Materials and Structures (2015) 48:721731

DOI 10.1617/s11527-014-0268-9

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Long term durability properties of class F fly ash

geopolymer concrete
David W. Law Andi Arham Adam Thomas K. Molyneaux
Indubhushan Patnaikuni Arie Wardhono

Received: 9 August 2013 / Accepted: 7 February 2014 / Published online: 19 February 2014
RILEM 2014

Abstract The environmental impact from the production of cement has prompted research into the
development of concretes using 100 % replacement
materials activated by alkali solutions. This paper
reports the assessment of a number of key durability
parameters for geopolymer concrete made from fly ash
activated with sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide.
Properties investigated have included workability,
compressive strength, water sorptivity, carbonation,
chloride diffusion and rapid chloride permeability.
Microstructure studies have been conducted using

D. W. Law (&)  T. K. Molyneaux  I. Patnaikuni 

A. Wardhono
School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical
Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000,
Australia
e-mail: david.law@rmit.edu.au

scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive

X-ray spectroscopy. The results showed that both the
geopolymer concretes with activator modulus 1.00
and 1.25 gave durability parameters comparable to
Ordinary Portland and blended cement concretes of
similar strength, while the geopolymer concrete with
an activator modulus of 0.75 displayed lower durability performance. However, there is a concern over the
long term performance of the geopolymer concretes
with activator modulus of 1.00 and 1.25 when
considering chloride induced corrosion of reinforcing
steel due to the initial pH and long term chloride
diffusion coefficient.
Keywords Geopolymers  Durability 
Microstructure  Permeability  Carbonation 
Chloride

T. K. Molyneaux
e-mail: tom.molyneaux@rmit.edu.au
I. Patnaikuni
e-mail: indu.patnaikuni@rmit.edu.au

1 Introduction

A. Wardhono
e-mail: arie.wardhono@rmit.edu.au

It is widely known that the production of Portland

cement consumes considerable energy and at the same
time contributes a large volume of CO2 to the
atmosphere. The calcination of CaCO3 to produce
1 ton of ordinary Portland Cement (PC) releases
0.53 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, and if the
energy source used in the production of PC is carbon
fuel then another 0.45 tons of CO2 are produced [33].
Therefore the production of 1 ton of PC produces

A. A. Adam
Department of Civil Engineering, Tadulako University,
Palu, Indonesia
e-mail: adam.arham@gmail.com
A. Wardhono
Department of Civil Engineering, State University of
Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia

722

approximately 1 ton of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Increased environmental concerns coupled with
increased development and use of concrete in construction has prompted a search for more environmentally friendly materials.
A possible alternative is the use of alkali-activated
binder using industrial by-products containing silicate
materials [25, 40]. One of the most common industrial
by-products used as binder materials is fly ash (FA).
FA has been widely used as a pozzolanic material to
enhance the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of cements and concretes. It has been estimated
that the energy requirement of geopolymers is 60 %
less than that of PC [34].
Previous research has shown that it is possible to
use 100 % FA as the binder by activating it with an
alkali component, such as; caustic alkalis, silicate
salts, and non silicate salts of weak acids [9, 48].
Activation of FA involves using a highly alkaline
solution. This reaction forms an inorganic binder
through a polymerization process [14, 19]. The term
Geopolymeric is used to characterise this type of
reaction. The geopolymeric reaction differentiates
geopolymers from other types of alkali activated
materials (such as; alkali activated slag).
Research has shown that geopolymer concrete can
achieve comparable strengths to Ordinary Portland
(OP) and blended cement concretes [10, 26, 27, 30, 39,
41, 49]. Durability studies have investigated acid
attack [11, 46], sulphate attack [12] and fire resistance
[32], while Miranda has investigated the chloride
resistance of geopolymer mortar specimens [35]. The
research has shown that geopolymer concrete has the
potential to be a suitable alternative material to OP and
blended cement concretes. However, the long term
durability of the material has yet to be established,
particularly with reference to the protection of reinforcing steel.
In a normal exposure environment with proper
design and production, concrete made with PC can be
a durable material. However, it has been long recognized that traditional concrete can suffer from deterioration due to the attack from aggressive agents such
as chloride and acidic gases such as CO2 that initiate
corrosion in the reinforcing steel. In order to be a
successful alternative to PC and blended cement
concretes, geopolymer concrete must show similar
durability properties and be able to resist attack from
these aggressive agents. This paper reports a set of

Materials and Structures (2015) 48:721731

Table 1 Chemical composition of class F fly ash
Component

Percentage

SiO2

49.45

Al2O3

29.61

Fe2O3
CaO

10.72
3.47

MgO

1.3

K2O

0.54

Na2O

0.31

TiO2

1.76

P2O5

0.53

Mn2O3

0.17

SO3

0.27

LOI

1.45

experiments analysing the strength gain and durability

properties of geopolymer concrete.

