The application of experimental design models in order to optimize the synthesis of geopolymers

The aim of this work is to propose the methodology and the mathematical tools for the design and development of geopolymeric materials from industrial wastes and by-products. The applied methodology follows the Taguchi fractional experimental design allowing the investigation of the combining effect of selected parameters in the response of the experimental system by conducting the minimum number of experiments. Two cases of geopolymer synthesis optimization based on the mechanical strength and the apparent density of the products, to which the Taguchi methodology has been successfully applied, are presented in the paper.