Investigation of Compressive Strength of Slag-based Geopolymer Concrete Incorporated with Palm Oil Fuel Ash

Abstract

The paper investigated the compressive strength of ground granulated blast furnace slag-based geopolymer concrete incorporated with palm oil fuel ash compared to portland limestone cement concrete. An appropriate geopolymer mix design was first determined. This mix entailed fine aggregates: coarse aggregates: cementitious material: liquid ratio of 2: 2.5: 1: 0.5, respectively, with 100% replacement of portland cement with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) incorporated with palm oil fuel ash (POFA). An alkaline solution was used in place of water containing sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate. Following this design, five geopolymer mixes were prepared, each of varying POFA-GGBS ratios of 0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25, and 100:0, and a 14M alkaline solution was used. In addition, a control mix was determined, comprising 100% portland limestone cement (PLC) as the cementitious material and 100% water. Three cubic samples were casted for each geopolymer mix with the control mix, and then the geopolymer mixes were thermally cured for 24 hours. The compressive strength test was conducted on the test samples after ambient curing of 7 days and 28 days, and values for compressive strength (MPa) and failure load (KN) were recorded. Through comparative analysis, it was determined that the most efficient geopolymer mix was mix 2 of GGBS: POFA ratio of 75:25 with 14M alkaline solution. Mix 2 achieved the highest compressive strength of 65.41MPa, approximately 21.99% higher than the strength attained by portland cement concrete samples, measured to be 53.62MPa. Thus, geopolymer concrete can achieve greater strength than portland cement concrete. Keywords: Alkaline solution, Geopolymer concrete, cementitious material, ground granulated blast furnace slag, compressive strength, palm oil fuel ash