Materials Used

-Materials used in this research

consisted of Bentonite , which is an
impure clay that forms from
wheathering of volcanic ash in
presence of water .
Bentonite is also called has BLACK
COTTON soil.
-Metakaolin is a dehydroxylated form
of the clay mineral kaolinite. Stone
that are rich in kaolinite are known as
china clay or kaolin, traditionally used
in the manufacture of porcelain.
-Sodium Hydroxide(NaoH) of 10M
concentration.
-Sodium silicate(SiO2).

Sodium silicate/NaOH ratio

The effects of compressive strength of
lightweight geopolymer concrete with
varies NS/NaOH ratios. The
compressive strength increased with
the increasing of NS/NaOH
ratios.Similar increases in strength
were reported with NS/NaOH ratio up
to 1.50, however, the increased in
NS/NaOH ratio beyond this value
resulted in a reduction in strength due
to difficulties in compaction
of the mixes as the mix was too stiff
with the low liquid/ash ratio of 0.6. For
this study, the strength increased
even with the NS/NaOH ratio of 3.0.
The increase in strength at this
NS/NaOH ratio was possible as a result
of high liquid/metakoalin ratio of 2.2

which made the mix workable and

compactable.
12
10
8

Compressive Strength(MPa)

0F
30F

70F

2
0
0.33

0.67

Sodium Silicate/NaoH ratio

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

Details of mixing
Bentonite and Metakoalin were firstly
mixed for 5 min in a pan mixer.

Sodium silicate solution was then

added and mixing was done for
another 5 min until the mixture was
uniform. The NaoH solution was added
next and mixing was done for 1.5 min.
The fresh lightweight geopolymer
concretes were placed into 7.2 mm
cube molds in accordance with
ASTM:C109.
The specimens were covered damp
cloth and plastic sheet to prevent
moisture loss and placed in a 25 _C
controlled room for 24hrs.The
specimens were then demoldedand
transferred to oven curing for 48 hr.

Details of test
1.Density and compressive
strength

The density was determined at the

ages of 28 days using the
compressive strength specimens as
described in ASTM:C138. The density
was measured. After the density
determination, the cube specimens
were tested to determine the
compressive strength in accordance
with ASTM:C109. The reported density
and compressive strengths were the
average of three samples
2. Water absorption and porosity
The cube specimens of series were
tested for porosity and water
absorption at the age of 28 days in
accordance with ASTM:C642. The
porosity was calculated using Eq. (1)
and the water absorption was
calculated using Eq. (2).

Porosity(%) = (C-A)/(C-D)
(1)
Absorption(%) =[(B-A)/A]*100
(2)
where A is the mass of oven dry
sample in air (g), B is mass of surface
dry sample in air after immersion (g),
C is mass of surface dry sample in air
after immersion and boiling (g), and D
is apparent mass of sample in water
after immersion and boiling (g)
3.Modulus of elasticity
The cylinder specimens of series were
tested for the chord modulus at the
age of 28 days in accordance with
ASTM:C469. The reported results were
the average of two samples.
4. Temperature of curing

The results of compressive strength of

lightweight geopolymer concrete with
various temperatures of curing are
shown in Fig 1. The compressive
strength increased with the increasing
temperature of curing. For example,
the 28-day compressive strength of
70F mixes with temperature of curing
of 25, 40, and 60 _C were 6.6, 9.4, and
10.5 MPa, respectively. The increase in
temperature of curing to 60 _C
enhanced the geopolymerization and
increased the strength of

geopolymer .
12
10
8

Compressive Strength(MPa)

0F
30F

70F

2
0
25

40

60

Temp of curing (degree C)

Fig 1 Compressive
Strength
The results of densities of lightweight
geopolymer concrete with various
temperatures of curing are shown in
Fig2. The densities of lightweight
concrete, however, decreased with
the increase in temperature of curing
due to the increased

geopolymerization and the loss of

moisture from the sample.
1600
1400
1200
1000
Density(Kg/m^3)

800

0F
30F

600

70F

400
200
0
25

40

60

Temp of curing (degree C)

Fig 2 Density
Sample preparation and
unconfined compressive strength
(UCS) test
The soil samples for UCS test were
prepared using cylindrical molds,
which have an inner diameter of 3.6
cm and a height/diameter ratio of 2.0

for reducing the end effects during

UCS testing. For geopolymer stabilized
soils, the Metakoalin geopolymer
(MKG) precursor was prepared and
poured into soils at predetermined
concentrations. Then extra water was
added to the soil to meet the
Optimum Water Content(OWC), and
the soil was mixed for about 10 min to
achieve a homogeneous mixture. All
samples were statically compacted in
three layers manually with standard
tamping rod . The compacted
specimens were extruded with a
Harvard Miniature Compaction
Apparatus immediately after
compaction, wrapped with plastic film,
and cured in a plastic chamber that
was equipped with a humidifier that
maintained a nearly constant relative

humidity (RH) (aprox 40%) and

temperature (aprox 23 degreeC). After
2 days curing, the specimens were
unwrapped and continued to cure in
the chamber until UCS testing. During
the curing process, the diameter and
height of each sample were measured
at the following time intervals: right
after extrusion, unwrapping (i.e., 2
days), 3, 4, 7, 14, and 28 days, to
determine its volumetric changes. The
soils were stabilized with geopolymers
at the concentrations of 3%, 5%, 8%,
11%, or 15%, where the concentration
is the mass percentage of the soil and
stabilizer mixture. Note that these
concentrations were used in this study
since they are practically reasonable
values and very little information is
available in the literature on the

concentration of geopolymer for soil

stabilization. For soil stabilization with
OPC, 5% is a typical value to provide a
baseline for the stabilization efficacy
of OPC as the most common soil
stabilizer. The samples of unstabilized
soil (MKG) were also prepared as
control group 1. Three replicates of
each sample set were prepared to
assure reproducibility. The UCS of the
cured samples were determined in an
unconfined Compression Machine at a
loading rate of 0.2 in./min. The
Youngs modulus (E) of each sample
was derived as the slope of the stress
strain curve, as illustrated in Fig.
According to ASTM E-111 [38], the
tangent modulus or chord modulus of
the stressstrain curve from UCS
testing can be used as the estimate of

Youngs modulus. To exclude the

artifactual stiffening effect, as
indicated by the initial concave up
portion of the curve in Fig, on the soil
samples due to the testing conditions,
a tangent line of the linear part of the
curve was drawn and its slope was
used as the Youngs Modulus, as
shown in Fig. The stiffening feature of
the observed stressstrain curves may
be caused by the samples uneven
end surfaces, and hence a better
contact was achieved after some load
was applied.

12
10
8

Compressive Stress(MPa)

6
4
2
0
0

10

12

Strain (%)

Fig- An example stressstrain curve

showing how Youngs Modulus is
determined.