Ambient cured high calcium fly ash geopolymer concrete with dolomite powder.

This paper presents an experimental study on the effective use of high calcium fly ash (HCFA) and dolomite powder in geopolymer mortar (GPM) and concrete. Trail HCFA GPM mixes were made with 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% dolomite powder. The alkaline liquids used for polymerization are sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate (Na₂SiO₃). To prepare different mixes, 8 M, 10 M, 12 M and 14 M concentration of NaOH solution, NaOH to sodium silicate ratio 2.5 and liquid to binder ratio 0.5 were selected. Ambient temperature was used to cure the specimens. Test results show that HCFA GPM mix with 20% dolomite powder and 14 M NaOH concentration yielded remarkably higher compressive strength with 41.95 MPa at 28 days than the other mixes. Further, experimental work on HCFA geopolymer concrete (GPC) using 20% dolomite powder demonstrated more excellent strength properties than those demonstrated by control mix cement concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]