The evaluation of the life cycle and corrosion properties of recycled aggregate geopolymer concrete incorporating fly ash and GGBS

Abstract

The mechanism of steel corrosion in the recycled aggregate geopolymer concrete (RAGPC) is still unclear considering the potential utilization of industrial by product and recycled aggregate for environmental sustainability. This study aimed to point the influence of RAGPC on the corrosion behaviour of reinforced concrete by employing various corrosion studies for various alkaline activated content to binder ratios varying from 0.3 to 0.8. The corrosion resistance was measured by accelerated and natural carbonation test, surface resistivity test, alkalinity, corrosion rate test and half-cell potential tests. Adding GGBS to RAGPC increased compressive strength to 66 MPa after 90 days of curing at ambient temperature, raised surface resistivity to 48 k?cm, and decreased carbonation penetration. The corrosion resistance of steel in the concrete improved with FA and GGBS, shown by higher potential and reduced corrosion rate in RAGPC mixes with these materials. RAGPC has lower embodied energy (EE) than regular concrete when FA, GGBS, and RA are used as binders and aggregates. It shows approximately 29.334 %, 28.077 %, and 4.48 % lower EE than traditional concrete for OPCNA, OPCRA, and GPCNA mixes, respectively. However, when FA and GGBS are used as byproducts in RAGPC, there is a significant drop in EE of 4.09 % and 0.083 % for OPCNA and OPCRA mixes, respectively. � 2024 Elsevier Ltd