Research Article The Effect of Variation of Molarity of...

Research ArticleThe Effect of Variation of Molarity of Alkali Activator and FineAggregate Content on the Compressive Strength of the Fly AshPalm Oil Fuel Ash Based Geopolymer Mortar

Iftekhair Ibnul Bashar U Johnson Alengaram Mohd Zamin Jumaat and Azizul Islam

Department of Civil Engineering Faculty of Engineering University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Correspondence should be addressed to U Johnson Alengaram ujohnroseyahoocom

Received 24 February 2014 Revised 11 June 2014 Accepted 13 June 2014 Published 20 July 2014

Academic Editor Dachamir Hotza

Copyright copy 2014 Iftekhair Ibnul Bashar et al This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properlycited

The effect of molarity of alkali activator manufactured sand (M-sand) and quarry dust (QD) on the compressive strength of palmoil fuel ash (POFA) and fly ash (FA) based geopolymer mortar was investigated and reportedThe variable investigated includes thequantities of replacement levels of M-sand QD and conventional mining sand (N-sand) in two concentrated alkaline solutionsthe contents of alkaline solution water POFAFA ratio and curing condition remained constant The results show that an averageof 76 of the 28-day compressive strength was found at the age of 3 days The rate of strength development from 3 to 7 dayswas found between 12 and 16 and it was found much less beyond this period The addition of 100 M-sand and QD showsinsignificant strength reduction compared to mixtures with 100 N-sand The particle angularity and texture of fine aggregatesplayed a significant role in the strength development due to the filling and packing ability The rough texture and surface of QDenables stronger bond between the paste and the fine aggregate The concentration of alkaline solution increased the reaction rateand thus enhanced the development of early age strength The use of M-sand and QD in the development of geopolymer concreteis recommended as the strength variation between these waste materials and conventional sand is not high

1 Introduction

The depletion of natural resources leads to ecological imbal-ance globally and its effect has been felt in civil engineeringmore than any other field of engineering In order to ensuresustainable development researchers all around the worldhave focused their research on replacing and recycling wastematerials to replace conventional materials [1ndash4] Millions oftons of industrial wastes are generated every year and thesewastes cause environmental issue due to shortage of storagefacility this subsequently leads to land and water pollution inthe vicinity of factories

The quarry industries produce millions of tons of wastesin the form of quarry dust (QD) it is produced as waste aftercrushing granite for the use of coarse aggregates About 25QD is produced from the coarse aggregate production bystone crusher [5] These wastes are dumped in the factoryyards and hence reuse of QD might help in reducing the

overuse of mining and quarrying The sophisticated tech-nology known as vertical shaft impact (VSI) crusher systemallows QD to be centrifuged to remove flaky and sharpedgesThe end product is commonly known asmanufacturedsand (M-Sand) and it is popular in some of the developingcountries [6] the use of M-sand and QD is in the rightdirection to achieve sustainable material

The main characteristics of the fine aggregate that affectthe compressive strength of fresh and hardened concrete areshape grade and maximum size The factors such as shapeand texture of the fine aggregate affect the workability offresh concrete and also influence the strength and durabilitycharacteristics of hardened concrete The spherical particleshave less surface area than the particles with flat surface andelongated shape The cubical and spherical shape contributesto good workability with less water [7] Flaky and elongatedparticles have negative effect on workability producing veryharsh mixtures For given water content these poorly shaped

Hindawi Publishing CorporationAdvances in Materials Science and EngineeringVolume 2014 Article ID 245473 13 pageshttpdxdoiorg1011552014245473

2 Advances in Materials Science and Engineering

particles lead to less workable mixtures than cubical orspherical particles Conversely for given workability flakyand elongated particles increase the demand for water thusaffecting strength of hardened concrete The void content isalso affected by angularity

In fact the angular particles tend to increase the demandfor water as these particles increase the void content com-pared to rounded particles [8] The rough aggregate increasethe water demand for given workability [9] Since N-sandis often rounded and smooth compared to M-sand N-sandusually requires less water thanM-sand for given workability[8] However workable concrete can be made with angularand rough particles if they are cubical and well graded

Besides the depletion of natural resources another envi-ronmental problem is the greenhouse effect One of themain reasons for the greenhouse effect is the emission ofcarbon dioxide (CO

2) from the ordinary Portland cement

(OPC) based concrete production Marceau et al [10] statedthat about 60 of CO

2emission was due to the OPC

production The development of cement less concrete is abig challenge to the researchers nowadays Davidovits [11] isthe pioneer in introducing geopolymer concrete which emitsno CO

2 Thokchom et al [12] investigated the performance

of geopolymer mortar and found excellent performance interms of durability with less weight loss Silica and aluminaare the main compounds to activate the geopolymerizationprocess The raw materials consisting of silica and aluminaare known as pozzolanicmaterial Rukzon and Chindaprasirt[2] studied the resistance of sulphate attack of cement fordifferent proportion of replacement by palm oil fuel ash(POFA) fly ash (FA) and rice husk ash (RHA) and reportedthat POFA FA and RHA have a potentiality to be pozzolanicmaterial POFA and FA are two readily available industrialby-products those could be the right choice as pozzolanicmaterials in the development of geopolymer concrete [13 14]Zvironaite et al [15] studied the effect of different pozzolanson the hardening process of binder

The use of industrial by-product such as FA silicafume (SF) ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS)metakaolin bottom ash and quarry fines in the developmentof sustainable materials has substantially reduced pollution[16ndash20] In southeast Asian countries such as MalaysiaThailand and Indonesia the abundance of waste materialssuch as RHA POFA FA GGBS oil palm shell (OPS) andpalm oil clickers has given right platform for researchersto explore the possibility of converting these wastes intopotential construction materials [21ndash26]

About 85 of worldrsquos palm oil is being produced inIndonesia and Malaysia [27] Therefore the developmentof green concrete using these two industrial by-productsnamely POFA and FA could enhance the use of the localwaste material to develop sustainable concrete The use ofPOFA in concrete industry as a cementing material reducesthe environmental and health problems [4] Altwair et al [23]stated that concrete containing POFA improved the flexuredeflection capacity and reduced the crack width Altwairet al [28] also reported that POFA had a good influencein achieving strain-hardening behavior and it enhancedthe fracture toughness Safiuddin et al [21] improved the

segregation resistance self-consolidated concrete incorporat-ing POFA Lim et al [22] reported that foamed concreteincorporating POFA enhanced compressive flexure splittingtensile strength and ductility Hawa et al [29] evaluatedthe performance and microstructure characterization ofmetakaolin based geopolymer concrete containing POFA

Wallah and Rangan [30] and Hardjito et al [31] intro-duced fly ash (FA) in geopolymer concrete as a completereplacement of cement Further the benefit of using industrialby-products such as fly ash palm oil shells also known asoil palm shells (OPS) in the development of lightweightconcrete has been detailed by Chandra and Berntsson [16]The engineering properties of high-strength lightweight OPSconcrete with the replacement of cement by different pro-portion of FA were investigated [17] Johnson Alengaramet al [19] compared the thermal conductivity between OPSfoamed concrete and conventional concrete Kupaei et al [32]proposed an appropriate mix design for geopolymer concreteusing the two waste materials OPS and FA

Since the geopolymer concretemortar utilizes wastematerials such as POFA FA M-sand QD OPS and otherindustrial wastes the researches on geopolymer lead tosustainable materialThe purpose of this paper therefore is toinvestigate the effect of M-sand and QD in POFA-FA-basedgeopolymer mortar in developing compressive strength

2 Materials and Methods

21 Material Collection and Preparation The POFA and FAwere collected locally from Jugra Palm Oil Mill and LafargeMalayan Cements respectively The M-sand and QD weresupplied by Batu Tiga Quarry Sdn Bhd a subsidiary of YTLCements

The raw POFA was sieved through 300 120583m size sieve andthen dried in an oven before being ground 30000 cyclesin 16 hours in a grinding machine Forty mild steel rodsof 10mm diameter and 400mm length were placed in theLos Angeles grinding machine to grind the POFA FA wasstored in air tight containers The fine aggregate (N-sand M-sand and QD) were dried sieved through 5mm sieve andretained on 300 120583m sieve then were used in the preparationof geopolymer mortar

