Mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete made with partial replacement of coarse aggregate by recycled aggregate

Abstract

Construction is the one the fast growing field in the worldwide. There are many environmental issues connected with the manufacture of OPC, at the same time availability of natural coarse aggregate is getting reduced. Geopolymer binder and recycled aggregates are promising alternatives for OPC and natural coarse aggregates. It is produced by the chemical action of inorganic molecules and made up of Fly Ash, GGBS, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and an alkaline solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate. 10 M sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate alkali activators are used to synthesis the geopolymer in this study. Recycled aggregates are obtained from the construction demolished waste. The main focus of this work is to find out the mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete of grade G40 when natural coarse aggregate(NCA) is replaced by recycled coarse aggregate in various proportions such as 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%,40% and 50% and also to compare the results of geopolymer concrete made with recycled coarse aggregates(RAGPC) with geopolymer concrete of natural coarse aggregate(GPC) and controlled concrete manufactured with recycled aggregates(RAC) and controlled concrete of natural coarse aggregates(CC) of respective grade. It has been observed that the mechanical properties are enhanced in geopolymer concrete, both in natural coarse aggregate and recycled coarse aggregate up to 30% replacement when it is compared with the same grade of controlled concrete.