EXPERIMENTAL FEASIBILITY STUDY OF LOW

TEMPERATURE GEOPOLYMER STABILISED EARTH

BLOCKS

Emeso B. Ojo
Ph.D Material Science and Engineering
African University of Science and Technology, Abuja Nigeria
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Background and Motivation
Objective

Scope

Research Methodology

Results and Discussion

Conclusion

2
 BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION

Half of humanity 3.5 billion people lives in cities today

By 2030, almost 60 per cent of the worlds population will live in urban areas

95 per cent of urban expansion in the next decades will take place in developing world

828 million people live in slums today and the number keeps rising
3
A high rate of Rural-Urban migration where a forecast shows that 70% of African
population will live in Cities by 2050.
Source:www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/
 BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION
Targets:
By 2030, ensure access
for all to adequate, safe
and affordable Lowers Lower
housing and basic construction embodied
services and upgrade costs energy
slums

Providing adequate Utilization Local

housing requires of local economic
continuous research materials development
and investment Appropriate
Technologies
especially in appropriate
technologies

4
 TRADITIONAL WALLING MATERIALS

Resurgence of earth as walling

materials.

An appropriate technology

Possesses very good insulation and

thermal properties

Higher energy efficiency compared to

other building materials

There is need for continuous

research and investment into new,
viable sustainable alternatives for
stabilisation.
5

Source: www.littlehamptonbrick.com.au
GEOPOLYMERISATION TECHNOLOGY

Aluminosilicate
source Geopolymer paste

Alkaline Processing
activator Conditions

2 basic steps:
(1) Dissolution of solid aluminosilicate oxides
by alkali to produce small reactive silica
and alumina
Water 6
(2) Polycondensation process leading to
formation of amorphous to semicrystalline
polymers
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Can the Kaolinite mineral present in laterites
serve as the aluminosilicate source to harness the
geopolymerisation process for the production of
earth blocks?

Can these reactions proceed with alkaline

hydroxides only and at room temperature to
produce a more eco-friendly material?

7
 PRODUCTION OF TEST PIECES

PULVERIZING
Manual crushing to disintegrate particles
held up by clay

SCREENING
0.425mm sieve to remove coarse particles

MEASURING OUT
NaOH, soil and water are measured out as
dry weights

MIXING
Mixing NaOH in water to achieve desired
molarity
Mixing alkaline solution with soil

COMPRESSION 8
Static compaction at a compactive effort of
3N/mm2
PROCESSING CONDITIONS
Room Temperature
3 days
15 days

45 days

Elevated temperatures
for 5hrs
60
85

105

9
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION -CHARACTERIZATION

100
35
90
80 30
Percentage passing %

Plasticity Index %
70 25
60 20
50
15
40
30 10

20 5
10 0
0 0 10 20 30 40 50
10 60
Silt Sand Grav Liquid Limit %
0.002 0.02 0.2 2 20

Particle size (mm)

 DRY COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH- ROOM
TEMPERATURE CURING
12
9

Compressive Strength N/mm2

10 8
Compressive Strength

7
8
6

6 5
4
4 3
2
2
1
RT-3
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 RT15 0 2 4 6 8 10
NaOH Content RT-45 Cement Content %

11
 WET COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
15 DAYS DCS
WCS
9
Compressive Strength MPa

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 1 3 5 12
NaOH Content %
45 DAYS
10
Compressive Strength MPA

DCS
4
WCS

2
12
0
0 1 3 5
NaOH Content %
WATER ABSORPTION
12

10

8
Water Absorption %

6
3
5

0
3 15 45 13
Curing duration (days)
DRY COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH- ELEVATED
TEMPERATURES
16

14

12
Compressive Strength MPa

10

8 60
85
105
6

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 14
NaOH Content %
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH ELEVATED
TEMPERATUTES VS ROOM TEMPERATURE
14

12

10
Compressive Strength MPa

Untreated
6 3% NaOH

0
25(3) 25(15) 25(45) 60 85 105 15
Temperature (degree Celsius)
 WET COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH- ELEVATED
TEMPERATURES
8
8
Curing Temperature 85C
Curing

Compressive Strength MPa

7 7
Compressive Strength MPa

Temperature 60C 6
6
5
5 4
4 3
2
3 1
2 0
0 1 3 5
1
85
0 NaOH Content % DCS
0 1 3 5
WCS
60 16
NaOH Content % Curing at 105C
Compressive Strength MPA

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
16
0
0 1 3 5
105
NaOH Cpntent %
 WATER ABSORPTION
RT15 20
19
RT-45

17 60 18

85
15
Water Absorption %

105 16

Water Absorption %
13
14

11

12
9

7 10

5
8
3 5
0 3 5 6.5 8
NaOH Content %
Cement Content % 17
ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
Questions of interest
What effect does NaOH content have on the properties
of the earth blocks?
What effect does curing time have on the time to
properties of the earth blocks?
Do both parameters have effects of the properties?

18
 RESULTS COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
Source of Variation SS d.f. MS F p-level F crit

Factor #1 (Curing
Condition) 85.8824 5 17.17648 7.97287 0.00077 2.90129

Factor #2 (NaOH
Content) 89.65295 3 29.88432 13.87151 0.00013 3.28738

Within Groups 32.3155 15 2.15437

207.8508
Total 5 23 9.03699 19
 RESULTS WATER ABSORPTION

Source of Variation SS d.f. MS F p-level F crit

Factor #1 (Curing
Condition) 20.24386 4 5.06097 3.24715 0.14021 6.38823

Factor #2 (NaOH
Content) 3.76996 1 3.76996 2.41884 0.19486 7.70865

Within Groups 6.23434 4 1.55858

Total 30.24816 9 3.36091

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MAJOR FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS
In all cases, there is an approximate linear relationship
between sodium hydroxide content and compressive strength
of test pieces
At room temperature curing, about 90% increase in
compressive strength is obtained by increasing duration of
curing from 3 days to 45 days. This suggests that the
geopolymerisation process is time dependent. This may be
attributed to the fact that the geopolymer precursor (kaolin) is
not thermally activated, hence its reactivity is much slower
relative to metakaolin.
At 0 and 1% NaOH content, the test pieces disintegrated when
fully immersed in water for 24hrs indicating the absence of
sufficient binding in the laterite. However, at 3 and 5% NaOH
content, test pieces we observe a reduction in compressive
strength following full immersion in water for 24hrs. This
suggests that stabilization due to the geopolymerization
process was achieved at NaOH content from 3%.
. 21
MAJOR FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS
Curing at 60 and 850C for 5hrs resulted in a slight
increase in compressive strength compared to curing
at room temperature. Although there was a marked
increase in compressive strength (about 200%) when
the test pieces were cured at 1050C, there was also an
increased water absorption in the test pieces when
fully immersed in water for 24hrs.
With respect to water absorption in the test pieces, it
was observed that increase in curing duration and
NaOH content resulted in decreased water
absorption.
Comparative assessment between cement stabilized
and geopolymer stabilized test pieces showed a higher
degree of stabilization was achieved through
geopolymerisation. This was evident from the
improved compressive strength and water absorption 22
characteristics obtained through geopolymerisation
MAJOR FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS
The results from the study demonstrate the
feasibility of exploiting the geopolymer
technology for the stabilization of soils using the
natural kaolinite present in the soil as the
precursor for the provision of affordable housing
in the developing world.

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Thank you for listening.

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