22 Chemical Composition and Particle Size Distribution ofPOFA and FA Figure 1 shows the powder forms of POFAand FA The POFA and FA particles sieved through 45120583mhave been used for bothXRF and the particle size distributiontests The chemical compounds of POFA and FA were deter-mined using PANalytical X-ray fluorescence (XRF) machinethrough Omnian analysis The particle size distribution wasdone by particle size analyzer through polydisperse analysisThe test results on X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for chemicalcomposition and particle size distribution of POFA and FAare shown in Figure 2 and Table 1

The percentages of SiO2 Al2O3 and Fe

2O3are 7614

and 8715 in POFA and FA respectively According to ASTMC618 the POFA and FA are categorized as class F since thesesamples contain at least 70 of SiO

2 Al2O3 and Fe

2O3

Advances in Materials Science and Engineering 3

(a) (b)

Figure 1 (a) Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) and (b) Fly ash (FA)

0

10

20

30

40

50

0

20

40

60

80

100

001 01 1 10 100 1000

Volu

me r

etai

ning

()

Volu

me p

assin

g (

)

Volume passing FA () Volume passing POFA ()Volume retaining FA () Volume retaining POFA ()

Particle size (120583m)

Figure 2 Particle size distribution of POFA and FA

The ratio of POFA to FA used in this investigation was 1 1therefore SiO

2 Al2O3in POFA and FA was 395 1

23 Particle Size Distribution of N-Sand M-Sand and QDThe particle size distribution for N-sand M-sand and QDwas carried out in accordance with BS 882-1992 [33] Theparticle size distribution for N-sand M-sand and QD isshown in Figure 3 andTable 2 According to BS 882-1992 [33]fine aggregates are divided into three grades based on thepercentage of passing through standard sieves It is foundthat all three types of fine aggregates fall into the categoryof Grade C sand The particle size distribution curves for M-sand and QD are overlapped as they have similar particlesFigure 3 shows thatN-sandM-sand andQD arewell gradedTherefore the composite mix proportions are well graded

24 Specific Gravity and Absorption of N-Sand M-Sandand QD Specific gravity and absorption of N-sand M-sand and QD were measured (Table 3) according to ASTMC2929M [34] and ASTM C128-07a [35]

25MixDesign Themain objective of this researchworkwasto investigate the effect ofM-sand andQDon the compressivestrength of geopolymer mortar The binder fine aggregatePOFA FA waterbinder and alkaline activatorbinder ratioswere kept constant at 1 15 1 1 02 and 04 respectivelyTwelve mixtures were produced for the variables of differentproportion of N-sand M-sand and QD (Table 4)

26 Preparation of Alkaline Activator The alkaline activa-tor using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate(Na2SiO3) was prepared 24 hours before the casting Two

molarities of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution of 12M and14 M were prepared for each mix proportion The modulusof sodium silicate (ie ratio of SiO

2Na2O) was 25 and the

specific gravity of liquid Na2SiO3was 150 gmL at 20∘C The

sodium silicate liquid was mixed with NaOH solution byweight proportion of 1 25 (NaOH solution liquidNa

2SiO3)

27 Preparation of Mortar The quantities of POFA FA alka-line activator and water used in the mixes were respectively343 343 274 and 137 kgm3 The binder content (POFA FA)was kept constant at 50 50 with the variable of differentproportions of fine aggregate contents The measurements ofN-sand M-sand and QD used in the mixtures are given inTable 4

The binder was mixed with the fine aggregates at slowspeed (140 plusmn 5 rmin) in the mixture The alkaline activatorwas then added with binder and fine aggregates The addi-tional water was gradually added to the mixture for goodworkability

28 Specimen Preparation and Curing The mortar was castin the 50mm cube mould and vibrated The mortar mouldswere kept in an oven at 65∘C for 24 hours After removal ofthe moulds the specimens were kept in a room temperatureand relative humidity of 28∘C and 79 respectively

29 Flow Table Test The flow table test in accordance withASTM C1437-13 [36] was done to investigate the consistencyof mortar


Table 1 Chemical composition and physical properties of POFA and FA

(a)

Chemical compounds CaO SiO2 Al2O3 MgO Na2O SO3 P2O5 K2O TiO2 Cr2O3 MnO Fe2O3 Cl LoIPOFA 557 6772 371 404 016 107 413 767 027 mdash 011 471 065 620FA 531 5472 272 110 043 101 112 100 182 004 010 515 001 680

(b)

Physical properties Colour SG SSA 119863 [4 3] 119863 [3 2] 119863 (V 01) 119863 (V 05) 119863 (V 09)POFA Black 22 341 2006 349 323 1846 3827FA Grey 24 172 3643 176 048 1650 10174SG Specific gravitySSA Specific surface area m2g119863 [4 3] = Volume moment mean 120583m119863 [3 2] = Surface area moment mean (120583m)2119863 (V 01) = 10 of particle by volume below this size119863 (V 05) = 50 of particle by volume below this size119863 (V 09) = 90 of particle by volume below this size

0

20

40

60

80

100

01 1 10

Pass

ing

()

Sieve size (mm)

N-sandM-sand

QD

Grade Cupper limit

Grade Clower limit

Grade C based on BS EN 933-8-2012Fineness modulus 288 266 and 267 for N-sand M-sandQD respectively

Figure 3 Particle size distribution curve for N-sand M-sand andQD

Table 2 Particle size distribution of N-sand M-sand and QD

Sieve size Percentage of passingN-sand M-sand QD

5mm 9999 10000 9998236mm 8163 7091 7366118mm 6060 5209 5252600 120583m 3318 3034 2941300 120583m 1216 1312 1101Fineness modulus 288 266 26711986310 mm 027 030 03111986330 mm 050 055 14111986360 mm 124 142 057119862119906=1198636011986310

453 480 456119862119888=11986330

2(11986310times 11986360) 074 073 074

119862119906 uniformity coefficient 119862119888 coefficient of curvature

Table 3 Specific gravity and absorption of N-sand M-sand andQD

N-sand M-sand QDSpecific gravity

SSD 279 263 261Absorption () 081 091 092OD Oven DrySSD saturated surface dry

Table 4 Mortar mix design

Mortardesignation

Mix proportions by weight (kgm3)Fine aggregate

N-Sand M-Sand QDM1 1029 (100lowast)M2 771 (75) 257 (25)M3 257 (25) 771 (75)M4 1029 (100)M5 257 (75) 771 (25)M6 771 (25) 257 (75)M7 1029 (100)M8 257 (25) 771 (75)M9 771 (75) 257 (25)M10 514 (50) 257 (25) 257 (25)M11 257 (25) 514 (50) 257 (25)M12 257 (25) 257 (25) 514 (50)lowastProportion in percent in bracket ( )

210 Compressive Strength Test The specimens were pre-pared for 3- 7- and 14-day compressive strength tests Theaverage of three specimens was reported as the compressivestrength The standard deviation was calculated to ascertainany significant change in the test result The compressive


Table 5 Development of compressive strength for different mix designs

Designation Compressive strength (Nmm2)Three days SD Seven days SD 14 days SD 28 days SD

M 1 2075 063 2334 034 2683 023 2780 040M 2 2004 028 2203 097 2402 035 2510 050M 3 1814 022 1991 020 2467 013 2570 020M 4 1914 107 2101 020 2419 051 2520 060M 5 1759 110 1956 054 2233 086 2340 080M 6 1475 118 1776 063 1936 025 2050 070M 7 2156 014 2302 039 2503 023 2610 025M 8 2145 100 2290 121 2490 097 2600 106M 9 2081 031 2250 031 2500 112 2610 058M 10 1722 026 2008 026 2294 077 2400 043M 11 2128 064 2310 070 2492 075 2600 060M 12 1446 069 1688 072 2072 071 2180 070

strength test was carried on according to ASTM C 109C109M-12 [37]

