An Investigation into Durability Aspects of Geopolymer Concretes Based Fully on Construction and Demolition Waste

Abstract

The focus of the construction industry has shifted towards the development of al-ternative, eco-friendly and green construction materials due to the energy-inefficient and carbon-intensive nature of Portland cement (PC) production and aggregate quarrying. Meanwhile, increased number of repetitive re-pair/renovation/maintenance activities and demolition operations for the end-of-life buildings generate significant amounts of construction and demolition waste (CDW). For the purposes of sustainability and upcycling wastes into high-value-added materials with improved greenness, components from CDW streams can be used in producing geopolymer concretes without using PC and natural aggre-gates, given the rich aluminosiliceous nature of CDW components. The focus of current work is therefore on the analysis of durability of aspects (i.e., drying shrinkage and resistance against sulfate attack, cyclic freezing-thawing, and chlo-ride penetration) of geopolymer concretes made entirely of CDW. Different types of bricks, tile, concrete, and glass were used in mixed form as precursors for ge-opolymerization while different-size grains of waste concrete were used as recy-cled aggregates. As alkali activators, sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide and sodium silicate were used. In a companion mixture, CDW-based precursors were replaced with slag and class-F fly ash. Results showed that sulfate and cyclic freeze-thaw exposure did not cause any noticeable weight and compressive strength loss in CDW-based geopolymer concretes, while chloride penetration was found comparable to PC-based concrete. While drying shrinkage was found high in entirely CDW-based geopolymer concrete and resulted in surface mi-crocracks, it was possible to lower the drying shrinkage substantially via substi-tution of CDW-based precursors with fly ash and slag.