly Ash, a by- product of coal obtained from the thermal power plant is plenty available worldwide. Fly ash rich in
silica and alumina on reacting with alkaline solution produce aluminosilicate gel that act as the binding material for
the concrete. It is an excellent alternative construction material to plain cement concrete without using any amount of
ordinary Portland cement. Geopolymer concrete shows a greener substitute for ordinary Portland cement concrete in
some applications.
This paper briefly reviews the structural properties of Geopolymer concrete and its applications.

Key words – concrete, Geopolymer, Geopolymer concrete.

INTRODUCTION
Concrete
Geopolymer Concrete

Concrete is one of the most widely used construction
material in the world. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC)
is conventionally used as the primary binder to produce
concrete. Production of Portland cement is currently
exceeding 2.6 billion tons per year worldwide and
growing at 5 percent annually which generates nearly 7%
of atmospheric carbon-di-oxide contributing largely to the
global warming. Cement manufacturing is power
intensive and about 120 kWh of power is required to
produce one tons of cement resulting into consumption of
nearly 200 kg of coal. On the other hand, a huge volume
of fly ash is generated around the world. Most of the fly
ash is not effectively used, and a large part of it is
disposed in landfills which affects aquifers and surface
bodies of fresh water. Hence, it is the need of hour to find
an alternative material to the existing most expensive
cement-concrete.
The term “Geopolymer” was first introduced by French
Professor Davidovits in 1978 to represent a broad range
of materials characterized by networks of inorganic
molecules.
Geopolymer concrete is a new concrete which does not
utilize any portand cement as a binder, binding properties
are produced by the reaction of an alkaline liquid with a
source material which is rich in silica and alumina.
The geopolymers are composed of any thermally
activated natural materials like Meta kaolinite or
industrial by-products like fly ash or slag to provide a
source of silicon (Si) and aluminium (Al). These Silicon
and Aluminium is dissolved in an alkaline activating
solution and subsequently polymerizes into molecular
chains and become the binder.