2 Materials and methodology

A range of geopolymer concrete and mortar specimens
were cast varying the mix composition and activator
modulus. Testing included compressive strength,
sorptivity, chloride diffusion, rapid chloride permeability and carbonation. In addition, scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray
analysis were also undertaken.
The FA used to manufacture the geopolymer
concrete was a low calcium FA (class F fly ash)
conforming to AS 3582.1-1998 [4], Table 1. The
fineness of the FA had 86.82 % passing a 45 lm sieve.
The SO3 is less than 1 % which should ensure high
volume stability which is desirable for good durability.
The alkaline activator used in this study was a sodium
silicate based solution containing sodium silicate
solution (wt. ratio: Na2O/SiO2 = 2) and 10 M sodium
hydroxide. The chemical composition of the sodium
silicate solution by mass was Na2O = 14.7 %,
SiO2 = 29.4 % and water = 55.9 %.
The blended sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide
solutions are characterized by the activator modulus
(Ms), which is defined as the mass ratio of SiO2 to
Na2O; and the dosage, corresponding to the percentage
Na2O. The adopted nomenclature for the specimens
was GX-Y, where X is dosage and Y is Ms, i.e. G7.51.0 for a 7.5 % dosage and a 1.0 activator modulus.

Materials and Structures (2015) 48:721731

723

Table 2 Mix proportion of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete

Mix

Fly ash (kg)

Aggregate (kg)

Activator (kg)

Sand

(7 mm)

(10 mm)

Na2SiO3 (liquid)

NaOH (10 M)

Added water (kg)

w/b

G7.5-0.75

1,050

1,728

763

1,528

198

209

88

0.34

G7.5-1.00

1,030

1,728

763

1,528

262

165

84

0.32

G7.5-1.25

1,016

1,728

763

1,528

324

123

79

0.32

Quantities for kg/m3

Different dosage and activator modulus are

achieved by varying the ratio of sodium silicate and
sodium hydroxide. The sodium hydroxide solution
was prepared in a fume cupboard by dissolving
sodium hydroxide pellets in deionised water at least
1 day prior to mixing.
Both coarse and fine aggregate were prepared in
accordance with AS 1141.5-2000 [5]. The moisture
condition of the aggregate was in a saturated surface
dry condition. The fine aggregate was river sand in
uncrushed form. The coarse aggregate was crushed
basalt aggregate with a specific gravity of 2.99.
The mix design was based on previous tests on
mortar specimens [3]. The total aggregate in the
concrete was kept to 64 % of the entire mixture by
volume for all mixes. The ratio of ingredients
(cementitious materials, chemical activator, aggregate, and water) was calculated based on the absolute
volume method [37], as a result, the total weight of
binder and water was varied to keep the volume of
material and water/binder or water/solid ratio constant. Table 2 summarizes the mix details for the
geopolymer concrete.
The concrete mix was designed to provide a 28 day
compressive strength of 40 MPa. This target strength
was chosen to replicate the strength for standard site
concrete as specified in AS 3600. To achieve this
target strength a 7.5 % Na2O dosage was selected. The
water in the mix was taken as the sum of water
contained in the sodium silicate, sodium hydroxide
and added water. The solid is taken as the sum of FA,
the solid in the sodium silicate solution and the sodium
oxide pellets. Liquid sodium silicate and sodium
hydroxide were blended in different proportions,
providing an activator modulus (Ms) ranging from
0.75 to 1.25. In general class F fly ash based
geopolymer concretes exhibit longer setting times
and slower strength development at room temperature
[50], with curing generally being between 60 and

