Research trends
UFS works on developing Green Concrete using geopolymer binders By Eamonn Ryan Lecturer and project leader at the University of the Free State Department of Engineering Sciences, Dr Abdolhossein Naghizadeh, leads a green concrete project which aims to produce user-friendly geopolymer concrete by eliminating aggressive alkali activator additives from the mixtures.
T
he green concrete project involves research aimed at producing environment-friendly concrete based on industrial waste materials. The potential product will be formulated by optimising mixture parameters and ingredients based on the South African industrial by-products. In green concrete mixtures, geopolymer is typically used as the binder. Geopolymer binders consist of two components comprising solid raw material and a liquid alkali activator. Once the raw material is mixed with an alkali activator, the hardening process starts. To obtain high strengths, the mixture is exposed to elevated temperatures of between 40°C and 80°C for up to 24 hours. Although geopolymer concrete technology has been employed to a limited extent in projects in China, Australia, France and the US, there remain some issues regarding the complexity of this technology that need to be solved before
Cement and concrete lab at the Department of Engineering in the University of the Free State
