Experimental Study on Hybrid Fibre Reinforced Geopolymer Concrete

Annual production of cement, the most important ingredient in concrete is increased by 3%. It is also a fact that the process of cement production is highly energy intensive and releases large volume of greenhouse gases like CO₂ to the atmosphere. The environmental effects associated with production of Portland cement, created an urgent need to develop an alternative binder to make concrete [1]. In this respect, Davidovits introduced geopolymer technology which provides an alternative low emission binding agent to conventional cement concrete. Many research works are being carried out to replace cement either fully or partially from concrete. Geopolymer is an innovative construction material produced by polymeric reaction of alkaline liquid with alumino-silicate materials such as fly ash, blast furnace slag, rice husk ash etc., making it a promising material to replace ordinary Portland cement as a green binder for concrete production [2]. This paper presents the results based on experimental investigation on the mechanical strength of hybrid fibre (1% of polypropylene fibre from which 10% of polypropylene fibre is replaced by glass fibre) reinforced geopolymer concrete. The addition of hybrid fibre shows an increase in strength parameters with respect to geopolymer concrete without fibres.