Evaluation of mechanical and durability properties along with flexural fatigue life of pavement quality geopolymer concrete

The initial purpose of this research is to develop a design mix for a geopolymer concrete (GPC) for its use as a rigid pavement, as the design parameters, i.e., solution (S)/binder (B) ratio, sodium silicate (SS)/sodium hydroxide (SH) ratio and concentration of alkali, have been adopted in the past studies by referring previous literature. In addition, either water addition or superplasticizer has been used to ensure the workability of GPC. In the present study, trials based on workability and strength were conducted for preparing GPC, by varying ground-granulated blast slag (GGBS)–fly ash (FA) quantity (0:100–30:70), SS/SH ratio (1.5–2.5) and SH concentration (8, 10 and 12 M). Workability requirements suggested that an alkali: binder ratio of 1.52 is to be maintained. A minimal pavement quality concrete (PQC) flexural strength requirement of 3 MPa at 7 days was satisfied with at least 10