CONTENTS 1 Introduction 4 2 Geopolymer Chemistry 5 2.1 Basic Chemistry 5 2.2Gel System 5 2.3Geopolymer vs Portland Cement 6 2.3.7 Kinetics 6 2.3.2 Admixtures 6 2.3.3 Durability 6 2.3.4 Sophistication 7 2.3.5 Problems of Liquid Activators 7 References 7 3 Geopolymer Practice 9 3.1 Raw Materials 9 3.1.1 Potential alkali reactive binder components 9 3.1.1.1. Fly Ash 9 3.1.1.2 Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag 9 3.1.1.3 Metakaolinite 9 3.1.1..4 Portland Cement 9 3.1.1..5 Silica fume 9 3.1.1.6 Other 9 3.1.2 Reagents (Activator) 9 3.1.2.1 Na systems 9 3.1.2.2 K systems 9 3.1.2.3 Water 9 3.1.2.4 Availability 9 3.1.2.5 Preparation 9 3.1.2.6 Storage 9 3.1.3 Fine and Coarse Aggregates 10 3.1.3.1 Reactive Aggregates 10 3.1.4 Admixtures 10 3.2Mix Design Criteria 10 3.2.1 Reactivity of binder components 10 3.2.2 Key mix design parameters 10 3.2.2.1 Aggregate skeleton 10 3.2.2.2 Paste 10 3.2.2.2.1Fluids-Binder by mass 11 3.2.22.2Si: A! by atoms 11 3.2.2.2.3SiO2: Na20 by mass 11 3.2.2.2.4Hp: Nap by mass 11 3.3Safety Issues and MSDS's 11 3.4Workability 11 3.5Batching and Delivery Process 12 3.5.1 Batching Equipment 12 3.5.2 Mixing Equipment 12 3.5.2.1 Mixing Procedure and Times 13 3.5.2.2 Transport 13 3.5.2.3 Addition of water 13 3.5.3 Placement of Geopolymer Concrete 13 3.5.3.1 Mould Preparation 13 3.5.3.2 Placement methods 13 3.5.3.3 Slump changes 13 3.5.3.4 Bleed 13 3.6Compaction 13 3.7Curing 14 3.7.1 Ambient cure 14 3.7.2 Accelerated Cure 14 3.7.2.1 Effect of curing temperature 14 3.7.2.2 Effect of curing time 14 3.7.2.3 Dry Heat curing 14 3.7.3 Wet curing 14 3.8Finishing 14 3.9Joints and Crack control 14 References 14 Properties of Geopolymer concrete 16 4.1 Properties of Fresh Concrete 16 4.1.1 Workability 16 4.1.2 Heat of Hydration 16 4.2Properties of hardened concrete 17 4.2.1 Compressive Strength, strength development 17 and stress-strain relationship 4.2.2 Tensile Strength 17 4.2.3 Elastic Modulus 18 4.2.4 Creep and Shrinkage 18 4.2.5 Thermal expansion and fire resistance 19 4.2.6 Chemical Resistance 19 4.2.7 Unit weight 19 4.3Testing of Concrete 20 References 20 Engineering Aspects of Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Concrete 22 5.1 Introduction 22 5.2Constituents of Geopolymer Concrete 22 5.3Short-Term Properties of Geopolymer Concrete 22 5.4Long-Term Properties of Geopolymer Concrete 23 5.4.7 Creep and Drying Shrinkage 23 5.4.2 Durability 23 5.5Suitability of Current Standards and Codes 23 5.6 Modifications to Current Design Methods 24 5.7Specifications 24 5.8Concluding Remarks 24 References 25 Case Studies 28 Sustainability Issues 31 7.1 Use of Wastes (Mining and Processing By-products) 31 7.2Greenhouse Gases 31 7.3Structure Life Cycles 32 7.4Toxic Metal Encapsulation 32 7.5Behaviour in Fire 33 7.6Sick Building Syndrome 33 7.7Petroleum Industry Dependence 33 7.8Sustainability Challenges in the Global Concrete Industry 33 References 34 Summary and Conclusions 36