Several studies have been carried out to reduce the use of Davidovits (2002) concluded that the production of one
Portland cement in concrete to address the global tons of Geopolymer binder generates 0.18 tons of CO2,
warming issues. These include the utilization of from the combustion of carbon-fuel, compared to one tons
supplementary cementing materials such as fly ash, silica of CO2 from Portland cement.
fume, granulated blast furnace slag, rice-husk ash and
metakaolin, and the development of alternative binders to
Portland cement.
Geopolymer Concrete Materials:
Fly ash, a by-product from thermal power stations which
is found to have rich in silica and alumina is used in
Geopolymer concrete which further helps in reducing
global warming.
GGBS, Ground-granulated blast-furnace slag which is a
by-product of iron and steel-making industry obtained
from a blast furnace and is a fine powder. GGBS is a
glassy, granular, non-metallic material consisting
essentially of silicates and aluminates of calcium and
other bases. GGBS has been widely used in Europe,
United States and in Asia (particularly in Japan and
Singapore) for its superiority in concrete durability.
Aggregates, fine and coarse aggregates are used in
Geopolymer concrete.
Alkaline Solutions, Sodium or Potassium based
hydroxide and silicate can be used as alkaline used which
on reacting with silica and alumina of fly ash will result
into production of binder material.
Geopolymer Concrete Properties
Compressive Strength
Compressive strength is one of the most essential
properties of concrete. Anuar et. al, (2011) explained that
the higher concentration of sodium hydroxide solution
inside the Geopolymer concrete will produce higher
compressive strength of ; because NaOH will make the
good bonding between aggregate and paste of the
concrete.
B.Vijya Rangan et. al, (2004) stated that the compressive
strength of Geopolymer concrete is very high compared to
the ordinary Portland cement concrete. The compressive
strength of Geopolymer concrete is about 1.5 times more
than that of the compressive strength with the ordinary
Portland cement concrete, for the same mix. Similarly the
Geopolymer Concrete showed good workability as of the
ordinary Portland Cement Concrete.
Durability
Rangan, B.V. (2008) stated that Geopolymer concrete is
more resistant to heat, sulphate attack, water ingress &
alkali-aggregate reaction. The role of calcium in
Geopolymer concrete made up of fly ash is very
prominent since it may cause flash setting.
Wallah et. al, (2006) Explained that, heat-cured fly ash-
based Geopolymer concrete undergoes low creep and
very little drying shrinkage in the order of about 100
micro strains after one year. And it has an excellent
resistance to sulphate attack.
Chanh et al., (2008) stated that fly ash-based Geopolymer
had been proved to provide better resistance against
aggressive environment. As such, this advantage can be
used to construct structure that exposed to marine
environment.
Sathia et al.,(2008) explained that the exposure of
Geopolymer in acid solution shows that the weight loss
due to the exposure is only 0.5% compared to normal
concrete when immersed in 3% sulphuric acid.
Economic Benefits of Geopolymer Concrete
N A Lloyd and B V Rangan (2010) concluded that
heat-cured, low-calcium fly ash-based Geopolymer
concrete is estimated to be about 10 to 30 percent cheaper
than that of Portland cement concrete. In addition, the
appropriate usage of one ton of fly ash earns
approximately one carbon-credit which in terms of
ecological aspect makes it more economical.
One tons of low-calcium fly ash can manufacture
approximately three cubic meters of high quality fly ash-
based Geopolymer concrete. Furthermore, the very little
drying shrinkage, the low creep, the excellent resistance
to sulfate attack, and good acid resistance offered by the
heat-cured low-calcium fly ash-based Geopolymer
concrete may yield additional economic benefits when it
is utilized in infrastructure applications.
Geopolymer concrete has significant advantages over
standard concretes. It is much more durable than standard
concrete and requires little repair, thus saving huge
amounts of money to be spent on repairing and
maintaining concrete based infrastructure.
Necessity of Geopolymer Concrete
Owing to the tremendous growth in development of
infrastructure globally, consumption of cement as per
International Cement Review’s report was 3,294 million
tons in 2010 which is increasing by nearly 12% annually
resulting which significantly create a huge shortage on
limestone in future, in addition to this emitting of CO 2 in
the atmosphere is the major threat resulting into global
warming. Kumar V. et al. (2005) submitted the estimate
in their report that the thermal power industry is expected
to produce fly ash to about 170 million tons by 2012 and
225 million tons by 2017.
Lokeshappa et al. (2011) stated that the fly ash utilization
rate in the construction field is 38%, remaining portions
of the fly ash stored in pond and pollute the environment
of the region. So, it necessitates to undertake research and
development for studying the structural properties of fly
ash and to utilize the industrial waste products in the
construction.
Above study clearly indicate that if Geopolymer concrete
is developed then it will be of greater help to consume
industrial waste materials along with replacement of
 Portland cement which will significantly help in reducing
global warming.
Applications
Aleem et. al, (2012) mentioned that, Geopolymer
Concrete can be used in the precast industries, so that
huge production is possible in short duration and the
breakage during transportation shall also be minimized. It
shall be effectively used for the beam column junction of
reinforced concrete structures and infrastructure works. In
addition to that the fly ash shall be effectively used and
hence no landfills are required to dump the fly ash.
Anuar et. al, (2011) in this respect, the Geopolymer
technology proposed by Davidovits shows considerable
promise for application in concrete industry as an
alternative binder to the Portland cement. It can be used to
produce precast railway sleepers and other pre-stressed
concrete building components.
Challenges
In addition to various advantages expected from
Geopolymer concrete over ordinary Portland cement
based concrete a few of the challenges may have to
overcome before its practical application.
Geopolymer concrete requires the use of chemicals which
can be harmful and if not handled properly.
Conclusions
Fly ash-based Geopolymer is better than normal concrete
in many aspects such as compressive strength, exposure
to aggressive environment, workability and exposure to
high temperature. Study shows that Geopolymer concrete
is more resistant to corrosion and fire, has high
compressive and tensile strengths, and it gains its full
strength quickly (cures fully faster). It also shrinks less
than standard concrete. Thus, owing to these structural
advantages it may be concluded that in near future
Geopolymer concrete may find an effective alternate to
standard cement concrete.
A detailed research and study is required about
Geopolymer concrete so that researches should come to a
common conclusion considering all the merits as well
demerits.
References
Rangan B.V. (2004), “On the Development of Fly Ash
Based Geopolymer Concrete”, ACI Materials Journal.
Rangan B.V.(2008), “Studies on Fly Ash-Based
Geopolymer Concrete, Malaysian Construction Research
Journal, Vol. 3.
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Davidovits J. (1984. “Pyramids of Egypt Made of Man-
Made Stone, Myth or Fact?” Symposium on
Archaeometry , Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
Davidovits J. (2002), “Environmentally Driven
Geopolymer Cement Application”, Geopolymer
Conference, Melbourne.
Anuar K.A, Ridzuan A.R.M., Ismail S.(2011),
“Strength Characteristic of Geopolymer Concrete”,
International Journal of Civil & Environmental
Engineering, Selangor, Malaysia
Aleem A.,Arumairaj P.D.(2012), “Geopolymer Concrete-
A Review”,IJEST.
Lloyd N.A., Rangan B.V. (2010), “Geopolymer Concrete
A Review of Development and Opportunities”, 35 th
Conference on Our World in Concrete & Structures ,
Singapore.
Davidovits J. 2008,“Geopolymer Chemistry and
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France.
Rangan, B. V., “Low-Calcium, Fly-Ash-Based
Geopolymer Concrete”, Concrete Construction
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V. Kumar et al (2005), Fly ash Environmental Saviour.
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Lokeshappa B.,Dikshit Anil Kumar (2011), “Disposal and
Management of Fly ash”, IPCBEE, IACSIT Press,
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Bakri Mohd Mustafa Al, “Review on fly ash-based
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Wallah, S. E. , Rangan, B.V.( 2006) “Low Calcium Fly
Ash Based Geopolymer Concrete: Long Term
Properties.” Research Report GC2, Faculty of
Engineering, Curtin University of Technology