3 Results and Discussion

31 Density The fresh and hardened densities of mortar fordifferent mix proportions at the ages of 3 7 14 and 28 daysare shown in Figure 4 The fresh densities of the 12 mixesare shown along the X-axis for zero compressive strengthsThe fresh and hardened densities vary in the range of 2060ndash2154 kgm3 and 1981ndash2069 kgm3 respectively The apparentdensity increases with the ratio of Si Al [11] Since themain variables for different mix proportions in geopolymermortar are N-sand M-sand QD the specific gravity ofthese materials influence the variation of densities Thus theinfluence of fresh densities of mixes M1 (100 N-sand)M4 (100 M-sand) and M7 (100 QD) of 2146 2060 and2060 kgm3 respectively could be related to the respectivespecific gravities of fine aggregates of 279 (N-sand) 263 (M-sand) and 261 (QD)

The changes in density at different ages are influencedby the geopolymerization and curing condition as theseundergo several dehydroxylation and crystallization phasesat a certain phase [11] Three types of water release take placeduring heating from geopolymer concrete namely physicallybonded water chemically bonded water and hydroxyl group(OHminus) [11] The rate of reduction of water from the hardenedgeopolymer causes the density reduction and it can be seenthat this reduction varies from 341 to 719 The correlationbetween the density and compressive strength at differentages of geopolymermortar is shown in Figure 5The gradientof compressive strengthdensity varies between 012 and 034

Figure 6 represents the relationship between the densityand compressive strength at 28-day age for all mortar spec-imens This relationship is comparable with the OPC basedmortarconcrete [16]The densities of themixesM1 (100N-sand) M4 (100 M-sand) and M7 (100 QD) at the age of28-day were found as 2028 1985 and 1982 kgm3 respectively(Figure 4) Their respective compressive strengths calculated

1980

2020

2060

2100

2140

2180

0 7 14 21 28Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12

Den

sity

(kg

m3)

Figure 4 Density versus age (days)

from the equation as given below (Figure 6) were found as2432MPa 2297MPa and 2286MPa respectively and thesevalues were close to the experimental results Consider

1198911015840119888 = 00315120588 minus 39558 (1)

where 1198911015840119888 and 120588 represent compressive strength (MPa) anddensity (kgm3)

32 Workability The workability results of the mortar foundout through flow table test for different mortar mix propor-tions are shown in Figure 7 The ratios of waterbinder andthe alkaline solutionbinder for all the mix proportions werekept constant The results show that the flow varied between43 and 89 and the variation of the consistency (flow )might be attributed to the particle texture [8] The additionof M-sand with N-sand (M2 and M3) slightly reduced theflow The highest flow of 89 was found for the mix M1 thatcontained 100 N-sand and this could be attributed to therounded surface of the N-sand particles [8] The variation


0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

1980 2016 2052 2088 2124 2160

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Density (kgm3)

M1 M2

M3M4

M5

M6 M7

M8M9

M10M11 M12 Linear (M1) Linear (M2)

Linear (M3)

Linear (M4) Linear (M5)


Linear (M8)



M1 f998400c = minus014120588 + 30693 R2 = 094M2 f998400c = minus033120588 + 68871 R2 = 090M3 f998400c = minus030120588 + 62513 R2 = 089M4 f998400c = minus030120588 + 61573 R2 = 087M5 f998400c = minus015120588 + 33042 R2 = 099M6 f998400c = minus018120588 + 38577 R2 = 098M7 f998400c = minus030120588 + 62025 R2 = 083M8 f998400c = minus020120588 + 42557 R2 = 095M9 f998400c = minus034120588 + 73073 R2 = 095M10 f998400c = minus023120588 + 48174 R2 = 091M11 f998400c = minus027120588 + 57204 R2 = 096M12 f998400c = minus012120588 + 26188 R2 = 086

Figure 5 Relationship between density and compressive strength at different ages of mortar mixes

19

21

23

25

27

1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070 2080Density at 28-day age (kgm3)

f998400c = 00315120588 minus 39558

28-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)

Figure 6 Relationship between density and compressive strength at28-day age

40

50

60

70

80

90

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Mor

tar fl

ow (

)

Mortar ID

Mortar flow

Figure 7 Mortar flow for different mix proportions

10

14

18

22

26

30

265

275

285

295

305

315

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Fine

ness

mod

ulus

Mortar ID

Fineness modulus28-day compressive strength

Figure 8 28-day compressive strength for different mortar mixproportion and the effect of fineness modulus

of flow is insignificant for the mixes with M-sand and QD(M5 and M6) The flow of M4 shows less flow (55) thanM7 (66) and one possible explanation could be the betterpacking ability of M-sand that might have reduced the flow

33 Development of Compressive Strength The compressivestrengths for different mix proportions at the ages of 3 7 14and 28 days are shown in Table 5 The 28-day compressivestrength for the mixes varied between 21 and 28Nmm2The standard deviations as shown in Table 5 were measuredfrom the results found for 3 specimens The bold values referto the compressive strength of mortar with 100 N-sandM-sand and QD The average 3-day compressive strengthof all mixes was found to be 76 of the 28-day strength


Explosive failure

Figure 9 Satisfactory failures (BS EN 12390-3 2002)

Figure 10 Failure mode

0000

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M1228-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)

Mortar ID

14 molarity NaOH solution12 molarity NaOH solution

Figure 11 Effect of molarity of alkaline activated solution incompressive strength

The pattern of early age strength development supports thefindings reported by previous researchers [11 38]

Figure 8 shows the comparison of the compressivestrengths for different mortar mixtures with varying pro-portion of N-sand M-sand and QD Though the mortarwith 100 N-sand produced the highest 28-day strength thecombination of N-sand with M-sand and QD reduced the

65

70

75

80

85

90

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12 Com

pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

tat

3-d

ay ag

e (

)

Mortar ID


Figure 12 Development of early age compressive strength

strength The shape texture and particle size distributionaffect the compressive strength [8] that might have beenattributed to the variation of the compressive strength asseen in Figure 8 The packing density is another factor thatinfluences the workability as well as the compressive strengthFung et al [39] cited from Powers [40] that for a constantvolume of binder paste higher packing density leads tohigher workability


Table 6 Percentage of increment of compressive strength

Equations Mortar IDM1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Three to 7 day 1198787 minus 1198783

1198783times 100 125 99 98 98 112 204 68 68 81 166 86 168

Seven to 14 day 11987814 minus 1198787

1198787times 100 149 90 239 151 142 90 88 88 111 143 79 227

14 to 28 day 11987828 minus 11987814

1198783times 100 37 42 41 41 45 52 40 40 40 44 40 48

1198783 1198787 11987814 and 11987828 are the compressive strengths at 3 7 14 and 28 days respectively

15

20

25

70 14 21 28

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12

Figure 13 Compressive strength (MPa) versus age (days)

65

75

85

95

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Com

pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

t (

)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Figure 14 of compressive strength development versus age(days)

34 Failure Mode The failure mode of N-sandM-sandQDbased geopolymer mortar was found to be similar to theN-sand based cement mortar Also the mode of failurewas found satisfactory as specified in BS EN 12390-32002(Figures 9 and 10)

35 Role of POFA-FA on the Development of CompressiveStrength The high content of pozzolanic silica and alumina

in POFA and FA causes the silica based geopolymerizationin presence of alkaline solution The silicaalumina ratioand total content of silica alumina and Fe

2O3affect the

strength development [11] It is to be noted that the bindersPOFA and FA were kept at equal proportions for all themixes The silicaalumina ratio and the total contents ofsilica alumina and Fe

2O3in the POFA-FA mixture were

found to be 395 and 82 respectively and Autef et al [41]reported that high amount of silica content increased the rateof geopolymerization

As seen from Table 1 90 of particles of POFA andFA were found below 3827 and 10174 120583m respectively Thefiner particles decrease the capillary pore effectively [42]Theangular and irregular shapedQDparticles create voids withinthe mortar The filler effect of the fine FA and POFA mightreduce the voids and Ashtiani et al [43] reported that higherpacking factor enhanced the compressive strength

The effect of oven curing on the strength developmentalso plays significant role in geopolymer mortar as seenfrom the 3-day compressive strength as seen from Table 6the achievement of 76 of 28-day compressive strength atthe age of 3-day is attributed to the heat curing in oven at65∘C temperature for 24 hours However the rate of strengthincrement from 3 days to 7 days was found between 12and 16 and beyond 7 days it is much lower as reportedby Alexander and Mindess [44] Similar finding on highearly strength development due to heat curing at elevatedtemperature was reported elsewhere [11 45] The fineness ofPOFA and FA also has significant effect on the developmentof early age strength at 3 days The finer particles havelarger surface area that may increase the reactivity in thegeopolymerization process [46]

36 Effect of Particle Size of N-SandM-SandQD on Geopoly-merization Tasong et al [47] reported that a wide range ofchemical interactions are anticipated within the interfacialtransition zone between aggregate and cement paste matrixIsabella et al [48] found a positive effect on the additionof soluble silicates into leaching solution by promotingsignificant structural breakdown of sand and metakaolinthey also reported that larger surface area of the aggregateinteracted with soluble silicates releasing a greater amountof Si It is conceivable that the fine particles of N-sandM-sandQD may interact with the alkaline solution in mortarthe rate of interaction with N-sandM-sand andQD surfacesmay be related to their particle surface area A strong bondingbetween geopolymer matrix and the aggregate surface by the


Rounded shape

Figure 15 Shape of manufactured sand particle (236mm retained)

Angular shape

Figure 16 Shape of quarry dust particle (236mm retained)

ionic interaction may exist [49] and this could enhance thedevelopment of compressive strength of N-sandM-sandQDbased geopolymer mortar

37 Effect of Molarity of Alkaline Activated Solution onDevelopment of Compressive Strength The effect of molarityof alkaline activated solution (NaOH solution) on the 28-day compressive strength is shown in Figure 11 As shown inFigure 12 development of early age compressive strength theearly age compressive strength at the age of 3 days for themix with 14M was found between 55 and 77 of the 28-daystrength and this is higher than the corresponding strength ofmixes with 12M The use of low concentrated alkaline solu-tion causes a weak reaction [50] The compressive strengthincrease in the mixes with high molarity based alkaline solu-tion was due to the leaching of silica and alumina [51] TheNaOH concentration performs the dissolution process andbonding of solid particles in the geopolymeric environment[52] The use of high concentration of NaOH solution leadsto greater dissolution and increases the geopolymerizationreaction [53] and this is supported by various studies [46 54ndash56]

38 Effect of Fineness Modulus on Compressive StrengthFigure 8 shows the variation of fineness modulus due tothe different mix proportion of N-sand M-sand and QDThe fineness modulus for the composite mix proportion

was calculated by arithmetic proportion [44] For examplemortar IDM11 represents N-sand M-sand QD = 25 50 25

Fineness modulus (FM) for M11

= FMN-sand times 025 + FMM-sand

times 050 + FMQD times 025 = 272

(2)

Hence the fineness moduli of the various combination of thefine aggregates using N-sand M-sand and QD vary from266 to 288 The values of fineness modulus of the combinedfine aggregates in this investigation fall in the medium rangebased on the classification as proposed by Alexander andMindess [44] It is to be noted that the binder content is keptconstant for all the mixes The mixes with more fine particlesneed large volume of paste as the surface area is more Thevariation in the compressive strength of the mortars between2036 and 2603MPa could be attributed to the paste volumeand the fineness or coarseness of the fine aggregates

39 Effect of N-Sand M-Sand and QD on Development ofCompressive Strength The compressive strengths at differentages along with their respective percentages with age areshown in Figures 13 and 14 The mortar using 100 N-sandshows better compressive strength performance than the mixwith M-sandThe replacement of N-sand by M-sand reducescompressive strength


Angular shape QD M-sandM-sand

QD

QD N-sand

Figure 17 N-sandM-sandQD interlocking in geopolymer mortar

The N-sand contains rounder and smoother particlethan M-sand (Figure 15) [8] and QD (Figure 16) Hudson[57] reported that rough aggregates have a propensity forincreasing water demand for a given workability Thus for agiven water content the N-sand is more workable than M-sand [8] The rough surfaces of M-sand particles demandmore water than N-sand In this study the water and bindercontent was kept constant This could lead to absorption ofwater from the alkali solution and this might have affectedthe reactivity of binder in alkali solutionThus the reductionof the compressive strength due to the replacement of N-sandby M-sand could be attributed to absorption of water by therough surfaces of M-sand

The 28-day compressive strengths of about 28MPa and25MPa were obtained for specimens with 100 N-sandand 100 M-sand respectively The reduction of strengthbetween these two mixes was found to be only 3MPa andsimilar finding on the strength difference for M-sand and N-sand was reported by Dumitru et al [58]

The mortar using 100 QD shows better performancethan the mix with M-sand in Figures 13 and 14 The presenceof high percentage of QD in composite fine aggregatemixture

of M-sand and QD reduces the strength (M5 M6) The par-ticle shape and texture may influence the strength reduction

TheQDhas sharp angular particles as shown in Figure 16According to Quiroga and Fowler [8] and Kaplan [59] theangularity of aggregates has a positive effect on the com-pressive strength Further the angularity of the aggregatesenhances the bond between the matrix and the aggregatesdue to its surface texture Galloway [60] also reported theeffect of surface texture on the strength significantly as roughsurface increases bonding between the aggregate surface andthe paste

Figure 17 shows the interlocking of N-sandM-sandQDin geopolymer mortar The combination of M-sand andQD might tend to create voids due to the combinationof semirounded particles and the sharp angular particlesFurther the increase in voids demands more water fora given workability and hence decreases the strength [8]Since the water binder ratio was maintained constant forall the mixes the composite mixes that contained both M-sand and QD might have absorbed more water that couldinfluence the geopolymerization process This might reducethe strength for mixes with high percentage of QD in the


Table 7 Development of compressive strength using N-sand M-sand and QD

Age 3-day 7-day 14-day 28-dayFine aggregate NC GM NC GM NC GM NC GMN-sand (100) 22 21 28 23 33 27 37 28M-Sand (100) 15 19 23 21 26 24 32 25QD (100) 19 21 28 23 32 25 37 26NC results from [Dumitru et al [58]] experiment on OPC concreteGM results from this experiment on geopolymer mortar

mixes that contained both theM-sand andQD Neverthelessthe strength reduction between the mixes with 100 QD and100M-sandwas negligible and similar finding was reportedby Dumitru et al [58]

Figures 13 and 14 show that there is not much significantdifference in the compressive strength due to the replacementof N-sand by QD either partially or fully The mixes withN-sand developed better strength due to its well-gradedand round particles As mentioned the angularity of QDparticles enhances the compressive strength and for a givenworkability the rough surface increases water demand [8]

The 28-day compressive strength of mixes with N-sandand QD were 28MPa and 26MPa respectively Again thestrength difference between these twomixes was about 2MPaand negligible Raman et al [61] found the similar effectof QD in rice husk ash based concrete and reported thatinclusion of QD as partial replacement for sand slightlydecreases the compressive strength of concreteDumitru et al[58] reported that the replacement ofN-sand byQDproducescomparable strength and hence QD is viable replacement toconventional N-sand for sustainable material

310 Comparison of M-Sand and QD in Geopolymer Mor-tar with Published Data Dumitru et al [58] investigatedthe effect of river sand manufactured quarry fines andunprocessed quarry fines that are comparable to the researchmaterials N-sand M-sand and QD respectively used in thisresearch work

The development of 3- 7- 14- and 28-day compressivestrength is quite similar to the outcome from this inves-tigation as seen from Table 7 The effect of QD M-sandand N-sand in both normal concrete (NC) and geopolymermortar (GM) between the 3 and 14 days shows similar trendsalbeit these are different kinds of concretes As known thegeopolymer concrete develops high early strength due togeopolymerization andhence the strength difference betweenthe 14- and 28-day strength was not much different unlikenormal concrete where the strength development continuesbeyond 14 days

4 Conclusions

(1) The mix with 100 replacement of N-sand by QDshowed higher compressive strength compared toreplacing N-sand by different proportion of M-sandand QD

(2) Though the compressive strength slightly reducesdue to the replacement of N-sand or QD by M-sand the M-sand is considered as a viable alternativeto conventional sand due to depletion of naturalresources The slight variation in the compressivestrength might be attributed to the aggregate shapeand texture

(3) The usage of 100 M-Sand in POFA-FA-basedgeopolymer mortar produced comparable strength asthat of 100 N-sand

(4) The use of QD as fine aggregate also reinforces the useof waste material as replacement for conventional N-sand the high strength of specimens with 100QD isattributed to the rough surfaces of QD that enhancesthe bond between the paste and the aggregates

