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Title

Geopolymer and Portland cement concretes in simulated fire

Author(s)

Zhao, R.;  Sanjayan, J. G.

Abstract

High-strength Portland cement concrete has a high risk of spalling in fire. Geopolymer, an environmentally friendly alternative to Portland cement, is purported to possess superior fire-resistant properties. However, the spalling behaviour of geopolymer concrete in fire is unreported. In this paper, geopolymer and Portland cement concretes of strengths from 40 to 100 MPa were exposed to rapid temperature rises, simulating fire exposures. Two simulated fire tests, namely rapid surface temperature rise exposure test and standard curve fire test, were conducted. In both types of test, no spalling was found in geopolymer concretes, whereas the companion Portland cement concrete exhibited spalling. This can be attributed to different pore structures of the two concretes. The sorptivity test found that geopolymer concrete had a significantly higher sorption, therefore more connected pores, than Portland cement concrete when compared at the same strength level. Hence, it is suggested that the water vapour can escape from the geopolymer matrix quicker than in Portland cement concrete, resulting in lower internal pore pressure. The paper concludes that, when compared at the same strength level, the geopolymer concrete possesses higher spalling resistance in a fire than Portland cement concrete due to its increased porosity.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences

Source

Magazine of Concrete Research, Vol. 63, no. 3 (Jan 2011), pp. 163-173

Publication year

2011

FOR Code(s)

0905 Civil Engineering

Keyword(s)

Cement concrete;  Geopolymer concrete;  Fire;  Portland cement concrete;  Spalling

Publisher

ICE Publishing

ISSN

0024-9831

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/macr.9.00110

Copyright

Copyright © Thomas Telford Ltd 2011. This paper was originally published in the Magazine of Concrete Research and is available from: http://www.concrete-research.com. Published version reproduced here with the kind permission of the publisher.

Research Projects

Investigation of geopolymer-based concretes for the construction of high fire risk infrastructures, Australian Research Council grant number DP0664309

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