Effect of Curing Time on the Performance of Fly Ash Geopolymer-Stabilized RAP Bases
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Volume 33, Issue 3
Abstract
The long-term integrity of fly ash (FA) geopolymer-stabilized high-percentage reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in the pavement base layer was investigated in this research. The FA geopolymer-stabilized RAP and virgin aggregate (VA) mixes were studied as an economical and durable alternative to 100% VA bases, with an emphasis on the influence of curing time. The maturity age of FA is usually set as 28 days, similar to traditional portland cement. However, due to partial pozzolanic reactions, though geopolymerized, the dilution of partial FA particles does not fully play its role at 28 days of curing time. Hence, this is not a realistic reference time for predicting the service life of FA geopolymer-stabilized aggregate blends. Therefore, a detailed experimental investigation was undertaken to evaluate the ultimate strength, durability, and microstructural characteristics of four distinct FA geopolymer-stabilized RAP:VA blends for a long-term ambient curing time up to 270 days. In this study, the long-term cured specimens showed significant improvement in mechanical strength and stiffness, yielding lower permanent deformations. It was noticed that only about 12% and 40% average unconfined compressive strength (UCS) could be achieved in 7- and 28-day cured specimens, respectively, with reference to their ultimate strength at 270 days. Hence, to examine the microstructural characteristics of powdered FA geopolymer blends, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) studies were performed. The test results revealed that the consumption of reactive metal ions was continued for an extended period under a controlled curing regime, which resulted in improved mechanical strength and durability of the solidified product.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST/TSG/STS/2013/40), Government of India. This research was also supported by the Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centre (IC170100006) and funded by the Government of Australia.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 3 • March 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 31, 2020
Accepted: Jul 23, 2020
Published online: Jan 4, 2021
Published in print: Mar 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Jun 4, 2021
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