Durability of cementitious and geopolymer coating mortars against sulfuric acid attack

Successive deterioration in concrete structures which is caused by the acid attack has increased the need for substantial and costly repairs to deal with the destruction of concrete structures. Common devastation of water transfer tunnels is due to sulfuric acid attack. One of the ways of maintenance of such structures is to perform the protective coating of the cementitious and geopolymer coating mortars, in which the different features of this coating layer should be studied.In this study, the mechanical properties and durability of geopolymer and cementitious coating mortars containing granulated blast furnace slag and natural pozzolan have been compared. Five cementitious mortar mixtures were prepared with water to binder ratio of 0.32, binder content of 450 Kg/m3, and replacement of Portland cement (PC) with 20 and 40% slag and natural pozzolan. 2 geopolymer mortar mixtures with KOH and NaOH as activator were designed. To evaluate their mechanical properties Compressive strength and tensile adhesion strength were carried out. Also, in order to investigate their durability features against sulfuric acid attack, mortar specimens length Change, compressive strength loss, and weight loss were investigated. According to the results, the use of cement substitute materials (furnace slag and natural pozzolan) reduced the compressive strength by 25%, increased the adhesion strength by 50%, and reduced the length change, weight loss and compressive strength loss of the samples exposed to sulfuric acid. Also, the use of geopolymer mortars had the better performance in aggressive acidic environments compared to cement-based mortars.