Experimental study of the effects of adding silica nanoparticles on the durability of geopolymer concrete

ABSTRACT

The advantages of using geopolymer materials instead of cement in concrete are not limited to high durability properties. geopolymer concrete was introduced to mitigate the environmental damages caused by CO₂ emissions and the great level of fossil fuels consumption during cement manufacturing. In the present investigation, a number of experimental studies were conducted on slag-based geopolymer concrete. Accordingly, nano-silica particles were used to improve the geopolymer concrete structure’s matrix. In the current study, slag-based geopolymer concrete was used with 0–2% polyolefin fibres and 0–8% nano-silica. They were subjected to water absorption and permeability tests to assess their durability. The addition of nano-silica enhanced the whole properties of the slag-based geopolymer concrete. By using the nano-silica, the concrete paste microstructure became denser and more homogeneous, and the pores decreased. The compressive strength and tensile strength of the concrete increased by up to 22% and 14% respectively. On the other hand, in terms of durability, the nano-silica lowered the water absorption and permeability coefficients by up to 24% and 44%, respectively, by filling the pores of the concrete. In the weight loss test, geopolymer concrete achieved superior results (up to 16%) compared to ordinary concrete.

KEYWORDS:

• Geopolymer concrete
• polyolefin fibres
• nano silica
• capillary absorption
• permeability

Acknowledgments

This research was done with the support of Islamic Azad University, Chaloous Branch.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Highlights

• Compared to regular concretes, the blast furnace slag-based geopolymer concrete has better durability and microstructural properties against at room temperature.

• The whole durability and microstructural properties of the geopolymer concrete increased by the addition of nano-silica.

• By using the nano-silica, the concrete paste microstructure became denser and more homogeneous, and the pores decreased.

• The improvement of the durability and mechanical properties of the concrete was assessed and approved using the SEM, XRD and XRF tests.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mohammadhossein Mansourghanaei

Mohammadhossein Mansourghanaei

Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization, Supervision.

Morteza Biklaryan

Morteza Biklaryan

Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Resources, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization, Supervision.

Alireza Mardookhpour

Alireza Mardookhpour

Conceptualization, Investigation, writing – original draft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization, Supervision.