Geopolymers, Volume II

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (13 November 2020) | Viewed by 9659

Special Issue Editors

Soil, Rock and Geotechnical structures Laboratory (SRO), French Institute of Sciences and Technique for Transport, Developement and Networks (IFSTTAR), 77420 Marne-la-Vallee, France
Interests: mineralogy; XRD quantification; material microstructure; clay behavior; multiscale approach; lime or cement treatments of soils; particle surface reactivity; raw earth material; geopolymer; pollutant migration

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Co-Guest Editor
IFSTTAR/MAST/FM2D, Marne-la-Vallee, France

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Co-Guest Editor
IFSTTAR/GERS/LEE, Nantes, France

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Co-Guest Editor
Geomatériau and Environment Laboratory, Paris-Est University, Marne-la-Vallee, France

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, geopolymers offer an alternative to hydraulic binders. This is a new binder formed by a polymerization process from the combination of an alkaline liquid with aluminosilicate material (natural pozzolans, industrial waste product, calcined clays, etc.). Geopolymer binders are inorganic polymers with 3D framework structures having high mechanical and physical properties. Furthermore, clay-based geopolymers (i.e., with metakaolin) or geopolymers, including byproducts (fly ash, blast furnace slag, etc.), allow decreasing energy consumption and CO2 release during their manufacturing when compared to clinker manufacture.

Thus, various formulations of geopolymers have appeared in recent decades, but obstacles remain to the spread of such binders, notably a lack of feedback. The demonstration of geopolymer durability and its advantages in the long term (low cost of maintenance because of low degradation, extended life cycle, etc.) should favor the extension of geopolymer applications.

This Special Issue aims to bring together corresponding studies on:

  • The formulation of sustainable geopolymers and more especially clay-based geopolymers: innovative components and properties;
  • The development of a suitable methodology in order to estimate geopolymers’ durability;
  • Multiscale characterization of geopolymer degradation processes under various conditions related to different classes of exposure: fundamental, experimental, as well as theoretical studies are welcome on transport properties (chloride diffusion coefficient, gas permeability), carbonation, sulphate attack, acid attack, freeze thaw resistance, alkali silica reaction, elevated temperature,;
  • A comparison of sustainability approaches and properties of hydraulic and geopolymeric binders is encouraged.

We hope that this Special Issue will help to improve our understanding of geopolymers’ deterioration mechanism and to predict their durability.

Dr. Myriam Duc
Dr. Assia Djerbi
Dr. Dimitri Deneele
Dr. Laurent Gautron
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • geopolymers
  • durability
  • deterioration mechanisms
  • microstructure
  • chloride diffusion
  • carbonation
  • sulphate attack
  • acid attack
  • freeze–thaw resistance
  • alkali–silica reaction
  • elevated temperature

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2686 KiB  
Article
Clayey Soil Strength Improvement by Using Alkali Activated Slag Reinforcing
by Darius Žurinskas, Danutė Vaičiukynienė, Gediminas Stelmokaitis and Viktoras Doroševas
Minerals 2020, 10(12), 1076; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10121076 - 30 Nov 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2461
Abstract
There are many studies related to using alkali activated binders for the improvement of clayey soil mechanical properties. In this study, alkali activated slag (AAS) for the improvement of clayey soil strength was used and it reinforced the clay. This paper presents results [...] Read more.
There are many studies related to using alkali activated binders for the improvement of clayey soil mechanical properties. In this study, alkali activated slag (AAS) for the improvement of clayey soil strength was used and it reinforced the clay. This paper presents results of an investigation on the utilization of ground-granulated blast-furnace slag in the reinforcement of clay soils. Therefore, significant cost savings could be achieved by using alkali activated slag as binding material. These samples were analyzed by X-Ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and strength tests after the curing. The clay samples reinforced with AAS showed higher shear stress, cohesion and internal friction angle compared with the samples without reinforcement. The highest shear strength was achieved by using the highest amount of AAS (30%). This shear stress of the unreinforced clay samples could be increased from 63.2 to 137.4 kPa (117.4%) and from 123.2 to 257.4 kPa (108.9%) when the normal stress value of 100 and 500 kPa was used, respectively. The increase in shear strength is closely related to the compact contact zone between AAS and clay. Moreover, the new formed cementitious compounds of AAS had a positive influence on the shear strength of samples as well. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geopolymers, Volume II)
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14 pages, 1107 KiB  
Article
The Evaluation of Clay Suitability for Geopolymer Technology
by Tomáš Hanzlíček, Ivana Perná, Kateřina Uličná, Václav Římal and Helena Štěpánková
Minerals 2020, 10(10), 852; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10100852 - 26 Sep 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2690
Abstract
In the last 20 years, laboratory work on geopolymer technology has been confronted with the necessity to determine whether a certain clay material has the properties necessary to form genuine geopolymer when thermally treated and alkalized. The assessment of the properties of clay [...] Read more.
In the last 20 years, laboratory work on geopolymer technology has been confronted with the necessity to determine whether a certain clay material has the properties necessary to form genuine geopolymer when thermally treated and alkalized. The assessment of the properties of clay source materials and of the ability of the materials to form geopolymer 3D netting mainly involves the study of the aluminum transformation level during the thermal treatment of the clay. The presented study combines several classical analytical methods (chemical and mineralogical analyses, the calculation of the Hinckley index (HI) based on X-ray diffraction analyses, and the measurement of particle size distribution) for eleven samples of kaolin and kaolinitic clay of various origins and coming from different locations. The results of these methods have been compared with those of 27Al magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) in solid state. Based on them, the mentioned methods could be combined for an estimation of the aluminum-ion behavior during the thermal treatment of the clay. HI calculations have shown favorable agreement in 63% of the kaolin samples studied, especially for high purity kaolin without significant impurities in the form of feldspars and/or quartz. The main aim of this work is not to replace the precise MAS–NMR analysis, but to offer an alternative evaluation method when MAS–NMR is not available. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geopolymers, Volume II)
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22 pages, 8358 KiB  
Article
Effects of Sand/Fly Ash and the Water/Solid Ratio on the Mechanical Properties of Engineered Geopolymer Composite and Mix Design Optimization
by Muhammad Zahid and Nasir Shafiq
Minerals 2020, 10(4), 333; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10040333 - 8 Apr 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3918
Abstract
This paper presents the results of an experimental study that investigated the effects of two parameters: sand/fly ash (S/FA) ratio and water to geopolymer-solid (W/GS) ratio on the engineered geopolymer composite. The trial mix designs were optimized using the response surface method. These [...] Read more.
This paper presents the results of an experimental study that investigated the effects of two parameters: sand/fly ash (S/FA) ratio and water to geopolymer-solid (W/GS) ratio on the engineered geopolymer composite. The trial mix designs were optimized using the response surface method. These parameters influence the properties of the fresh and hardened geopolymer matrix, such as slump flow, compressive strength, flexural strength, elastic modulus, flexural toughness, ductility index and drying shrinkage. The optimizing process was conducted by developing statistical models using the response surface methodology (RSM) technique. The developed models were statistically validated and could be used to determine the desired response of engineered geopolymer composite (EGC) with a significance level of more than 95%. In this study, the optimized values of the S/FA ratio and W/GS ratio were obtained as 0.341701 and 0.225184, respectively. To validate the optimized S/FA ratio and W/GS ratio, an experimental study was performed, and a difference of less than 5% was found between predicted and experimental results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geopolymers, Volume II)
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