90 C. This temperature can be reduced by using high

calcium (class C) FA [27] or by adding calcium
compound [49] as the higher calcium content can
produce CSH which can be cured at room temperature. As these experiments used a 100 % class F fly
ash, a curing temperature of 90 C was adopted [3].
The slump test was undertaken in accordance with
Australian Standard AS 1012.1-1993 [6]. Compressive strength tests were performed with a loading rate
of 20 MPa/min according to AS 1012.9-1999. Sorptivity tests were undertaken with 100 mm diameter
and 50 mm height specimens in accordance with
ASTM C1585-04 [7]. The sides of the specimens were
coated with epoxy to allow free water movement only
through the bottom face (unidirectional flow). The
results were plotted against the square root of the time
to obtain a slope of the best fit straight line. According
to Hall [28], the penetration of water under capillary
action (sorptivity, S) can be modeled by:
I A St1=2

where I is the cumulative absorbed volume after time

t per unit area of inflow surface, I = Dw/ar, Dw being
the increase in weight, a the cross-sectional area and
r the density of water.
Chloride diffusion tests were based on AASHTO
T259 [1] and rapid chloride permeability testing
(RCPT) was performed according to ASTM C120207 [8] and AASHTO T277 [2]. Accelerated carbonation tests were undertaken in a purpose built carbonation chamber, Fig. 1 at a CO2 concentration of 5 %, a
temperature of 20 1 C and a relative humidity of
70 1 % for 28 days. The CO2 concentration was
correlated relative to the O2 concentration in the
chamber. Testing for carbonation depth was undertaken using Phenolphthalein indicator. Pore water
from mortar samples was obtained using a purpose
built pore press. The pH was measured electronically
using a pH electrode.

724

Materials and Structures (2015) 48:721731

Fig. 1 Schematic of
accelerated carbonation
chamber

The microstructure was observed using SEM imaging employing both secondary and backscatter electron
detectors. To prepare the samples for SEM analysis the
specimens were cut using a diamond saw to a size of
24 mm in height and 510 mm in diameter. The
samples were subsequently gold coated for imaging.
Samples were mounted on the SEM sample stage with
conductive, double-sided carbon tape. A total of 3
samples were investigated for each mix.

3 Results and discussion

3.1 Material properties
The FA-based geopolymer displayed a very high
slump with all mixes giving a slump in excess of
200 mm. This is attributed to the spherical shape of FA
particles combined with the lubricating effect of
sodium silicate solution increasing the flowability.
The high slump across the mix types was not crucial
as the basic requirements were that the fresh concrete
did not segregate when vibrated and little bleeding
occurred, both of which requirements were fulfilled by
the geopolymer concrete. Following heat curing the
geopolymer mix produced a concrete of comparable
appearance to a standard OP concrete.

The strengths of the FA-based geopolymer concrete

are shown in Table 3. There was a significant increase
in strength between MS = 0.75 and 1.0. However,
there was only a small further increase to the
MS = 1.25 concrete. This is attributed to an increase
in the alkali modulus leading to an increase in soluble
silicates and consequently an increase in the reaction
rate. The proposed reaction mechanism for geopolymerisation is a multistage process [23] consisting of
five stages: (1) dissolution, (2) speciation equilibrium,
(3) gelation, (4) reorganization, and (5) polymerization and hardening. The dissolution process starts with
an attack on the FA particles by alkaline solution [24].
As a result the reaction product is generated both
inside and outside the shell of the FA particle sphere
until the ash particle is completely or almost completely consumed. At the same time, precipitations of
reaction products occur as the alkaline solution
penetrates the larger sphere and fills up the interior
space with reaction product, forming a dense matrix.
Due to the precipitation of reaction products, some
portions of smaller particles are covered with the
products providing crust which prevents contact with
the alkaline solution resulting in unreacted FA particles. The increase in strength observed between
MS = 0.75 and MS = 1.0 is attributed to an increase
in the dissolution process, thus resulting in a higher

Materials and Structures (2015) 48:721731

725
2.5

Table 3 Compressive strength of geopolymer concrete

Compressive strength (MPa)

G7.5-0.75 (56 days)

G7.5-1 (56 days)
G7.5-1.25 (56 days)
G7.5-0.75 (90 days)
G7.5-1 (90 days)
G7.5-1.25 (90 days)

