Preparation and Performances of Geopolymer-Based Plant Fiber Composites

Geopolymer-based plant fiber composites were fabricated with metakaolin, alkaline sodium silicate and plant fibers. In this paper, orthogonal test and single factor analysis were used to study the influence of water glass modulus, solid liquid ratio and fiber content on bending strength. The results show that sequence of influence factors for bending strength was: solid to liquid ratio > fiber content > water glass modulus. When the water glass modulus is 1.7, the fiber content is 8% and the solid to liquid ratio is 1:1.4, the bending strength is up to 10.44MPa, which exceeds the Standard requirements (9MPa) specified by the China National Standard (GB/T 24312-2009). The micro-morphology of SEM indicates that the mix of plant fiber can enhance the toughness of geopolymer.