Performance Evaluation of Self-Compacted Geopolymer Concrete with Fly Ash Partially Replaced with Blast Furnace Slag

Mohannad Alyamani

doi:10.48084/etasr.13914

Authors

Mohannad Alyamani Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7762-1003

Volume: 15 | Issue: 6 | Pages: 28646-28659 | December 2025 | https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.13914

Received: 7 August 2025 | Revised: 29 August 2025 | Accepted: 9 September 2025 | Online: 8 December 2025

Corresponding author: Mohannad Alyamani

Abstract

The present study investigates the manufacturing process of Self-Compacted Geopolymer Concrete (SCGPC), an environmentally friendly and sustainable building material with a 76% aggregate composition. The raw material Fly Ash (FA) was substituted with Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) by 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% to produce ambient-cured SCGPC. SCGPC specimens containing 100% FA were heat-cured for 24 h at various temperatures, and then their Compressive Strength (CS), Split-Tensile Strength (STS), and Flexural Strength (FS) were tested after 3, 7, and 28 days. FA and GGBFS-based SCGPC were cured at room temperature, while the NaOH concentrations were kept constant at 8M, 10M, 12M, and 14M. The flowability of SCGPC was examined using EFNARC specifications, whereas the properties of hardened concrete were investigated using Indian Standard Codes. The SCGPC cube, cylinder, and prism specimens were cast to investigate how different parameters affected CS, STS, and FS, respectively. The results revealed that the CS, STS, and FS of SCGPC increased to 30% after the addition of GGBFS as a partial replacement of FA, and with an increasing NaOH concentration up to 12M after which they decreased. The SCGPC specimens were exposed to various Sea Water Concentrations (SWC) for 30, 180, and 365 days, which led to a reduction in strength and an increase in weight as both the exposure time and SWC increased. The Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) revealed that GGBFS improved the strength growth under ambient curing conditions, while the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed dense structures with an early age setting and strength gain.

Keywords:

Self-Compacted Geopolymer Concrete (SCGPC), split-tensile strength, environmentally friendly concrete, blast furnace slag

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