Non-Destructive Strength Evaluation of Fly ash Based Geopolymer Concrete Using Piezo Sensors

In view of sustainable development in the construction industry, a new alternative to the ordinary Portland cement concrete has been developed. Geopolymer concrete is a no Portland cement concrete synthesized by the polycondensation of silico-aluminate structures when highly alkaline solutes such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide are incorporated with source materials rich in SiO2 and Al2O3. Previous studies on the engineering properties and structural behaviour of Geopolymer concrete have shown promising potential of this material. This paper presents a non-destructive strength evaluation of fly ash based Geopolymer concrete using piezo sensors. Although direct strength tests, which are destructive in nature, are excellent for quality control during construction, their main shortcoming is that the tested specimen may not truly represent the concrete in the actual structure. The destructive tests reflect more the quality of the supplied materials rather than that of the constructed structure. Delays in obtaining results, lack of reproducibility and high costs of tests are some other drawbacks. The Non-destructive methods, on the other hand, aim to measure the strength of concrete in the actual structures. This paper presents a new approach for the non-destructive evaluation of Geopolymer concrete, using the electro-mechanical impedance technique via Piezo sensors. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.