(5) The replacement of conventional N-sand with M-sand and QD shows comparable strength as that ofN-sand based specimens and the use of M-sand andQD is recommended in geopolymer concrete

(6) The high concentration of sodium hydroxide solutionincreases the compressive strength

(7) Themixes withmore fine particles require more pasteto cover the surface areas but for the mixes withconstant binder content the influence of the finerparticles cannot be ignored

(8) The failure mode of geopolymer mortar was foundsimilar to that of Portland cement mortar

(9) The density and compressive strength relationship ofN-sandM-sandQD based geopolymer mortar wasalso found similar to that of the Portland cementmortar

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful to University of Malaya for thefinancial support through the University of Malaya ResearchProject ldquoRP0182012B Development of Geopolymer Concretefor Structural ApplicationrdquoThe research focuses on the devel-opment of geopolymer composite mortar using sustainablematerials such as fly ash (FA) and palm oil fuel ash (POFA) as


bindersThe researchmaterial can be accessed through SAGEpublication and through University of Malaya library

References

[1] U J Alengaram B A A Muhit and M Z B JumaatldquoUtilization of oil palm kernel shell as lightweight aggregate inconcretemdasha reviewrdquo Construction and Building Materials vol38 pp 161ndash172 2013

[2] S Rukzon and P Chindaprasirt ldquoUse of disposed waste ashfrom landfills to replace Portland cementrdquo Waste Managementamp Research vol 27 no 6 pp 588ndash594 2009

[3] M Safiuddin U J Alengaram M A Salam M Z Jumaat F FJaafar and H B Saad ldquoProperties of high-workability concretewith recycled concrete aggregaterdquo Materials Research vol 14no 2 pp 248ndash255 2011

[4] M Safiuddin M A Salam and M Z Jumaat ldquoUtilizationof palm oil fuel ash in concrete a reviewrdquo Journal of CivilEngineering and Management vol 17 no 2 pp 234ndash247 2011

[5] P Appukutty and RMurugesan ldquoSubstitution of quarry dust tosand for mortar in brick masonry worksrdquo International Journalon Design and Manufacturing Technologies vol 3 pp 59ndash632009

[6] MWesterholm B Lagerblad J Silfwerbrand and E ForssbergldquoInfluence of fine aggregate characteristics on the rheologicalproperties of mortarsrdquo Cement and Concrete Composites vol30 no 4 pp 274ndash282 2008

[7] J M Shilstone ldquoThe aggregate the most important value-adding component in concreterdquo inProceedings of the 7thAnnualSymposium International Center for Aggregates Research(ICAR) Austin Tex USA 1999

[8] P N Quiroga and D W Fowler The Effects of AggregatesCharacteristics on the Performance of Portland Cement ConcreteInternational Centre for Aggregates Research (ICAR) TheUniversity of Texas at Austin Austin Tex USA 2004

[9] B P Hudson ldquoModification to the fine aggregate angularitytestrdquo in Proceedings of the 7th Annual Symposium InternationalCenter forAggregates Research (ICAR)Austin TexUSA 1999

[10] M L Marceau M A Nisbet and M G VanGeem ldquoLife cycleinventory of Portland cement concreterdquo 5420 Old OrchardRoad Skokie Illinois 60077-1083 Portland Cement Associa-tion 2007

[11] J Davidovits Geopolymer Chemistry amp Application InstituteGeopolymer Saint-Quentin France 3rd edition 2008

[12] S Thokchom P Ghosh and S Ghosh ldquoDurability of fly ashgeopolymer mortars in nitric ACIDmdasheffect of alkali (Na

2O)

contentrdquo Journal of Civil Engineering and Management vol 17no 3 pp 393ndash399 2011

[13] A S M A Awal and M W Hussin ldquoThe effectiveness ofpalm oil fuel ash in preventing expansion due to alkali-silicareactionrdquo Cement and Concrete Composites vol 19 no 4 pp367ndash372 1997

[14] M W Hussin and A S M A Awal ldquoInfluence of palm oil fuelash on strength and durability of concreterdquo in Proceedings of the7th International Conference on Durability of Building Materialsand Components pp 291ndash298 E amp FN Spon London UK 1996

[15] J Zvironaite I Pundiene S Gaiducis and V Kizinievic ldquoEffectof different pozzolana on hardening process and properties ofhydraulic binder based on natural anhydriterdquo Journal of CivilEngineering and Management vol 18 pp 530ndash536 2012

[16] S Chandra and L Berntsson Light Weight Aggregate ConcreteNoyels Publications Norwich NY USA 2002

[17] P Shafigh U J Alengaram H B Mahmud and M Z JumaatldquoEngineering properties of oil palm shell lightweight concretecontaining fly ashrdquo Materials amp Design vol 49 pp 613ndash6212013

[18] S P Yap U J Alengaram and M Z Jumaat ldquoEnhancementof mechanical properties in polypropylene- and nylon-fibrereinforced oil palm shell concreterdquo Materials and Design vol49 pp 1034ndash1041 2013

[19] U JohnsonAlengaram BAAlMuhitM Z bin Jumaat andML Y Jing ldquoA comparison of the thermal conductivity of oil palmshell foamed concrete with conventional materialsrdquo Materialsand Design vol 51 pp 522ndash529 2013

[20] T Weng W Lin and A Cheng ldquoEffect of metakaolin onstrength and efflorescence quantity of cement-based compos-itesrdquo The Scientific World Journal vol 2013 Article ID 60652411 pages 2013

[21] M Safiuddin M HM Isa andM Z Jumaat ldquoFresh propertiesof self-consolidating concrete incorporating palm oil fuel ashas a supplementary cementing materialrdquo Chiang Mai Journal ofScience vol 38 no 3 pp 389ndash404 2011

[22] S K Lim C S Tan O Y Lim and Y L Lee ldquoFresh andhardened properties of lightweight foamed concrete with palmoil fuel ash as fillerrdquo Construction and Building Materials vol46 pp 39ndash47 2013

[23] N M Altwair M A Megat Johari and S F Saiyid HashimldquoFlexural performance of green engineered cementitious com-posites containing high volume of palm oil fuel ashrdquo Construc-tion and Building Materials vol 37 pp 518ndash525 2012

[24] W Kroehong T Sinsiri and C Jaturapitakkul ldquoEffect of palmoil fuel ash fineness on packing effect and pozzolanic reactionof blended cement pasterdquo Procedia Engineering vol 14 pp 361ndash369 2011

[25] M M Tamim A Dhar and M S Hossain ldquoFly ash inBangladeshminusan overviewrdquo International Journal of Scientific ampEngineering Research vol 4 pp 809ndash812 2013

[26] N K Lee and H K Lee ldquoSetting and mechanical propertiesof alkali-activated fly ashslag concrete manufactured at roomtemperaturerdquo Construction and Building Materials vol 47 pp1201ndash1209 2013

[27] C Nagiah and R Azmi ldquoA review of smallholder oilpalm production challenges and opportunities for enhancingsustainabilitymdasha Malaysian perspectiverdquo Journal of Oil Palm ampthe Environment vol 3 pp 114ndash120 2012

[28] NMAltwairMAM Johari and S F SHashim ldquoInfluence oftreated palm oil fuel ash on compressive properties and chlorideresistance of engineered cementitious compositesrdquo Materialsand Structures pp 1ndash16 2013

[29] A Hawa D Tonnayopas and W Prachasaree ldquoPerformanceevaluation and microstructure characterization of Metakaolin-based geopolymer containing Oil Palm Ashrdquo The ScientificWorld Journal vol 2013 Article ID 857586 9 pages 2013

[30] S E Wallah and B V Rangan ldquoLow-calcium fly ash-basedgeopolymer concrete long-term propertiesrdquo Research ReportGC 2 Engineering Faculty Curtin University of TechnologyPerth Australia 2006

[31] D Hardjito S E Wallah D M J Sumajouw and B V RanganldquoOn the development of fly ash-based geopolymer concreterdquoAustralian Journal of Structural Engineering vol 6 no 6 ArticleID 101-M52 pp 77ndash84 2005


[32] R H Kupaei U J Alengaram M Z B Jumaat and HNikraz ldquoMix design for fly ash based oil palm shell geopolymerlightweight concreterdquo Construction and Building Materials vol43 pp 490ndash496 2013