2.0

7 days

28 days

90 days

G7.5-0.75

39.1 3.5

44.4 3.4

46.1 2.1

G7.5-1.00

51.3 5.2

53.3 2.6

53.6 5.5

G7.5-1.25

52.5 4.6

56.9 3.3

57.3 2.0

i (mm3/mm2)

Mix

1.5

1.0

0.5

reaction rate and in fewer unreacted FA particles. The

relatively small variation between MS = 1.0 and 1.25,
suggests that little further dissolution of the FA arises
from the increase in activator modulus. This would
indicate that either all the FA has been dissolved once
a MS = 1.0 has been reached, or that the increase does
not result in any further dissolution of the protective
crust on the FA particles. Thus the formation of the
[Mz(AlO2)x(SiO2)ynMOHmH2O] gel, the dominant
step in formation of an amorphous structure of
geopolymers, which relies on the extent of dissolution
of alumino-silicate materials, reaches a limiting value
as the activator modulus increases above 1.0.
As would be expected with heat curing there was only
a small increase in strength from 28 to 90 days for all the
specimens, irrespective of activator modulus. Both the
MS = 1.0 and 1.25 concretes achieved a strength in
excess of 50 MPa at 28 days. The compressive
strengths observed are in agreement with those observed
by other authors using class F fly ash [10, 26, 41, 43].
3.2 Sorptivity
The sorptivity curve of the geopolymer concretes at 56
and 90 days are given in Fig. 2. The results show a
non-linearity in the initial stages, which is in agreement
with previous research [22], which found that the
sorptivity curve of geopolymer concrete was less linear
compared to that of OP and blended cement concretes.
During the setting period the geopolymer concrete
exhibited an increased degree of bleeding compared to
the OP concretes. This would be expected to result in
high quantities of cement paste at the surface. This high
concentration of cement paste is hypothesised as
leading to a rapid saturation of the outer paste layer.
Once this layer is saturated the area of absorption is
reduced due to the presence of aggregates. The level of
bleeding was higher in the specimens with an MS of
0.75, which corresponds to the highest value of
sorptivity, Table 4, and the least linear plot.

0.0
0

10

1/2

15

20

1/2

(min )

Fig. 2 Absorption (i) versus square root of time for geopolymer

concrete at 56 and 90 days
Table 4 Sorptivity correlation parameters
Mix

Sorptivity parameters
56 days
Si (mm/min1/2)

90 days
R

Si (mm/min1/2)

G7.5-0.75

0.101

0.996

0.101

0.997

G7.5-1

0.078

0.996

0.075

0.998

G7.5-1.25

0.071

0.997

0.066

0.998

The increase in activator modulus from 1.0 to 1.25

showed little change in the sorptivity values. These
changes are consistent with those for the strength data,
which also showed an improvement in performance
from MS 0.75 to 1.0, but little further improvement
from MS 1.0 to 1.25. This improvement can be
accounted for by an increase in the SiO2 content and
increased dissolution of the FA, which results in a
higher rate of reaction, leading to a denser structure
with a reduction in the porosity of the geopolymer
concrete. The correlation coefficients, R, of all the
sorptivity data exceed 0.98. Overall the sorptivity
parameters of the geopolymer concretes are comparable to those of OP and blended cement concretes of
similar strengths [22, 38].
3.3 Chloride diffusion
The results are presented in Table 5. The apparent
diffusion coefficient (Da) and surface concentration
(Cs) were calculated by plotting the chloride profiles
and determining the best fitted curve using Ficks 2nd
Law of Diffusion [18].

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Materials and Structures (2015) 48:721731

Table 5 Apparent chloride diffusion coefficient and surface

chloride value
Mix

Cs (%)

