Experimental Studies on the Performance of Geo-Polymer Reinforced Concrete Beams Subjected to Accelerated Corrosion

The release of CO2 from the construction industry poses an alarming condition to the society/environment and necessitates the development of a sustainable replacement to the ordinary portland cement (OPC). Geopolymer Concrete (GPC) is a futuristic sustainable alternative to use as a binder. The characteristics of GPC is evidently proved to be better than OPC based on the literature. From the existing studies, the base materials for the production of GPC generally differs. Therefore, the hydration of the final output (GPC) differs. Thus the behaviour of GPC under corrosion is required to be studied specifically. This aspect has narrowed the available literature on the behaviour of GPC under corrosion. In this study the behaviour of the fly ash based GPC and OPC specimens under accelerated corrosion were compared. GPC specimens under accelerated corrosion showed an average corrosion rate of 13 to 15 g/year demonstrating a moderate corrosion rate. Concurrently, the rate of corrosion in OPC specimens is around 25 g/year exhibiting a high corrosion rate. It is evidently proven that, comparatively GPC has better resistance to corrosion than OPC.