[33] British Standard BS 882 Specification for Aggregates fromNatural Sources for Concrete British Standards Institute 1992

[34] ASTM Standard C29C29M-09 Standard Test Method for BulkDensity (Unit Weight) and Voids in Aggregate ASTM Interna-tional West Conshohocken Pa USA 2009

[35] ASTM C128-12 Standard Test Method for Density RelativeDensity (Specific Gravity) and Absorption of Fine AggregateASTM International West Conshohocken Pa USA

[36] ASTM International ldquoStandard test method for flow ofhydraulic cement mortarrdquo ASTM C1437-13 ASTM Interna-tional West Conshohocken Pa USA

[37] ASTM International C 109C 109M Standard Test Methodfor Compressive Strength of Hydraulic Cement Mortars (Using2-in or [50-mm] Cube Specimens) ASTM International WestConshohocken Pa USA 1999

[38] N Lloyd and V Rangan ldquoGeopolymer concrete-sustainablecementless concreterdquo ACI Special Publication vol 261 pp 33ndash54 2009

[39] WW S Fung A K H Kwan andHH CWong ldquoWet packingof crushed rock fine aggregaterdquoMaterials and Structures vol 42no 5 pp 631ndash643 2009

[40] T C Powers The Properties of Fresh Concrete Road ResearchLaboratory Hoboken NJ USA 1969

[41] A Autef E Joussein G Gasgnier and S Rossignol ldquoRole of thesilica source on the geopolymerization rate a thermal analysisstudyrdquo Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids vol 366 no 1 pp 13ndash21 2013

[42] P Chindaprasirt C Jaturapitakkul and T Sinsiri ldquoEffect offly ash fineness on microstructure of blended cement pasterdquoConstruction and BuildingMaterials vol 21 no 7 pp 1534ndash15412007

[43] M S Ashtiani A N Scott and R P Dhakal ldquoMechanicaland fresh properties of high-strength self-compacting concretecontaining class C fly ashrdquo Construction and Building Materialsvol 47 pp 1217ndash1224 2013

[44] M Alexander and S Mindess Aggregates in Concrete Taylor ampFrancis Abingdon UK 2005

[45] S Pangdaeng T Phoo-Ngernkham V Sata and P Chin-daprasirt ldquoInfluence of curing conditions on properties of highcalcium fly ash geopolymer containing Portland cement asadditiverdquoMaterials amp Design vol 53 pp 269ndash274 2014

[46] K Somna C Jaturapitakkul P Kajitvichyanukul and P Chin-daprasirt ldquoNaOH-activated ground fly ash geopolymer cured atambient temperaturerdquo Fuel vol 90 no 6 pp 2118ndash2124 2011

[47] W A Tasong J C Cripps and C J Lynsdale ldquoAggregate-cement chemical interactionsrdquo Cement and Concrete Researchvol 28 no 7 pp 1037ndash1048 1998

[48] C Isabella GC LukeyHXu and J S J VDeventer ldquoThe effectof aggregate particle size on formation of geopolymeric gelrdquo inAdvanced Materials for Construction of Bridges Buildings andOther Structures III VMistry A Azizinamini and J M HooksEds ECI Digital Archives Davos Switzerland 2003

[49] W K W Lee and J S J van Deventer ldquoChemical interac-tions between siliceous aggregates and low-Ca alkali-activatedcementsrdquo Cement and Concrete Research vol 37 no 6 pp 844ndash855 2007

[50] F Puertas S Martınez-Ramırez S Alonso and T VazquezldquoAlkali-activated fly ashslag cements Strength behaviour andhydration productsrdquo Cement and Concrete Research vol 30 no10 pp 1625ndash1632 2000

[51] P Chindaprasirt C Jaturapitakkul W Chalee and U Rat-tanasak ldquoComparative study on the characteristics of fly ash andbottom ash geopolymersrdquoWasteManagement vol 29 no 2 pp539ndash543 2009

[52] E Alvarez-Ayuso X Querol F Plana et al ldquoEnvironmentalphysical and structural characterisation of geopolymermatrixessynthesised from coal (co-)combustion fly ashesrdquo Journal ofHazardous Materials vol 154 no 1ndash3 pp 175ndash183 2008

[53] X Guo H Shi and W A Dick ldquoCompressive strength andmicrostructural characteristics of class C fly ash geopolymerrdquoCement and Concrete Composites vol 32 no 2 pp 142ndash1472010

[54] G Kovalchuk A Fernandez-Jimenez and A Palomo ldquoAlkali-activated fly ash effect of thermal curing conditions onmechan-ical and microstructural developmentmdashpart IIrdquo Fuel vol 86no 3 pp 315ndash322 2007

[55] D Hardjito C C Cheak and C H L Ing ldquoStrength and settingtimes of low calcium fly ash-based geopolymermortarrdquoModernApplied Science vol 2 pp 3ndash11 2009

[56] F A Memon M F Nuruddin S Khan N Shafiq and T AyubldquoEffect of sodium hydroxide concentration on fresh propertiesand compressive strength of self-compacting geopolymer con-creterdquo Journal of Engineering Science and Technology vol 8 no1 pp 44ndash56 2013

[57] B P Hudson ldquoConcrete workability with high fines contentsandsrdquo Quarry vol 7 pp 22ndash25 1999

[58] I Dumitru T Zdrilic and G Smorchevsky ldquoThe use ofmanufactured quarry fines in concreterdquo in Proceedings of the 7thAnnual Symposium on Aggregates-Concrete Bases and Fines ppC1-5-1ndashC1-5-12 International Centre for Aggregates Research(ICAR) Austin Tex USA 1999

[59] MKaplanTheFle xural andCompressive Strength of Concrete asAffected by the Properties of Coarse Aggregates National Build-ing Research Institute Council for Scientific and IndustrialResearch (CSIR) 1960

[60] JE Galloway ldquoGrading Shape and Surface Propertiesrdquo ASTMInternational 1994

[61] S N Raman T Ngo P Mendis and H B Mahmud ldquoHigh-strength rice husk ash concrete incorporating quarry dust as apartial substitute for sandrdquoConstruction and BuildingMaterialsvol 25 no 7 pp 3123ndash3130 2011

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

CorrosionInternational Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Polymer ScienceInternational Journal of



CeramicsJournal of


CompositesJournal of

NanoparticlesJournal of



International Journal of

Biomaterials


NanoscienceJournal of

TextilesHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

NanotechnologyHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

CrystallographyJournal of


The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014


CoatingsJournal of

Advances in

Materials Science and EngineeringHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Smart Materials Research



MetallurgyJournal of


BioMed Research International

MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials


Journal ofNanomaterials


particles lead to less workable mixtures than cubical orspherical particles Conversely for given workability flakyand elongated particles increase the demand for water thusaffecting strength of hardened concrete The void content isalso affected by angularity

In fact the angular particles tend to increase the demandfor water as these particles increase the void content com-pared to rounded particles [8] The rough aggregate increasethe water demand for given workability [9] Since N-sandis often rounded and smooth compared to M-sand N-sandusually requires less water thanM-sand for given workability[8] However workable concrete can be made with angularand rough particles if they are cubical and well graded

Besides the depletion of natural resources another envi-ronmental problem is the greenhouse effect One of themain reasons for the greenhouse effect is the emission ofcarbon dioxide (CO

2) from the ordinary Portland cement

(OPC) based concrete production Marceau et al [10] statedthat about 60 of CO

2emission was due to the OPC

production The development of cement less concrete is abig challenge to the researchers nowadays Davidovits [11] isthe pioneer in introducing geopolymer concrete which emitsno CO

2 Thokchom et al [12] investigated the performance

of geopolymer mortar and found excellent performance interms of durability with less weight loss Silica and aluminaare the main compounds to activate the geopolymerizationprocess The raw materials consisting of silica and aluminaare known as pozzolanicmaterial Rukzon and Chindaprasirt[2] studied the resistance of sulphate attack of cement fordifferent proportion of replacement by palm oil fuel ash(POFA) fly ash (FA) and rice husk ash (RHA) and reportedthat POFA FA and RHA have a potentiality to be pozzolanicmaterial POFA and FA are two readily available industrialby-products those could be the right choice as pozzolanicmaterials in the development of geopolymer concrete [13 14]Zvironaite et al [15] studied the effect of different pozzolanson the hardening process of binder

