Structural Behavior of Geopolymer Reinforced Concrete Beams: A Short Review

Abstract

The significant CO2 emissions that can be associated with cement manufacture is the primary cause of global warming. Thus, the authors and research groups are motivated by many factors to find long-term solutions to this problem. Geopolymer concrete is such type of concrete in which the primary binder has resulted from alkali activation of some source materials like fly ash, metakaoline, rice husk ash, and ground granulated blast furnace slag. Commonly, geopolymer concrete gives comparable mechanical strength properties to conventional concrete. The use of this type of concrete is restricted by the properties of the used source materials and the molar concentrations of the alkali activator. As a consequence, making investigations into the relevant structural behavior as a result of these variables are rich source of scientific research. The goal of this work is to provide a brief overview of the recent contributions that have dealt with the structural behavior of geopolymer concrete. The context of this paper was obtained to illustrate the main findings as well as the used source materials and some additional considerations.

Flexural Behavior of Steel and FRP-Reinforced Geopolymer Concrete Beams : Numerical Modeling and Analytical Study

“…The finite element method has been successfully applied for analysis of nearly all structural engineering problems and the method is implemented in many commercial computer software packages. Geopolymer concrete beams have been analyzed numerically by nonlinear finite element analysis (NLFEA) using in-house programs [7] or commercial software packages [8]; the resulting deflections were found to be similar to the experimental results [6][7][8][9][10]. Hassan et al [11] investigated GC beams containing steel fibers experimentally and numerically using the nonlinear finite element analysis software ABAQUS 6.11 [12] and showed that compressive strength and stiffness increased due to the incorporation of steel fibers.…”

“…Geopolymer concrete eliminates the use of cement and is thus regarded as an eco-friendly and sustainable construction material and is increasingly gaining acceptance [1][2][3][4]. Geopolymer concrete (GC) had been applied as reinforced concrete (RC) beams and the behavior was found by several researchers similar to conventional RC beams [5][6][7]. However, many reinforced concrete guidelines do not address the design of geopolymer concrete members, and therefore more investigation is needed to aid in developing adequate design formulas.…”

A Combined Ultrasonic Procedure to Evaluate Damage in Concrete Beams Subjected to Static Load

“…The gradual aging of infrastructures has received recently more attention from civil engineers and scholars [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. The motive to make the majority of existing structures from reinforced concrete is based on several factors such as economic considerations, raw materials availability, flexible workability, and often arbitrary formability.…”