Da 9 10-11 m2/s

G7.5-0.75

0.16

3.1

G7.5-1

0.17

3.1

G7.5-1.25

0.14

3.7

The geopolymer specimens display a similar diffusion coefficient for all activator moduli. The diffusion
coefficients of the FA geopolymer concretes are
comparable with those for OP and blended cement
concretes, indeed being in the lower range of values
reported in the literature [13, 17]. This data would
indicate a high level of resistance to chloride ingress
for geopolymer concretes. However, one factor that
should be taken into account when considering long
term performance is that OP and to a greater extent
blended cement concretes show a reduction in the
chloride diffusion coefficient with time. This is
represented as the maturity factor, m [13]. This
improved performance is attributed to on going
hydration of the concrete with time. For geopolymer
concrete, which is produced by heat curing, little if any
further reaction will take place, illustrated by a
minimal increase in compressive strength with time
when compared to OP and blended cement concretes
cured at ambient temperatures. Hence, it may be
expected that little improvement in the diffusion
coefficient will occur over time when compared with
OP and blended cement concretes. This would mean
that the chloride diffusion coefficient after 20 years
would be similar to that observed in these tests. Thus at
20 years the diffusion coefficients for geopolymer
concretes may be higher than those for OP and blended
cement concretes.
RCPT were undertaken on the geopolymer specimens. However, rapid heating of the specimens was
observed, Table 6, with all specimens reaching 60 C
before the conclusion of the test. The flow of electric
current through a conductor generates heat which will
in turn increase the mobility of the ions that carry the
current, which will itself raise the total current flow
producing more heat in a cyclic process. Given the
rapid rises in temperature observed it can no longer be
assumed that Ohms law (V = IR) applies, which is
the basic principle of the RCPT method. Hence the
RCPT is assessed as not giving data which can be used

Table 6 Rapid chloride permeability test data

Mix

Solution temperature C

Duration (Min)

Initial

Final

G7.5-0.75

26.1

60

60

G7.5-1

25.1

60

200

G7.5-1.25

22.4

60

270

to evaluate the performance of geopolymer concrete.

The RCPT is often used as a standard test to assess the
chloride resistance of concrete in severe exposure
conditions. The heating observed in these tests indicates that the RCPT should not be applied as a method
for assessing the chloride resistance of geopolymer
concretes and an alternative method should be used to
assess their performance such as the Nord tests NT
BUILD 433.
3.4 Carbonation
The geopolymer concrete displayed no clear border
between the coloured and colourless area when
sprayed with phenolphthalein indicator. There was a
graduation in colour as the outer part was lighter in
colour compared to the inner part. In this case the
carbonation front was not clear, as such it is not
possible to measure accurately the penetration depth
using a phenolphthalein indicator. Even after full
carbonation, some light pink colour was found in the
outer part of the specimens.
When compared to carbonated OP and blended
concrete the overall colour of non-carbonated geopolymer concrete was lighter than that observed in
uncontaminated OP or blended cement concretes. This
suggests that the pH of the pore solution of the
carbonated geopolymer concrete was lower and the
pH was not significantly affected by the CO2. The
colouring observed is in agreement with Davidovits
who stated that the pH of geopolymer concrete is in the
region 11.512.5 and that the carbonation products of
geopolymer concrete have a minimum pH of 1010.5
which is much higher than the pH from the calcium
carbonate which can have a pH lower than 9 [20].
In order to asses the pH of the geopolymer material
mortar specimens using a dosage and Ms the same as
the concrete specimens, together with those with a
dosage of 15 % used in previous mortar tests were
investigated [3], Table 7. The pore water was obtained

Materials and Structures (2015) 48:721731

727

Table 7 Mix proportion of fly ash-based geopolymer mortar

Mix

Fly
ash
(kg)

Fine
sand
(kg)

Activator (kg)
Na2SiO3
(liquid)

NaOH
(15 M)