The use of industrial by-product such as FA silicafume (SF) ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS)metakaolin bottom ash and quarry fines in the developmentof sustainable materials has substantially reduced pollution[16ndash20] In southeast Asian countries such as MalaysiaThailand and Indonesia the abundance of waste materialssuch as RHA POFA FA GGBS oil palm shell (OPS) andpalm oil clickers has given right platform for researchersto explore the possibility of converting these wastes intopotential construction materials [21ndash26]

About 85 of worldrsquos palm oil is being produced inIndonesia and Malaysia [27] Therefore the developmentof green concrete using these two industrial by-productsnamely POFA and FA could enhance the use of the localwaste material to develop sustainable concrete The use ofPOFA in concrete industry as a cementing material reducesthe environmental and health problems [4] Altwair et al [23]stated that concrete containing POFA improved the flexuredeflection capacity and reduced the crack width Altwairet al [28] also reported that POFA had a good influencein achieving strain-hardening behavior and it enhancedthe fracture toughness Safiuddin et al [21] improved the

segregation resistance self-consolidated concrete incorporat-ing POFA Lim et al [22] reported that foamed concreteincorporating POFA enhanced compressive flexure splittingtensile strength and ductility Hawa et al [29] evaluatedthe performance and microstructure characterization ofmetakaolin based geopolymer concrete containing POFA

Wallah and Rangan [30] and Hardjito et al [31] intro-duced fly ash (FA) in geopolymer concrete as a completereplacement of cement Further the benefit of using industrialby-products such as fly ash palm oil shells also known asoil palm shells (OPS) in the development of lightweightconcrete has been detailed by Chandra and Berntsson [16]The engineering properties of high-strength lightweight OPSconcrete with the replacement of cement by different pro-portion of FA were investigated [17] Johnson Alengaramet al [19] compared the thermal conductivity between OPSfoamed concrete and conventional concrete Kupaei et al [32]proposed an appropriate mix design for geopolymer concreteusing the two waste materials OPS and FA

Since the geopolymer concretemortar utilizes wastematerials such as POFA FA M-sand QD OPS and otherindustrial wastes the researches on geopolymer lead tosustainable materialThe purpose of this paper therefore is toinvestigate the effect of M-sand and QD in POFA-FA-basedgeopolymer mortar in developing compressive strength

2 Materials and Methods

21 Material Collection and Preparation The POFA and FAwere collected locally from Jugra Palm Oil Mill and LafargeMalayan Cements respectively The M-sand and QD weresupplied by Batu Tiga Quarry Sdn Bhd a subsidiary of YTLCements

The raw POFA was sieved through 300 120583m size sieve andthen dried in an oven before being ground 30000 cyclesin 16 hours in a grinding machine Forty mild steel rodsof 10mm diameter and 400mm length were placed in theLos Angeles grinding machine to grind the POFA FA wasstored in air tight containers The fine aggregate (N-sand M-sand and QD) were dried sieved through 5mm sieve andretained on 300 120583m sieve then were used in the preparationof geopolymer mortar

22 Chemical Composition and Particle Size Distribution ofPOFA and FA Figure 1 shows the powder forms of POFAand FA The POFA and FA particles sieved through 45120583mhave been used for bothXRF and the particle size distributiontests The chemical compounds of POFA and FA were deter-mined using PANalytical X-ray fluorescence (XRF) machinethrough Omnian analysis The particle size distribution wasdone by particle size analyzer through polydisperse analysisThe test results on X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for chemicalcomposition and particle size distribution of POFA and FAare shown in Figure 2 and Table 1

The percentages of SiO2 Al2O3 and Fe

2O3are 7614

and 8715 in POFA and FA respectively According to ASTMC618 the POFA and FA are categorized as class F since thesesamples contain at least 70 of SiO

2 Al2O3 and Fe

2O3


(a) (b)


0

10

20

30

40

50

0

20

40

60

80

100

001 01 1 10 100 1000

Volu

me r

etai

ning

()

Volu

me p

assin

g (

)














2SiO3)







(a)


(b)


0

20

40

60

80

100

01 1 10

Pass

ing

()

Sieve size (mm)

N-sandM-sand

QD

Grade Cupper limit

Grade Clower limit






453 480 456119862119888=11986330

2(11986310times 11986360) 074 073 074






Mortardesignation







M 1 2075 063 2334 034 2683 023 2780 040M 2 2004 028 2203 097 2402 035 2510 050M 3 1814 022 1991 020 2467 013 2570 020M 4 1914 107 2101 020 2419 051 2520 060M 5 1759 110 1956 054 2233 086 2340 080M 6 1475 118 1776 063 1936 025 2050 070M 7 2156 014 2302 039 2503 023 2610 025M 8 2145 100 2290 121 2490 097 2600 106M 9 2081 031 2250 031 2500 112 2610 058M 10 1722 026 2008 026 2294 077 2400 043M 11 2128 064 2310 070 2492 075 2600 060M 12 1446 069 1688 072 2072 071 2180 070






1980

2020

2060

2100

2140

2180

0 7 14 21 28Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12

Den

sity

(kg

m3)



1198911015840119888 = 00315120588 minus 39558 (1)




0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

1980 2016 2052 2088 2124 2160

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Density (kgm3)

M1 M2

M3M4

M5

M6 M7

M8M9


Linear (M3)



Linear (M8)





19

21

23

25

27


f998400c = 00315120588 minus 39558

28-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)


40

50

60

70

80

90

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Mor

tar fl

ow (

)

Mortar ID

Mortar flow


10

14

18

22

26

30

265

275

285

295

305

315

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Fine

ness

mod

ulus

Mortar ID






Explosive failure



0000

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M1228-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)

Mortar ID





65

70

75

80

85

90


pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

tat

3-d

ay ag

e (

)

Mortar ID








1198783times 100 125 99 98 98 112 204 68 68 81 166 86 168


1198787times 100 149 90 239 151 142 90 88 88 111 143 79 227

14 to 28 day 11987828 minus 11987814

1198783times 100 37 42 41 41 45 52 40 40 40 44 40 48


15

20

25

70 14 21 28

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12


65

75

85

95

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Com

pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

t (

)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12





2O3affect the








Rounded shape


Angular shape









(2)





QD

QD N-sand
















4 Conclusions












Acknowledgment




References













2O)



























































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials




(a) (b)


0

10

20

30

40

50

0

20

40

60

80

100

001 01 1 10 100 1000

Volu

me r

etai

ning

()

Volu

me p

assin

g (

)














2SiO3)







(a)


(b)


0

20

40

60

80

100

01 1 10

Pass

ing

()

Sieve size (mm)

N-sandM-sand

QD

Grade Cupper limit

Grade Clower limit






453 480 456119862119888=11986330

2(11986310times 11986360) 074 073 074






Mortardesignation







M 1 2075 063 2334 034 2683 023 2780 040M 2 2004 028 2203 097 2402 035 2510 050M 3 1814 022 1991 020 2467 013 2570 020M 4 1914 107 2101 020 2419 051 2520 060M 5 1759 110 1956 054 2233 086 2340 080M 6 1475 118 1776 063 1936 025 2050 070M 7 2156 014 2302 039 2503 023 2610 025M 8 2145 100 2290 121 2490 097 2600 106M 9 2081 031 2250 031 2500 112 2610 058M 10 1722 026 2008 026 2294 077 2400 043M 11 2128 064 2310 070 2492 075 2600 060M 12 1446 069 1688 072 2072 071 2180 070






1980

2020

2060

2100

2140

2180

0 7 14 21 28Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12

Den

sity

(kg

m3)



1198911015840119888 = 00315120588 minus 39558 (1)




0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

1980 2016 2052 2088 2124 2160

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Density (kgm3)

M1 M2

M3M4

M5

M6 M7

M8M9


Linear (M3)



Linear (M8)





19

21

23

25

27


f998400c = 00315120588 minus 39558

28-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)


40

50

60

70

80

90

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Mor

tar fl

ow (

)

Mortar ID

Mortar flow


10

14

18

22

26

30

265

275

285

295

305

315

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Fine

ness

mod

ulus

Mortar ID






Explosive failure



0000

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M1228-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)

