Performance of alkali activated slag concrete under aggressive environment

Abstract

The environmental effects of production of Portland Cement (PC) have provoked the researchers to examine the growth of concrete with 100% replacement of cement with industrial byproducts containing high amounts of Si and Al, which are activated by alkali solutions, termed geopolymer concrete. Concrete made with PC can be durable under mild exposure condition when properly designed, but it undergoes deterioration under severe exposure condition. Since very few works were performed on the ambient cured Alkali Activated Slag Concrete (AASC) under aggressive environmental condition, this work was intended to study the effect of binder content and sodium hydroxide concentration on AASC subjected to aggressive environment. In this regard, an experimental investigation was carried out to study the influence of chloride, acid, and sulphate environments on the physical and mechanical properties of AASC. The results show that the AASC mixes perform well under aggressive environment condition.