Effect of binder content in alkali activated high performance concrete

Abstract

Alkali Activated High Performance Concrete (AHPC) is an innovative concrete that belongs to the spectrum of alkali activated materials. AHPC uses the concept of involving two different domain of concretes such as Alkali Activated Slag Concrete (AASC) and High Performance Concrete (HPC) in a right manner to obtain sustainable HPC. In the current study, Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (GGBS) is used as full replacement to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). GGBS is a byproduct obtained from iron-steel making industries. This binder contains silicates and aluminates, which acts as a precursor to AHPC. This study aims to optimize the different parameters like GGBS content (500, 550, and 600kg/m3), Silica Fume (SF) content (10, 15, and 20% of GGBS), and Quartz Powder (QP) content (10, 15, and 20% of GGBS) to obtain AHPC using Taguchi method of design of experiments. Further, to optimize different mixture proportion, Desirability Function Approach (DFA), Grey Relational Analysis (GRA), and Technique for an Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) were adopted. Results show that AHPC mixtures can produce 28 days compressive strength in the range of 91-107 MPa with flow value of around 150-170mm.