PROPERTIES OF GLASS FIBRE REINFORCED GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE COMPOSITES

In order to address environmental effects associated with Portland cement, there is need to develop alternative binders to make concrete. An effort in this regard is the development of geopolymer concrete, synthesized from the materials of geological origin or by product materials such as fly ash, which are rich in silicon and aluminum. This paper presents results of an experimental program on the mechanical properties such as density, compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength of Geopolymer Concrete Composites (GPCC) containing 90% Fly ash (FA), 10% Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), alkaline liquids and glass fibers. The effect of inclusion of glass fibers on the density, Compressive Strength, Split Tensile strength and Flexural strength of hardened GPCC was studied. Alkaline liquid to fly ash ratio was fixed as 0.4 with 10% of fly ash replaced by OPC in mass basis. Glass fibers were added to the mix in volume fractions of 0.01%, 0.02% and 0.03% by volume of concrete. The influence of fiber content in terms of volume fraction on the compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strengths of GPCC is presented. Based on the test results, empirical expressions were developed to predict split tensile strength and flexural strength of glass fiber reinforced GPCC in terms of its compressive strength.