Strength Development of Soil–Fly Ash Geopolymer: Assessment of Soil, Fly Ash, Alkali Activators, and Water
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 30, Issue 8
Abstract
In this study, fly ash was added to residual soil to produce soil–fly ash geopolymer bricks. This study investigated the effects of fly ash/soil, alkali activator/ash, (or NaOH), additional water content, curing condition, and curing temperature on the compressive strength of soil–fly ash geopolymer. The results showed that the optimum compressive strength was obtained when the ratios of alkali activator/ash, (or NaOH) and additional water were 0.6, 0.5, and 10% respectively. A higher amount of alkali activators was required for strength development in soil–ly ash geopolymer than conventional fly ash-based geopolymers. The formation of the rigid structure at low ratios of alkali activator/ash and (or NaOH) was unlikely. Compressive strength decreased when additional water was increased. High curing temperature and long curing duration showed a negative effect on strength development. The compressive strength of the soil–fly ash geopolymer varied as different mixing sequences of raw materials were used, indicating the importance of the formation of geopolymer gel in the structure. Compressive strength results obtained in this study demonstrate that soil–fly ash geopolymer can be a potential alternative to traditional clay-fired brick.
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Acknowledgments
The first author would like to acknowledge the financial support from Swinburne Sarawak Research Centre for Sustainable Technologies for supporting her travel to Melbourne to conduct the experiments. The authors would like to acknowledge the advice and assistance rendered by Dr. Ng Sing Muk, Dr. James Wang, Dr. Kueh Sze Miang, Lionel Foo Fang Ho, Liew Lik Giin, Vincent Ho, Bartholomew Woodham, the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (Australia), Ceramic Indah Sdn Bhd (Kim Hin), Jung Kuo Sdn Bhd, and Jembina (East Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 30 • Issue 8 • August 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 21, 2017
Accepted: Jan 31, 2018
Published online: May 28, 2018
Published in print: Aug 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Oct 28, 2018
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