Evaluation of protective coatings for geopolymer mortar under aggressive environment

The aim of this study is to investigate the durability of fly ash based geopolymer mortar with and without protective coatings in aggressive chemical environments. The source materials for geopolymer are Fly ash and Ground Granulated Blast furnace Slag (GGBS) and they are considered in the combination of 80% & 20% respectively. Two Molarities of NaOH solution were considered such as 8M and 10M. The ratio of binder to sand and Sodium silicate to Sodium hydroxide solution (Na2SiO3/NaOH) are taken as 1:2 and 2 respectively. The alkaline liquid to binder ratio is 0.4. Compressive strength tests were conducted at various ages of the mortar specimens. In order to evaluate the performance of coatings on geopolymer mortar under aggressive chemical environment, the mortar specimens were coated with two different types of coatings such as epoxy and Acrylic. They were then subjected to different chemical environments by immersing them in 10% standard solutions of each ammonium nitrate, sodium chloride and sulphuric acid. Drop in compressive strength as a result of chemical exposure was considered as a measure of chemical attack and the drop in compressive strength was measured after 30 and 60 days of chemical exposure. The compressive strength results following chemical exposure indicated that the specimens containing the acrylic coating proved to be more resistant to chemical attacks. The control specimen without coating showed a much greater degree of deterioration. Therefore, the application of acrylic coating was invariably much more effective in improving the compressive strength as well as the resistance of mortar against chemical attacks. The results also indicated that among all the aggressive attacks, the sulphate environment has the most adverse effect in terms of lowering the strength.