Formulation, mechanical properties and phase analysis of fly ash geopolymer with ladle furnace slag replacement

Abstract

This paper presents the formulation of fly ash (FA) geopolymer and the incorporation of ladle furnace slag (LFS) as a replacement to FA in geopolymer formation. The formulation of the LFS replacement was set at 10–40 wt.%. The geopolymer was formed by mixing FA and LFS with a sodium-based alkali activator. The FA geopolymer had a compressive strength of 38.9 MPa with the optimum formulation of 8 M NaOH concentration, AS/AA ratio of 3, and AA ratio of 1.5. The compressive strength was affected more significantly by the amorphous content. The most influential factors affecting the properties of FA geopolymer were: AS/AA ratio > AA ratio > NaOH concentration. Replacing LFS led to very little (4.1%) increment in the compressive strength. The LFS had little contribution in supplying Si, Al and Ca for the formation of the N-A-S-H and C-A-S-H network. But LFS acted as a filler and improved the compactness of the FA geopolymer. The mechanical performance of FA/LFS geopolymer was not governed by the amorphous content like the FA geopolymer, as LFS addition contributed to increasing crystalline content. New crystalline phases of calcite and CSH due to the addition of LFS helped to retain the compressive strength of FA geopolymer. Nevertheless, the outcome of the study proved that LFS can be blended with FA to produce geopolymers without severe deterioration in mechanical strength. LFS can be potentially added in geopolymers as filler to produce geopolymer mortar.

Keywords

• Geopolymer
• Ladle furnace slag
• Fly ash
• Replacement
• Amorphous
• Crystallinity