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I
nnovators throughout the construction industry are
making great strides toward increased environmen-
tal sustainability by updating processes, improving
designs, and selecting greener materials. These aspects of
modernization are both a response to demand from build-
ing owners and operators and a necessary means to remain
competitive by achieving higher-performing buildings and
infrastructure. Concrete producers have systematically
improved the performance of their product by finding and
exploiting benefits that are unique to concrete construction.
These significant advances have included durable finishes,
superior insulative properties in multiwythe wall compo-
nents, economy with formwork, and rapid constructibility.
The next frontier for the industry includes addressing the
greenhouse-gas emissions associated with portland cement
and further integrating the benefits of concrete materials
into building functions and operations.
■ Geopolymer cement is an alternative binder that is capable of
forming concrete with competent mechanical performance and This paper describes the design and construction of a
attractive environmental benefits. concrete house that was designed to accommodate a
small family living in an urban environment. It is grid
■ This paper presents a case study of the manufacture of full- neutral with regard to energy production, meaning that it
scale geopolymer cement concrete components. generates as much energy as it uses on an annual basis.
The house was a 2013 entry into the U.S. Department of
■ This paper discusses mechanical characteristics of geopolymer Energy’s Solar Decathlon.1 This biennial event engages
cement concrete, quality of form finishes, strategies for curing, 20 teams from universities around the world to design,
and challenges to full-scale production. build, and operate solar-powered housing. Entries are
⅜ in. polypropylene
capillary tube mat
⅝ in. cross-linked
Form polyethylene tubing
face 6 in. on center
No. 4 x continuous
Exterior reveal
¾ in. diameter x
4 in. PVC
Reinforcing bar
splice sleeve with
no. 5 bar
1 ft.
No. 4 x continuous
Figure 2. Typical cross section of the precast concrete structural insulated panel. Note: PVC = polyvinyl chloride; WWF = welded-wire fabric, which is also known as
welded-wire reinforcement. No. 4 = 13M; no. 6 = 19M; 1 in. = 25.4 mm; 1 ft = 0.305 m.,
aggregate sources were attempted to preview the effect the full-scale precast concrete panels, which consisted of
they would have on concrete color and final appearance 24 hours of aging at ambient temperatures and 48 hours of
after sandblasting. A 3⁄8 in. (10 mm) granite aggregate was curing at 167˚F (75˚C). ASTM C3922 procedures were used
selected for the project, and the batches are listed in Table to test the cylinders in triplicate after 3 days, immediately
1. Although the batches had identical mixture proportions, following removal from the high-temperature curing cham-
many replicates were produced to assess repeatability as ber. Table 2 presents average compressive strength results
well as to provide materials for the design team to explore of the 15 consecutive batches. Variations in the strength
finishes and colors. Three 3 × 6 in. (75 × 150 mm) cyl- are results of small differences in batching procedures,
inders were prepared from each batch. The cylinders were aggregate moisture content, and other factors that would be
subjected to the same curing routine that was planned for difficult to closely control in plant settings.
ACI 318-11 provides a process for setting the design Production process
strength of concrete mixtures based on compressive
strength test results of portland cement concretes.23 Due to the conditions (such as elevated-temperature cur-
Although further research may justify adapting this ing) that are necessary for formation of geopolymers,
method for use with geopolymer materials, it was accommodations must be made in production. The pre-
used as described in this application. The intent of the dominant considerations discovered while producing the
procedure is to ensure that the probability of obtaining concrete panels included heating methods suitable for large
compressive strength results below the design target is concrete castings and finishing techniques that work for
less than 1%. The mean strength and standard devia- geopolymer cement concrete. These and other consider-
tion of the data presented in Table 2 are 5250 and 355 ations are described in the following sections.
psi (36.2 and 2.45 MPa), respectively. ACI 318-11
Table 5.3.1.2 provides a modification factor of 1.16 for Requirement for heating
the standard deviation of data sets based on 15 tests.23
Due to the requirements outlined in ACI 318‑11 Table Geopolymer cement concrete requires heat to gain strength.
5.3.2.1, a safe design strength of 4800 psi (33 MPa) for Within a precasting facility, heat is sometimes used to
the geopolymer cement concrete mixture was developed accelerate curing in portland cement concrete. However,
for the project.23 because portland cement hydration is exothermic and does
not require much heat, the output of these systems may be
insufficient to reach target temperatures for curing geo-
Table 2. Geopolymer cement concrete compressive strength based
polymer cement concrete. Geopolymer concrete cement is
on the average of three 3 × 6 in. cylinders tested with ASTM C39
often cured within the range of 140 to 170˚F (60 to 77˚C).
procedures
Insulating the formwork and top face of the concrete slab
Test number Compressive strength, psi and using the hydronic tubes embedded in the wall panels
to circulate heated water enabled the concrete to reach the
1 5930
desired temperatures. Most heated formwork is made of
2 5210 steel, which reacts with the fresh geopolymer unless the
release agent is able to isolate the two materials.
