Performance of Crumb Rubber and Nano Fly Ash Based Ferro-Geopolymer Panels under Impact Load

This paper presents an experimental investigation into the impact performance of Ferro-cement panels incorporating a significant proportion of geopolymer mortar. This panel could be an effective replacement for prefabricated roof and floor deck construction elements. In this study, the geopolymer mortar includes wastes disposed from industries like ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and flyash as their base material which contributes to reduced CO2 emission. The pore filling and element densifying mechanism is enhanced by the addition of Nano flyash. The fine aggregate is replaced up to 5% with treated tyre crumb rubber which can be utilized as a sustainable construction material. The cast panel was cured at 80(o)C for 48 hours in the oven. The incorporation of Expanded Metal Mesh into geopolymer mortar results in higher impact load absorption capacity rather than other kind of reinforcing meshes. The GGBFS based Geopolymer results in 17% higher compressive strength than fly ash based geopolymer because of its good bonding nature. The Nano fly ash based geopolymer gives 35 MPa in compressive strength and 902.52 joules in impact energy absorption which is greatest among all panels because of its densifying effect of mortar.