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Effect of Sodium Silicate to Sodium Hydroxide Ratios on Strength and Microstructure of Fly Ash Geopolymer Binder

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Abstract

Geopolymerization can transform a wide range of waste aluminosilicate materials into building and mining materials with excellent chemical and physical properties. The present experimental study investigates the effect of sodium silicate/sodium hydroxide ratios on the feasibility of geopolymer synthesis at 80 °C using fly ash. The sodium silicate/sodium hydroxide (S/N) ratios 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 were studied. The result showed that the compressive and flexural strength increases as the curing age increases. Also, the compressive strength increases as the sodium silicate/sodium hydroxide ratio increases from 0.5 to 1.0 and then decreases. Morphology studies, conducted by SEM analysis of the geopolymer samples, indicated that geopolymers gel had the fly ash particles and pores embedded in a continuous matrix. At S/N = 1 a homogeneous and less porous microstructure was observed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Specialty Units for Safety and Preservation of Structures, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    M. S. Morsy, S. H. Alsayed, Y. Al-Salloum & T. Almusallam

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  1. M. S. Morsy
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  2. S. H. Alsayed
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  3. Y. Al-Salloum
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  4. T. Almusallam
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Correspondence to M. S. Morsy.

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Morsy, M.S., Alsayed, S.H., Al-Salloum, Y. et al. Effect of Sodium Silicate to Sodium Hydroxide Ratios on Strength and Microstructure of Fly Ash Geopolymer Binder. Arab J Sci Eng 39, 4333–4339 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-014-1093-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-014-1093-8

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