Experimental Developments on Corrosion Resistivity of Low Calcium Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Concrete

Portland cement production is an main component in making of “concrete, which contributes significant amount of greenhouse gas, because in the process of production of Portland cement also releases about one ton of carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere. Therefore, the introduction of a novel binder called ‘geopolymer’ by Davidovits promises a good prospect for application in the concrete industry as an alternative binder to Portland cement”. In terms of reducing global warming, the technology based on geo-polymer could reduce the C02 emission to the atmosphere caused by aggregates and cement industries by 80%.Fly ash-based geopolymer concrete “manufactured using fly ash as its source material and does not use Portland cement at all. Not only fly ash, alkaline solution is being utilized to make geopolymer paste which binds the aggregates to form geopolymer concrete. The geopolymer concrete possess excellent mechanical characteristics and better durability characteristics like permeability, resistance against sulphate and acids.” In reinforcement the corrosion is the single most common source of damage and it is usually clear that lack of concrete, inadequate cover to the reinforcement or the available impurities (and sometimes all three) is the prime cause. In the present work, Open Circuit Potential(OCP) method was able to determine the corrosion activity in the reinforced beams. The effect of corrosion on the tensile behavior of reinforcement under different rates of corrosion was compared. The test results reveals that the Geopolymer concrete performs superior to OPC concrete.