The Process, Characterization and Mechanical properties of fly ash-based Solid form geopolymer via mechanical activation
Shailesh Kushwah, Manish Mudgal, Ramesh Kumar Chouhan
Abstract
To address the complexity associated with the conventional geopolymer, we developed solid form geopolymer (SFG), the solid-state reaction between fly ash and dry alkaline activator via ball milling for different hours at different Na2O/SiO2, H2O/Na2O ratios. The Oddity of this approach is that it obviates the direct handling of alkaline activators. Due to ball-milling increase in surface area, amorphization, the solid-state reaction between the materials, homogeneous distribution of all ingredients, and energy store in the form of defects, all changes were observed in SFG precursor. The effect of different Na2O/SiO2, SiO2/Al2O3, and H2O/Na2O molar ratios on geopolymerization gel formation and strength development characteristics of the solid form geopolymer have been reinvestigated. Various characterizing tools such as FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM, and EDAX, have been used to characterize the solid form geopolymer binder and evaluated for compressive, flexural, and split-tensile strength. The solid form geopolymer route facilitates the direct handling of alkaline chemicals and provides a greener sustainable development approach.