Improvements of Flexural Properties and Thermal Performance in Thin Geopolymer Based on Fly Ash and Ladle Furnace Slag Using Borax Decahydrates.

This paper elucidates the influence of borax decahydrate addition on the flexural and thermal properties of 10 mm thin fly ash/ladle furnace slag (FAS) geopolymers. The borax decahydrate (2, 4, 6, and 8 wt.%) was incorporated to produce FAB geopolymers. Heat treatment was applied with temperature ranges of 300 °C, 600 °C, 900 °C, 1000 °C and 1100 °C. Unexposed FAB geopolymers experienced a drop in strength due to a looser matrix with higher porosity. However, borax decahydrate inclusion significantly enhanced the flexural performance of thin geopolymers after heating. FAB2 and FAB8 geopolymers reported higher flexural strength of 26.5 MPa and 47.8 MPa, respectively, at 1000 °C as compared to FAS geopolymers (24.1 MPa at 1100 °C). The molten B2O3 provided an adhesive medium to assemble the aluminosilicates, improving the interparticle connectivity which led to a drastic strength increment. Moreover, the borax addition reduced the glass transition temperature, forming more refractory crystalline phases at lower temperatures. This induced a significant strength increment in FAB geopolymers with a factor of 3.6 for FAB8 at 900 °C, and 4.0 factor for FAB2 at 1000 °C, respectively. Comparatively, FAS geopolymers only achieved 3.1 factor in strength increment at 1100 °C. This proved that borax decahydrate could be utilized in the high strength development of thin geopolymers.

Elevated-Temperature Performance, Combustibility and Fire Propagation Index of Fly Ash-Metakaolin Blend Geopolymers with Addition of Monoaluminium Phosphate (MAP) and Aluminum Dihydrogen Triphosphate (ATP).

Thermal performance, combustibility, and fire propagation of fly ash-metakaolin (FA-MK) blended geopolymer with the addition of aluminum triphosphate, ATP (Al(H2PO4)3), and monoaluminium phosphate, MAP (AlPO4) were evaluated in this paper. To prepare the geopolymer mix, fly ash and metakaolin with a ratio of 1:1 were added with ATP and MAP in a range of 0-3% by weight. The fire/heat resistance was evaluated by comparing the residual compressive strengths after the elevated temperature exposure. Besides, combustibility and fire propagation tests were conducted to examine the thermal performance and the applicability of the geopolymers as passive fire protection. Experimental results revealed that the blended geopolymers with 1 wt.% of ATP and MAP exhibited higher compressive strength and denser geopolymer matrix than control geopolymers. The effect of ATP and MAP addition was more obvious in unheated geopolymer and little improvement was observed for geopolymer subjected to elevated temperature. ATP and MAP at 3 wt.% did not help in enhancing the elevated-temperature performance of blended geopolymers. Even so, all blended geopolymers, regardless of the addition of ATP and MAP, were regarded as the noncombustible materials with negligible (0-0.1) fire propagation index.