Preliminary results of construction and demolition waste and fly ash based geopolymer composite materials

Abstract

There is need to research and develop green construction materials, to address increasing infrastructural demand and environmental challenges. Preliminary investigation of construction and demolition waste (CDW) and fly ash (FA) based geopolymer composite materials is presented in this paper. The average compressive strength of mechanically activated materials based FA geopolymer composite specimen was 53.8% higher compared to the unground specimen. Investigation on CDW and ground FA based geopolymer composite materials, show that 50% CDW precursor content had the highest strength. Cracks were observed on the ground fly ash composite specimen surface, attributed to surface moisture loss. The optimum compressive strength, 47 ± 9.13 MPa can be considered for structural application. Mitigation measures for adverse cracks should be applied.