The Influence of the Properties of the Material Used for Obtaining Geopolymers on Their Structure and Compressive Strength

This article presents the influence of the properties of the materials in the geopolymeric mixture, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) + wheat straw ash (WSA) + uncalcined red mud (RMu), and ground granulated blast furnace slag + wheat straw ash + calcined red mud (RMc), over the microstructure and mechanical properties of the synthesised geopolymers. The activation solutions used were a NaOH solution with 8M concentration, and a solution realised from 50%wt NaOH and 50%wt Na2SiO3. The samples were analysed: from the microstructural point of view through SEM microscopy; the chemical composition was determined through EDX analysis; and the compressive strength tests was done for samples tested at 7 and 28 days, respectively. The SEM micrographies of the geopolymers have highlighted a complex structure and an variable compressive strength. Compressive strength varied from 24 MPa in the case of the same recipe obtained from 70% of GGBFS + 25% WSA +5% RMu, alkaline activated with NaOH 8M (7 days testing) to 85 MPa in the case of the recipe but replacing RMu with RMc with calcined red mud, alkaline activated with the 50%wt NaOH and 50%wt Na2SiO3 solution (28 days testing). This variation in the sense of the rise in compressive strength can be attributed to the difference in reactivity of the materials used in the recipes, the curing period, the geopolymers structure, and the presence of a lower or higher rate of pores, as well as the alkalinity and the nature of the activation solutions used.