3 5210
The hydronic tubes consisted of 1⁄2 in. (13 mm) inside
4 5110
diameter polyethylene attached to a mat of welded-wire
5 4810 reinforcement (Fig. 3). The mat was selected so that the
spacing of the tubes could be maintained at 6 in. (150 mm)
6 5150 on center for even distribution of heat throughout the
concrete. A tank boiler with an electronic thermostat and
7 5150
pump system heated water passed through tubes (Fig. 4).
8 5570
A network of temperature sensors was embedded in the
9 5720 concrete to monitor temperatures during curing. The sen-
sors were distributed at locations that represented several
10 5130
depths, proximity to edges, and proximity to heating
11 5650 tubes. Figure 5 presents the logged results of several of
these sensors. The curing requirements determined during
12 5410 mixture proportioning indicated that 24 hours at the target
temperature was sufficient to develop the design strength.
13 4890
The 12 kW boiler heated the panels containing 11.8 yd3
14 4610 (9.03 m3) of geopolymer cement concrete from 76 to 170˚F
(24 to 77˚C) in approximately 35 hours. The boiler main-
15 5270 tained the target temperature for a total of 35 hours before
the system was shut down and the concrete began cooling.
Note: 1 in. = 25.4 mm; 1 psi = 6.895 kPa.
The extra time beyond 24 hours was added as a precau- available colorants worked well. These colorants included
tion to ensure that all areas reached the target temperature. earth oxides for yellows and reds and titanium dioxide for
Because the sensors continue to function after curing, they light gray. Light gray was selected, and it was used at a va-
have been incorporated into the building monitoring and riety of doses without affecting the properties of the fresh
control system. or cured geopolymer cement concrete.
The ability to accurately reproduce colors is exceedingly Changing emissions-control devices and coal markets
important in architectural precast concrete. While gray affect the availability of fly ash. Class F fly ashes are
cement varies in its tint, the availability of white cements typically suitable for geopolymer cement concrete. How-
allows precast concrete producers to use colorants to ever, some variation in fly ash characteristics that do not
consistently match colors between batches. The color of significantly affect its use in portland cement concrete
geopolymer cement concrete is a function of the color of can have detrimental effects in geopolymer cement
the fly ash, which can vary from dark gray to light pink, concrete. Factors such as the age, amorphous fraction,
depending on the source. It is not unusual for fly ash from elemental composition, particle size, and carbon content
the same source to vary because its composition is affected of the fly ash all have significant effects on the charac-
by the combustion parameters at the power plant where it teristics of geopolymer cement concrete.24 Although the
is produced. relationships between these fly ash characteristics and
the mechanical performance of the cured geopolymer ce-
A scientific method for adjusting color and repeating tints ment concrete are generally understood, there is not yet a
from batch to batch was not developed, but commercially process of rapidly adapting activating solutions or curing
regimens to differences in the fly ash. The process of ad-
justing geopolymer cement concrete mixture proportions
for new source materials is much the same as develop-
ing mixture proportions for portland cement concrete.
Prior to casting the large panels, the team identified a
source of Class F fly ash near the project site. Mixture
proportions were tested and adjusted specifically for this
source.
Figure 7. Placing concrete in forms. Additional costs for heat curing are also associated with
geopolymer cement concrete. The difference in costs
among the various fuels that are used to power hot-water
The 28-day compressive strength of these batches based on boilers or steam generators are large, so this cost is not
the average of three 4 × 8 in. (100 × 200 mm) cylinders reported. However, the energy requirement to heat the
was 8650, 6480, 4410, 4920, and 5960 psi (59.6, 44.7, 11.8 yd3 (9.02 m3) of material from room temperature
30.4, 33.9, and 41.1 MPa). Thus, the average compres- to curing temperature was found to be approximately
sive strength was 6080 psi (41.9 MPa), which is higher 420 kWh. The national average cost at the time of casting
than the trial batches, but the standard deviation was also was $0.067/kWh.25 At typical industrial electricity rates,
greater. For the laboratory batches, the standard devia- the cost was $2.49/yd3 ($3.26/m3).
tion of 15 trials was 355 psi (2.45 MPa), whereas the five
production batches yielded a standard deviation of 1650 psi The high cost of geopolymer cement concrete at present
(11.4 MPa). The greater variability in production may have should not be taken as a deterrent to further investigation.
been related to the addition of water at the plant or to the One reliable aspect of all commercialization processes is
time between mixing and placing some of the batches. the aggressive search for cost-reducing opportunities. The
Only one batch fell below the design strength of 4800 psi materials used in this prototype were of a higher grade
(33.1 MPa) but was deemed to be adequate by the struc- than would be necessary for construction. For instance, due
tural engineer of record. to local availability, the purity of the sodium silicate and
sodium hydroxide was sufficient for much more exacting
Material costs processes, such as use with foods, detergents, or other con-
sumables. Both materials can be synthesized or extracted
The costs related to materials in geopolymer cement from waste-stream materials in a form that is adequate for
concrete were tracked during the production of the Solar construction.
Table 3. Cost of constituent materials in geopolymer cement concrete and portland cement concrete
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Keywords