Investigation of the Compressive Strength of Fly Ash–based Geopolymer Concrete cured by Oven and Microwave Radiation
Received: 17 January 2025 | Revised: 15 February 2025 | Accepted: 6 March 2025 | Online: 21 March 2025
Corresponding author: Tan Khoa Nguyen
Abstract
This study investigates the influence of three different curing methods -oven, microwave, and hybrid microwave–oven- on the compressive strength of Fly Ash (FA)-based geopolymer concrete. Five mixtures with an Alkaline Liquid (AL) to FA ratio varying from 0.6 to 1.0, combined with different curing conditions, were tested to evaluate the highest compressive strength values. The results revealed that the maximum compressive strength was observed at 30.2 MPa for oven-curing at 80 ℃ for 16 hours, 13.7 MPa for microwave curing at 400 W for 10 minutes, and 33.1 MPa for hybrid curing (microwave at 400 W for 10 minutes) followed by oven at 80 ℃ for 8 hours. These findings indicate that the hybrid curing method is an optimal solution, developing higher compressive strength in a shorter time compared to traditional curing methods.
Keywords:
microwave, compressive strengthDownloads
References
J. Davidovits, "Global warming impact on the cement and aggregates industries," World resource review, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 263–278, 1994.
A. Kumar, Rajkishor, N. Kumar, A. K. Chhotu, and B. Kumar, "Effect of Ground Granulated Blast Slag and Temperature Curing on the Strength of Fly Ash-based Geopolymer Concrete," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 13319–13323, Apr. 2024.
K. T. Nguyen, Y. H. Lee, J. Lee, and N. Ahn, "Acid Resistance and Curing Properties for Green Fly Ash-geopolymer Concrete," Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 317–322, Sep. 2013.
J. Davidovits, "Synthesis of New High-Temperature Geo-Polymers for Reinforced Plastics/Composites," presented at the PACTEC ’79 Society of Plastics Engineers, Costa Mesa, CA, USA, 1979, pp. 151–154.
T. Manzoor, J. A. Bhat, and A. H. Shah, "Performance of geopolymer concrete at elevated temperature − A critical review," Construction and Building Materials, vol. 420, Mar. 2024, Art. no. 135578.
P. Chakradhar Reddy and R. Ganesan, "Comparative study of compressive strength of novel steel fiber reinforced geopolymer concrete and conventional concrete," Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 77, pp. 504–508, Jan. 2023.
N. B. Singh and B. Middendorf, "Geopolymers as an alternative to Portland cement: An overview," Construction and Building Materials, vol. 237, Mar. 2020, Art. no. 117455.
K. T. Nguyen, T. A. Le, J. Lee, D. Lee, and K. Lee, "Investigation on properties of geopolymer mortar using preheated materials and thermogenetic admixtures," Construction and Building Materials, vol. 130, pp. 146–155, Jan. 2017.
J.-C. Tao et al., "Comparison of rheology and durability of geopolymer and Portland cement concrete at the same strength levels," Construction and Building Materials, vol. 461, Jan. 2025, Art. no. 139958.
P. Chindaprasirt, U. Rattanasak, and S. Taebuanhuad, "Role of microwave radiation in curing the fly ash geopolymer," Advanced Powder Technology, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 703–707, May 2013.
J. Somaratna, D. Ravikumar, and N. Neithalath, "Response of alkali activated fly ash mortars to microwave curing," Cement and Concrete Research, vol. 40, no. 12, pp. 1688–1696, Dec. 2010.
G. Kastiukas, S. Ruan, S. Liang, and X. Zhou, "Development of precast geopolymer concrete via oven and microwave radiation curing with an environmental assessment," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 255, May 2020, Art. no. 120290.
A. Graytee, J. G. Sanjayan, and A. Nazari, "Development of a high strength fly ash-based geopolymer in short time by using microwave curing," Ceramics International, vol. 44, no. 7, pp. 8216–8222, May 2018.
Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Cylidrical Concrete Specimens, ASTM C39/C39M, 2018.
A. V. Nakum and N. K. Arora, "The impact of alkaline solution to fly ash ratio with different molarities of sodium hydroxide on self-compacted geopolymer concrete," Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 62, pp. 4168–4176, Jan. 2022.
Downloads
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Tran Nhat Minh, Tan Khoa Nguyen, Ninh Thuy Nguyen, Tan Hung Nguyen, Anh Tuan Le
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after its publication in ETASR with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