Mortar ID





65

70

75

80

85

90


pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

tat

3-d

ay ag

e (

)

Mortar ID








1198783times 100 125 99 98 98 112 204 68 68 81 166 86 168


1198787times 100 149 90 239 151 142 90 88 88 111 143 79 227

14 to 28 day 11987828 minus 11987814

1198783times 100 37 42 41 41 45 52 40 40 40 44 40 48


15

20

25

70 14 21 28

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12


65

75

85

95

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Com

pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

t (

)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12





2O3affect the








Rounded shape


Angular shape









(2)





QD

QD N-sand
















4 Conclusions












Acknowledgment




References













2O)



























































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials





(a)


(b)


0

20

40

60

80

100

01 1 10

Pass

ing

()

Sieve size (mm)

N-sandM-sand

QD

Grade Cupper limit

Grade Clower limit






453 480 456119862119888=11986330

2(11986310times 11986360) 074 073 074






Mortardesignation







M 1 2075 063 2334 034 2683 023 2780 040M 2 2004 028 2203 097 2402 035 2510 050M 3 1814 022 1991 020 2467 013 2570 020M 4 1914 107 2101 020 2419 051 2520 060M 5 1759 110 1956 054 2233 086 2340 080M 6 1475 118 1776 063 1936 025 2050 070M 7 2156 014 2302 039 2503 023 2610 025M 8 2145 100 2290 121 2490 097 2600 106M 9 2081 031 2250 031 2500 112 2610 058M 10 1722 026 2008 026 2294 077 2400 043M 11 2128 064 2310 070 2492 075 2600 060M 12 1446 069 1688 072 2072 071 2180 070






1980

2020

2060

2100

2140

2180

0 7 14 21 28Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12

Den

sity

(kg

m3)



1198911015840119888 = 00315120588 minus 39558 (1)




0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

1980 2016 2052 2088 2124 2160

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Density (kgm3)

M1 M2

M3M4

M5

M6 M7

M8M9


Linear (M3)



Linear (M8)





19

21

23

25

27


f998400c = 00315120588 minus 39558

28-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)


40

50

60

70

80

90

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Mor

tar fl

ow (

)

Mortar ID

Mortar flow


10

14

18

22

26

30

265

275

285

295

305

315

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Fine

ness

mod

ulus

Mortar ID






Explosive failure



0000

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M1228-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)

Mortar ID





65

70

75

80

85

90


pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

tat

3-d

ay ag

e (

)

Mortar ID








1198783times 100 125 99 98 98 112 204 68 68 81 166 86 168


1198787times 100 149 90 239 151 142 90 88 88 111 143 79 227

14 to 28 day 11987828 minus 11987814

1198783times 100 37 42 41 41 45 52 40 40 40 44 40 48


15

20

25

70 14 21 28

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12


65

75

85

95

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Com

pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

t (

)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12





2O3affect the








Rounded shape


Angular shape









(2)





QD

QD N-sand
















4 Conclusions












Acknowledgment




References













2O)



























































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials






M 1 2075 063 2334 034 2683 023 2780 040M 2 2004 028 2203 097 2402 035 2510 050M 3 1814 022 1991 020 2467 013 2570 020M 4 1914 107 2101 020 2419 051 2520 060M 5 1759 110 1956 054 2233 086 2340 080M 6 1475 118 1776 063 1936 025 2050 070M 7 2156 014 2302 039 2503 023 2610 025M 8 2145 100 2290 121 2490 097 2600 106M 9 2081 031 2250 031 2500 112 2610 058M 10 1722 026 2008 026 2294 077 2400 043M 11 2128 064 2310 070 2492 075 2600 060M 12 1446 069 1688 072 2072 071 2180 070






1980

2020

2060

2100

2140

2180

0 7 14 21 28Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12

Den

sity

(kg

m3)



1198911015840119888 = 00315120588 minus 39558 (1)




0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

1980 2016 2052 2088 2124 2160

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Density (kgm3)

M1 M2

M3M4

M5

M6 M7

M8M9


Linear (M3)



Linear (M8)





19

21

23

25

27


f998400c = 00315120588 minus 39558

28-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)


40

50

60

70

80

90

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Mor

tar fl

ow (

)

Mortar ID

Mortar flow


10

14

18

22

26

30

265

275

285

295

305

315

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Fine

ness

mod

ulus

Mortar ID






Explosive failure



0000

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M1228-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)

Mortar ID





65

70

75

80

85

90


pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

tat

3-d

ay ag

e (

)

Mortar ID








1198783times 100 125 99 98 98 112 204 68 68 81 166 86 168


1198787times 100 149 90 239 151 142 90 88 88 111 143 79 227

14 to 28 day 11987828 minus 11987814

1198783times 100 37 42 41 41 45 52 40 40 40 44 40 48


15

20

25

70 14 21 28

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12


65

75

85

95

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Com

pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

t (

)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12





2O3affect the








Rounded shape


Angular shape









(2)





QD

QD N-sand
















4 Conclusions












Acknowledgment




References













2O)



























































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials




0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

1980 2016 2052 2088 2124 2160

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Density (kgm3)

M1 M2

M3M4

M5

M6 M7

M8M9


Linear (M3)



Linear (M8)





19

21

23

25

27


f998400c = 00315120588 minus 39558

28-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)


40

50

60

70

80

90

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Mor

tar fl

ow (

)

Mortar ID

Mortar flow


10

14

18

22

26

30

265

275

285

295

305

315

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Fine

ness

mod

ulus

Mortar ID






Explosive failure



0000

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M1228-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)

Mortar ID





65

70

75

80

85

90


pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

tat

3-d

ay ag

e (

)

Mortar ID








1198783times 100 125 99 98 98 112 204 68 68 81 166 86 168


1198787times 100 149 90 239 151 142 90 88 88 111 143 79 227

14 to 28 day 11987828 minus 11987814

1198783times 100 37 42 41 41 45 52 40 40 40 44 40 48


15

20

25

70 14 21 28

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12


65

75

85

95

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Com

pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

t (

)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12





2O3affect the








Rounded shape


Angular shape









(2)





QD

QD N-sand
















4 Conclusions












Acknowledgment




References













2O)



























































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials




Explosive failure



0000

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M1228-d

ay co

mpr

essiv

e stre

ngth

(MPa

)

Mortar ID





65

70

75

80

85

90


pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

tat

3-d

ay ag

e (

)

Mortar ID








1198783times 100 125 99 98 98 112 204 68 68 81 166 86 168


1198787times 100 149 90 239 151 142 90 88 88 111 143 79 227

14 to 28 day 11987828 minus 11987814

1198783times 100 37 42 41 41 45 52 40 40 40 44 40 48


15

20

25

70 14 21 28

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12


65

75

85

95

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Com

pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

t (

)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12





2O3affect the








Rounded shape


Angular shape









(2)





QD

QD N-sand
















4 Conclusions












Acknowledgment




References













2O)



























































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials







1198783times 100 125 99 98 98 112 204 68 68 81 166 86 168


1198787times 100 149 90 239 151 142 90 88 88 111 143 79 227

14 to 28 day 11987828 minus 11987814

1198783times 100 37 42 41 41 45 52 40 40 40 44 40 48


15

20

25

70 14 21 28

Com

pres

sive s

treng

th (M

Pa)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9M10 M11 M12


65

75

85

95

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Com

pres

sive s

treng

th d

evelo

pmen

t (

)

Age (days)

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12





2O3affect the








Rounded shape


Angular shape









(2)





QD

QD N-sand
















4 Conclusions












Acknowledgment




References













2O)



























































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials




Rounded shape


Angular shape









(2)





QD

QD N-sand
















4 Conclusions












Acknowledgment




References













2O)



























































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials





QD

QD N-sand
















4 Conclusions












Acknowledgment




References













2O)



























































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials











4 Conclusions












Acknowledgment




References













2O)



























































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials





References













2O)



























































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials









































CeramicsJournal of







Biomaterials




Journal of


Journal of





CoatingsJournal of

Advances in








MaterialsJournal of


Nano

materials



Research Article The Effect of Variation of Molarity of...

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Transcript of Research Article The Effect of Variation of Molarity of...