Incremental effect of saccharum officinarum addition on strength characteristics of geopolymer composite specimens

This paper reports the development of geopolymer concrete by adopting saccharum officinarum molasses and naphthalene sulphonate formaldehyde as admixtures. The behavioural effect of these admixtures on geopolymer is investigated. In the first stage, geopolymer concrete based on ordinary fly ash was prepared. In the second stage, by varying the percentages of cement (0 to 8%) with equal percentages of admixtures, three more geopolymer concrete mixes were prepared. Fresh and hardened properties of geopolymer concrete specimens were obtained by performing different tests. In addition, the concrete specimens were tested for ultrasonic pulse velocity, drying shrinkage and standard consistency. The findings of this study concluded that: the incremental addition of saccharum officinarum molasses improved the workability, boosted the durability and also enhanced the strength of geopolymer concrete. Further with the addition of cement in the range of 4 to 8% at a constant admixture content of 1.2%, strength and durability of geo-polymer concrete improved.