Relative importance of Al(V) and reinforcement to the flexural strength of geopolymer composites
Abstract
We prepared 1 cm × 1 cm × 10 cm geopolymer bars from sodium silicate and six commercial metakaolins, both unreinforced and reinforced with 20 wt% of 55‐μm wollastonite (CaO·SiO2) needles, to evaluate the relative contributions of five‐coordinated aluminum in the metakaolin and the presence of a reinforcing phase to the flexural strength of geopolymers. Two metakaolins, with about 20 at% and lower of five‐coordinated aluminum content, did not react sufficiently with our processing method and could not be tested. The flexural strengths of the other four geopolymers were similar at about 11–14 MPa unreinforced and 22–29 MPa reinforced. The effect of reinforcement on flexure strength is more significant than the choice of metakaolin provided that the metakaolin is reactive. The geopolymerization reaction depends on the amount of five‐coordinated aluminum present in the metakaolin and is the primary difference between the samples that reacted and those that did not react.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 11, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1111/jace.17656
Entities
People
- Andre Sutrisno
- Devon Samuel
- Waltraud M. Kriven
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign