younesse haddaji
Center for Advanced Materials, EMINES, Polytechnic University Mohammed VI, Lot 660 Hay Moulay Rachid, 43150, Ben Guerir, Morocco
Title: Production and mechanical characterization of a metakaolinite-based geopolymer composite reinforced with Synthetic fibers
Biography
Biography: younesse haddaji
Abstract
The evolution of knowledge on geopolymers (GP), and more generally on alkali activated materials (AAM); tend to show that they could potentially offer an efficient alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in particular applications. Alkali-activated materials began to emerge as a new material for civil engineering more than three decades ago, and recent years have seen an increase in researches by the international scientific community and by industrial firms. However, in the many constructions currently under way in the world, the use of activation of metakaolin alone remains marginal.
In this research, a series of fiber combinations and volume fractions between steel fibers with end-hooked or spiraled and synthetic fibers were incorporated in a high strength ambient cured geopolymer matrix. The performance of synthesized geopolymer composites was compared in terms of fresh and hardened state properties, such as workability, compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, Poisson’s ratio, flexural tensile strength, energy absorption capacity and post-peak residual strength etc.
The test results show that the addition of fibers significantly improved the load carrying capacity of the composites under flexure load, together with an improved behavior in compression. In general, all fiber reinforced composites displayed a stable deflection hardening response and multiple-cracking failure mode. Moreover, among composites with different fiber volume fractions, the composite having 1.60% steel+0.40% HSPE showed the highest ultimate flexure strength, correspondingly the highest energy absorption capacity. The individual fiber pull-out test curves ascertained a strong bonding between the geopolymer mortar and spiral-steel fiber.