G7.5-0.75

0.523

1.440

0.128

0.101

G7.5-1.0

0.522

1.431

0.124

0.133

0.064

G7.5-1.25

0.521

1.438

0.167

0.046

0.108

Added
water
(kg)
0.082

G15-1

0.505

1.388

0.193

0.148

0.046

G15-1.25

0.500

1.376

0.255

0.117

0.033

G15-1.5

0.496

1.364

0.316

0.087

0.020

Quantities for kg/m

Table 8 Carbonation data for geopolymer mortar specimens,

pH
Mix

pH
0 days

3 days

7 days

28 days

G7.5-0.75

11.86

11.88

11.01

10.88

G7.5-1.0

11.94

11.91

11.35

10.46

G7.5-1.25

11.73

11.71

11.39

10.73

G15-1

11.96

11.97

11.50

11.05

G15-1.25

11.99

11.88

11.50

11.00

G15-1.5

11.97

11.98

11.77

11.23

from the mortar specimens using a pore press and the

pH was tested at different time periods until full
carbonation of the specimens had been achieved after
28 days exposure. Spraying with phenolphthalein
gave similar colours to that obtained for the concrete
specimens. The results are given in Table 8.
The mortar specimens all had an initial pH of
between 11.75 and 12, with little variation between the
G7.5 or G15 mixes. However, higher initial pH values
have also been reported depending on the activator pH
and the raw materials used [36, 42, 45]. The pH
reduced slowly with time until full carbonation was
achieved after 28 days. At 3 days no discernable
difference in pH was detectable, by 7 days a reduction
in pH was clearly measured and by 28 days the G7.5
specimens had a pH in the range 10.410.9 and the
G15 in the range 1111.25. These results show a
similar initial pH to that reported by Davidovits,
though the final pH is higher than that reported [20].
The variation in the initial and final pH recorded for
the mortars compared with that of OP and blended
cements is attributed to the difference in the materials

produced. The OP cements produce Ca(OH)2 and

CSH gel, while the geopolymers produced
[Mz(AlO2)x(SiO2)ynMOHmH2O] gel. The pH of
fresh, OP and blended concrete, is above 13 and that
of carbonated concrete below 9 [29], due to the
formation of calcium carbonate.
In the fresh OP cement concrete the Ca(OH)2 and
CSH gel provide buffering to maintain the pH above
13. In the geopolymer concrete the [Mz(AlO2)x
(SiO2)ynMOHmH2O] will not provide a similar
buffering. The pH from the mortars indicate that
following the geopolymeric reaction a pH in the pore
solution of around 12 for all geopolymer mortars is
achieved despite the variation in hydroxyl ion
concentrations in the initial mix. This would
indicate that there is no buffering by the [Mz(AlO2)x
(SiO2)ynMOHmH2O] comparable to that provided
by the CSH gel. Rather the pH of the geopolymers
produced is controlled by the sodium hydroxide from
the activator that is contained in the pore solution. A
number of factors are hypothesised as controlling this
pH, including the pH of the activator, the degree of
reaction that occurs and hence the residual activator
remaining and the chemical composition of the binder
material, which will determine the composition of the
geopolymeric material produced.
In the geopolymer concrete the carbonation is
hypothesised as the reaction of the sodium hydroxide
with CO2 forming sodium carbonate hydrates. The
result of this is only a minimal reduction of pH to a value
of approximately pH 11. The geopolymer mortars with
the lower dosage (7.5 %) having a slightly lower final
pH than those with the higher dosage (15 %).
These results are comparable with those reported
for alkali activated slag concretes which have not
shown any detrimental effects due to carbonation [21,
44] and that final a pH of between 10 and 12, could be
expected [15].
Given the results from the concrete and mortar
specimens, coupled with other reported results suggests that a final pH in the region of pH 11 can be
expected for geoploymer concrete. This is a value that
could provide protection to reinforcing steel following
carbonation.
3.5 Microstructure
The microstructure of all three geopolymer concrete
mixes were similar, Fig. 3. All the geopolymer

728

Materials and Structures (2015) 48:721731

Fig. 3 Microstructure of the three geopolymer concrete mixes

specimens contained both unreacted FA and silica.

Some particles of FA were also found to have been
partially dissolved by alkali Fig. 4. The most distinctive difference in the microstructure was a denser pore
structure as the modulus increased. Analysis of the
number of unreacted grains in each sample noted a
slight decrease in the number of unreacted FA particles, with an increase activator modulus, while the
number of partially reacted grains observed remained
similar as the activator modulus increased. This would
indicate that there is an additional dissolution of the FA
due to the increase in activator modulus but that the
increase does not result in any further dissolution of the
protective crust on the FA particles. The decrease in the
number of unreacted FA particles was more pronounced between the G7.5-0.75 to G7.5-1 mixes, than
from the G7.5-1 to the G7.5-1.25 mixes.
According to Steveson and Sagoe-Crentsil [47],
unreacted components in FA-based geopolymer
binder make up a significant proportion of the total
volume of the binder. These components are composites, hence the strength of the unreacted particles, the
interface between them and geopolymer matrix is
expected to have a significant bearing on the overall
strength of the material. The reduction in the number
of unreacted particles of FA as the activator modulus
increases would explain the higher strength and lower
sorptivity observed.

