THE USE OF CALCINATED NATURAL POZZOLAN IN GEOPOLYMER PRODUCTION
Project no. 1313 · Status: Kapanmış · 2017
Summary
Concrete is the most used building material in the world. However, cement production has environmental and economic drawbacks. Researchers are looking for alternative binders to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions and high energy consumption caused by cement production. Geopolymers are one of these alternatives. Geopolymers are binders that result from the activation of aluminosilicate materials such as fly ash, blast furnace slag and metakaolin with alkali activators. Owing to their high strength and excellent durability, a lot of research has been done on geopolymers. However, there are limited studies in literature about the strength and durability properties of geopolymers produced with natural pozzolans. In this experimental study, a natural pozzolan (trass) obtained from İzmir Cumaovası region was calcined to increase its activity, then the strength and durability properties of geopolymers produced from this pozzolan were examined. Afterwards, the micro-structure properties of the geopolymer were investigated with XRD, SEM/EDS, FT-IR and TGA analysis. It was found that the geopolymer produced with Cumaovası trass was more permeable and less resistant to freeze-thaw cycles than its portland cement counterpart. However, the geopolymer mortar was superior to the cement mortar in terms of both sodium and magnesium sulfate attack and high temperature.