Acid resistance and curing properties for green fly ash-geopolymer concrete

Abstract

Global warming has recently become a topical issue throughout the world, and the cement industry is widely seen as one of the prominent factors responsible for it. Therefore, the development of new binders with enhanced environment and durability performance is needed. In this regard, geopolymer technology is a breakthrough development as an alternative to Portland cement. In this study, such properties of geopolymer concrete as curing temperature, curing time, rest period before curing, and acid resistance are emphasized. Geopolymerization needs energy and time to occur, and higher curing temperatures result in larger compressive strength, while longer curing times result in higher compressive strength. For geopolymer concrete, the time for hardening can be extended up to 5 days. Geopolymer concrete shows good acid resistance. As products of geopolymerization have no sulfate, acid or salt attack mechanism, geopolymer concrete can be a good substitute for traditional building materials, and finding renewable materials to satisfy the increasing demand for building structures will eventually be a major issue.