An experimental investigation on the flexural behavior of geopolymer ferrocement slabs

Efforts are needed to develop innovative and environmentally friendly material in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. An experimental investigation on the flexural behavior of thin cement-less composite plates reinforced with welded rectangular wire mesh and chicken mesh with varying number of mesh layers as well as varying concentration of alkaline solution is presented. A total of 30 slabs have been tested under flexural loading. The size of the slab is 1000 mm (length) × 200 mm (width) × 25 mm (thickness) and 1000 mm (length) × 200 mm (width) × 30 mm (thickness). The parameters studied in this investigation include varying the concentration of sodium hydroxide 8 M, 10 M, 12 M, 14 M and thickness of composite panels. In this work, cement is replaced by geopolymer mix to bind the ferrocement skeletal and its' flexural behavior are studied. It is concluded that the first crack and ultimate loads increase with the increase in the thickness of the element and the concentration of alkaline solution. From the studies, it is observed that the load carrying capacities, energy absorption, deformation at ultimate load are high in the case of geopolymer ferrocement element. Further, it is observed that there is a reduction in crack width and increase in number of cracks in the case of geopolymer ferrocement indicates delay in crack growth.