Speaker
Description
Fly ash based geopolymers represent a new material, which can be considered an alternative to ordinary Portland cement. The advantages of geopolymers are: comparable properties to Portland cement, and lower cost with lower CO2 emissions. The MiniBars™ AR glass fiber could be an alternative to the reinforce geopolymer matrix. MiniBars™ are alkali-resistent glass fibers and were used in the obtaining of unidirectional fiber reinforced geopolymer composites (MiniBars™ FRGC). New materials were obtained by incorporating variable amount of MiniBars™ (0, 12.5, 25, 50, 75 vol.% MiniBars™) in the geopolymer matrix. Geopolymers were prepared by mixing fly ash powder with sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide as alkaline activators. New MiniBars™ FRGC were cured at 70°C for 48h and tested for different mechanical properties. In the present study, particle size analyses, optical microscopy, SEM and X-ray measurements were employed to investigate the fillers. MiniBars™ FRGC showed increasing mechanical properties by increased addition of MiniBars™. Mechanical properties of MiniBars™ FRGC increased more than the geopolymer wihout MiniBars™: the flexural strength > 11.59-25.97 times, the flexural modulus > 3.33-5.92 times, the tensile strength > 3.50-8.03 times, the tensile modulus > 1.12-1.30 times, the force load at upper yield tensile strength > 1.12-1.30 times. The SEM and optical microscopy analyses were performed on the fractured surface and section of MiniBars™ FRGC. Based on our results MiniBars™ FRGC could be a very promising green material for buildings.
| Keywords | MiniBars AR glass Fiber, Fly Ash, Geopolymer Composites, Mechanical Properties |
|---|---|
| Topics | Circular economy |
