Effect of Silica Fume and Alumina Addition on the Mechanical and Microstructure of Fly Ash Geopolymer Concrete

This paper discussed the effect of the addition of silica fume (2 wt.% and 4 wt.%) and alumina (2 wt.% and 4 wt.%) on the properties of fly ash geopolymer concrete. The fly ash geopolymer concrete achieved the highest 28-day compressive strength with 2 wt.% of silica fume (39 MPa) and 4 wt.% of alumina (41 MPa). The addition of 2 wt.% of silica fume increased the compressive strength by 105% with respect to the reference geopolymer (without additive). On the other hand, the compressive strength surged by 115% with 4 wt.% of alumina compared to the reference geopolymer. The addition of additives improved the compactness of the geopolymer matrix according to the morphology analysis.

---

1. The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge the facility support from Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Technology and Faculty of Chemical Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Malaysia.

---

2. Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa nr SONP/SP/546092/2022 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2024).