EFFECT OF NAOH MOLARITIES ON STRENGTH PROPERTIES OF GROUND PERLITE-BASED GEOPOLYMER MORTARS

Abstract

Geopolymers are the eco-friendly binders derived from activation of alumina silicates such as fly ash and metakaolin with alkaline activators. Ground perlite, a volcanic alumina silicate, has a potential to be a precursor material for geopolymer production due to its high SiO2 content and amorphous form. This paper presents the investigation of geopolymer production with ground perlite and NaOH. For this purpose, mortar mixtures are prepared with four different NaOH solutions (3M, 6M, 9M and 12M). Mortar specimens with dimensions of 4*4*16 cm are taken from the mixtures and heat curing process is applied to the specimens after casting. The flexural and compressive strength tests are conducted on the mortar specimens at 7 and 28 days of curing. The test results showed that the flexural and compressive strengths of the ground perlite based geopolymer mortars are increased with the molarity of NaOH solution, significantly

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