Fig. 4 Partially dissolved fly ash grain

3.6 Long term durability

The compressive strength of the geopolymer concrete
is in excess of the specified minimum strength in AS
3600 for the design of concrete structures in exposure
categories A1 and A2 and B1 and B2. This indicates
that from a structural perspective the use of geopolymer concrete is a feasible alternative to OP and
blended concretes used at present.

Materials and Structures (2015) 48:721731

However, the long term durability of reinforced

concrete is dependent upon the protection of reinforcing steel in concrete which is provided by the passive
layer formed on the steel surface due to the high pH in
OP and blended cement concretes [16]. It is the
breaking down of this layer by carbonation or
chlorides that results in the corrosion of the reinforcement. Thus the initial pH would be expected to have a
significant factor in the chloride induced corrosion of
reinforcing steel. The Cl/OH ratio is regarded as one of
the controlling factors in the initiation of corrosion
[31]. The pH produced following carbonation will also
be a significant factor in the long term durability of
geopolymer concrete.
The data obtained suggests that carbonation of
geopolymers may not be as potentially deleterious as
carbonation of OP and blended cement concretes as
the pH remains at a level that can provide protection to
the reinforcing steel. However, for chloride induced
attack the long term protection provided by geopolymer concrete may be lower than for OP and blended
cement concretes. The lower initial pH may lead to a
lower concentration of chloride ions being required at
the rebar to initiate corrosion and, as discussed, the
long term chloride diffusion coefficient may be higher
than for OP and blended cement concretes. To
determine this effect more clearly longer term testing
of geopolymer samples is required to determine what
the maturity factor is for geopolymer concrete.

4 Conclusions
There is a significant increase in strength from the
MS = 0.75 to the MS = 1.0 and 1.25 concrete which
is attributed to an increase in the dissolution of the FA
grains and a resultant increase in the reaction rate.
Minimal variation in strength is observed between the
MS = 1.0 and 1.25 concretes and little increase in
strength is observed for any of the geopolymer
concretes with time, which is attributed to the heat
curing.
The geopolymer concretes display a non-linearity
in the sorptivity data in the initial stages compared to
OP and blended cement concretes. This non linearity
is hypothesized as being due to an increased bleeding
in geopolymer concretes giving a cement rich surface
layer allowing higher initial absorption. The sorptivity
values of the geopolymer concretes are comparable to

729

similar strength OP and blended cement concretes.

The MS = 0.75 gave the highest sorptivity value while
the MS = 1.0 and 1.25 gave similar values.
The apparent chloride diffusion values were similar
for all the geopolymer concretes. The values were
favorably comparable to similar OP and blended
cement concretes, though due to the heat curing there
may be no long term reduction in the diffusion
coefficient for geopolymer concretes, as compared to
OP and blended cement concretes. The RCPT results
in rapid heating in geopolymer concrete.
Carbonation testing indicated that the initial pH of
geopolymer concrete is less than that of OP and
blended cement concretes but is higher after carbonation. The final pH after carbonation may be sufficient
to provide protection for reinforcing steel in carbonated geopolymer concrete.
SEM analysis showed a denser pore structure with
increasing activator modulus, consistent with the
durability test results.
The durability test program indicates that both the
MS = 1.0 and 1.25 geopolymer concretes gave durability parameters comparable to OP and blended
cement concretes of similar strength. However, concern exists over the long term performance when
considering chloride induced corrosion of reinforcing
steel due to the lower initial pH and potentially
constant chloride diffusion coefficient.
Due to the different composition of the geopolymer
concrete compared to OP and blended concretes the
direct application of the current standards and durability test methods is not considered appropriate and
before the use of geopolymer concrete is adopted the
development of a specific standard accounting for the
mix design and testing of the long term performance is
recommended.
Acknowledgments The authors wish to express their thanks
to PQ Australia for the supply of materials for the research
project, and Cement Australia Ltd for providing the FA. The
authors also wish to acknowledge the facilities, and the scientific
and technical assistance, of the Australian Microscopy &
Microanalysis Research Facility at the RMIT Microscopy &
Microanalysis Facility, at RMIT University.

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