Metakaolin Based Geopolymer Mortar Reinforced with Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes - A Case Study
Pawandeep Kaur *
Department of Civil Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.
Jaspal Singh
Department of Civil Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.
Manpreet Kaur
Department of Civil Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.
Ritesh Jain
Department of Civil Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Metakaolin based geopolymer mortars are presently considered as a feasible substitute to Ordinary Portland Cement mortar due to its various benefits. The present experimental investigation is planned by varying the concentrations of sodium hydroxide as 8M, 10M and 12M along with the variation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (0, 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75% and 1% by weight of the binder). For each specimen, the compressive strength was determined at the curing ages of 3, 7 and 28 days. The results clearly indicate that the incorporation of multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in the geopolymer matrixes enhances the compressive strength. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) was used to depict the microstructure and morphology of MWCNTs. The ultimate compressive strength was obtained by employing 12M concentrated sodium hydroxide solution along with 0.5% of MWCNTs in geopolymer mortar. The values of integral absolute error were computed for all the curing ages. All the values lie within the acceptable range (0 to 10%).
Keywords: Compressive strength, geopolymer, metakaolin, multi-walled carbon nano tubes.