Different Fiber Reinforcement Effects on Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Long-Term Deflection in Three-Point Bending and Microstructure
Materials 2022
Rihards Gailītis, Leonīds Pakrastiņš, Andīna Sprince, Līga Radiņa, Gita Šakale, Krzysztof Miernik

This study investigated the effect of a low amount of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and steel fiber reinforcement on fly ash-based geopolymer composite long-term deflection and its microstructure. For testing purposes, specimens with different amounts and types of fiber reinforcement as well as plain (reference) were prepared. The long-term deflection test was performed by loading specimens with 40% of the ultimate flexural strength. A microstructure analysis was performed using polished section specimens, and images were acquired at 25-times magnification on a scanning electron microscope. The results of the flexural strength test show that all geopolymer composites with fiber reinforcement have lower flexural strength than plain geopolymer composites. The long-term deflection tests show that the highest deflections exhibit 1% PVA fiber-reinforced specimens. The lowest amount of deflection is for 1% steel fiber-reinforced specimens. Specific creep shows similar results to plain, and 1% steel fiber-reinforced specimens, while 1% PVA and 0.5% PVA/0.5% steel fiber-reinforced specimen exhibits the same properties. The quantitative microanalysis of the polished section further confirms the deflection results. Specimens with 1% PVA fiber reinforcement have significantly higher porosity than all other specimens. They are followed by plain specimens and 1% steel fiber, and 0.5% PVA/0.5 steel fiber-reinforced specimens have almost the same porosity level.


Keywords
Fly ash-based geopolymer composite; long-term deflection; fiber-reinforced geopolymer
DOI
10.3390/ma15238512
Hyperlink
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/23/8512

Publication language
English (en)
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