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Investigation on the characteristics of self-cured geopolymer concrete using GBFS sand

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Abstract

For some years now, scarcity of natural aggregates and an increase in waste by-products have been the biggest problems facing the construction industry. Therefore, the present study investigated the potential use of granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) sand to substitute the river sand in geopolymer concrete. The attempts have also been undertaken to develop self-cured geopolymer concrete (SCGC) in an environmental condition. River sand was replaced with 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% GBFS sand in the geopolymer concrete mix. Class F fly ash has been utilized as an alumino-silicate source material. It was activated by two types of alkaline solutions viz., sodium silicate solution (S0 series) and a solution of sodium silicate plus sodium hydroxide (S1 series). Mechanical properties of hardened SCGC with river sand and/or GBFS sand were tested for compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength, and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) after 7, 28, 91, and 364 days of curing. The experimental results exhibited that with the increment of GBFS sand, the workability and density of SCGC mixes decreased. Mechanical properties and UPV of the SCGC significantly improved by around 5–35% with the addition of GBFS sand up to a certain replacement level. The S1 series mix has shown better results (roughly 40–60% higher) than the S0 series mix. The optimal substitution value of GBFS sand is 60%, which outperformed the mix with 100% river sand or 100% GBFS sand concerning respect to strength parameter. Results suggested that GBFS sand could be used instead of river sand in the development of SCGC.

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The authors state that the data supporting the findings of this experimental work is included in the paper.

Abbreviations

GBFS:

Granulated blast furnace slag

ASM:

Alumino-silicate source material

UPV:

Ultrasonic pulse velocity

GLSS:

Granulated lead smelter slag

NDT:

Nondestructive testing

PET:

Polyethylene terephthalate

SH :

Sodium hydroxide

SCGC:

Self-cured geopolymer concrete

FAGC:

Fly ash-based geopolymer concrete

OPC:

Ordinary portland cement

RCW:

Recycling ceramic waste

LDPE :

Low-density polyethylene

SS:

Sodium silicate

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who supported the entire research work. The authors are grateful to Dirk India Private Limited, Benzer Multitech India Private Limited, and Kiran Global Chems Limited for supplying the materials on time.

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The lead author of this research declares that no funding agencies are involved in the complete study.

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  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Institute of Engineering and Technology, Vishnupuri, Nanded, Maharashtra, 431 606, India

    Mayank Gupta & N. H. Kulkarni

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  1. Mayank Gupta
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  2. N. H. Kulkarni
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Both authors conceived the offered research idea. The corresponding author carried out the experiments and wrote the paper. Both authors evaluated the results, and the final version of the manuscript was approved.

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Correspondence to Mayank Gupta.

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Gupta, M., Kulkarni, N.H. Investigation on the characteristics of self-cured geopolymer concrete using GBFS sand. Innov. Infrastruct. Solut. 7, 139 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-022-00748-5

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