Influence of Slag-Based Geopolymer Concrete on the Seismic Behavior of Exterior Beam Column Joints

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first_pagesettingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Influence of Slag-Based Geopolymer Concrete on the Seismic Behavior of Exterior Beam Column Joints by Settiannan Karuppannan Maniarasan 1,*,Palanisamy Chandrasekaran 1,Sridhar Jayaprakash 2ORCID andGobinath Ravindran 3ORCID 1 Department of Civil Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Perundurai 638060, Tamil Nadu, India 2 Department of Civil Engineering, GMR Institute of Technology, Razam 532127, Andhra Pradesh, India 3 Department of Civil Engineering, SR University, Warangal 506371, Telangana, India * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2327; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032327 Received: 10 December 2022 / Revised: 9 January 2023 / Accepted: 18 January 2023 / Published: 27 January 2023 Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Versions Notes Abstract In reinforced concrete (RC) constructions, the beam-column junctions are very sensitive to lateral and vertical loads. In the event of unforeseen earthquake and wind loads, this insufficient joint performance can lead to the failure of the entire structure. Cement industries emit a large amount of greenhouse gases during production, thus contributing to global warming. The nature of cement concrete is fragile. Cement output must be reduced in order to ensure environmental sustainability. Geopolymer concrete (GC), which is a green and low-carbon material, can be used in beam-column joints. M30 grade BBGC was developed and employed in the current study. Alkaline liquids are produced when sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide are mixed at room temperature. The alkaline liquid to fly ash ratio was fixed at 0.5, and the concentration of NaOH was fixed at 8 M. The mechanical properties of the Binary Blended Geopolymer concrete (BBGC), containing fly ash and GGBS, at proportions ranging from 0% to 100%, were investigated. This study was further expanded to examine the behavior of two groups of binary blended geopolymer concrete (BBGC) exterior beam-column joints, with cross sections of 230 mm × 120 mm and 170 mm × 120 mm. The column heights and lengths were both 600 mm under reverse cyclic loads in order to simulate earthquake conditions. The failure mechanism, ductility, energy absorption capacity, initial crack load, ultimate load carrying capacity, and structural performance was evaluated. The test findings showed that BBGC with 20% fly ash and 80% GGBS had the highest compressive strength and split tensile strength. When compared with other beam column joints, those containing 20% fly ash and 80% GGBS performed better under cyclic loading. The test findings imply that GGBS essentially enhances the joint performance of BBGC. The microstructural SEM and EDS studies revealed the reasons behind the improvement in strength of the GGBS fly ash-based Geopolymer concrete.

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eopolymer concrete (GC) is a modern form of concrete generated from industry waste. GC is being promoted as a viable alternative to traditional concrete, as well as a way to turn a number of waste streams into valuable by-products [1]. Geopolymer concrete also exhibits excellent compression strength, minimal creep, superior acid resistance, and low shrinking characteristics [2]. The curing process of geopolymer concrete has a significant impact on the formation of microstructures, and therefore, on the mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete [3]. The geopolymer’s overall strength and fire resistance are influenced by the amount of fly ash in an alkaline solution. It was discovered that the strength of a fly ash-based geopolymer concrete increases with exposure to different temperatures. CO2 emissions are lower in GC when compared with Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) [4,5,6,7,8]. Fly ash-based GC mixtures were mechanically enhanced, and the C-S-H gel formation was enriched with the addition of 30% GGBS, as it resulted in denser microstructures in the geopolymer concrete [9]. The mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete reached their limit after interacting with specimens that contained 30% fly ash and 30% GGBS in an 8M sodium hydroxide solution

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