Self-Consolidating Paving Grade Geopolymer Concrete

Abstract

The cement concrete used in the construction of rigid pavement is usually stiff mix with a low slump. The concrete of this type requires a high degree of compaction which is achieved employing needle vibration or roller compaction technique in the field. The vibration technique may sometime leave vibratory trails, and roller compaction concrete produces over or under consolidated concrete, and both methods are also known to be energy intensive. This issues can be overcome by the adoption of self-consolidating concrete for the construction of rigid pavement. However, the self-consolidating paving technique is an uncommon scenario. In this connection, an attempt was made produce a self-consolidating geo-polymer concrete. This paper presents an investigation carried on the novel geo-polymer concrete which is self-consolidating, sustainable and can be espoused for fixed form paving application. The geo-polymer concrete mix used for the study was prepared from class F fly-ash, GGBS, alkaline solution (NaOH and Na2SiO3), coarse aggregate and quarry dust as fine aggregate. The mix was designed to cure at ambient condition and possess a target compressive strength of 40 MPa. The properties of concrete during paste phase and hardened state were investigated and the results of the tests are presented and discussed here. Also reported here are the results of flexural strength test performed on beams sliced out from the micro slabs, which ascertained the self-consolidation of the geo-polymer concrete mix.