Investigation of mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete and its application in beam-column joint

In this study, the effects of sodium hydroxide solution concentration and sodium hydroxide to sodium silicate weight ratio on compressive strength, tensile strength, and elastic modulus of slag-based geopolymer concrete are investigated. The results of the experiments show that by reducing the ratio of sodium hydroxide to sodium silicate and increasing the concentration of sodium hydroxide, the compressive strength and tensile strength of concrete increase. In addition, by increasing the concentration of sodium hydroxide and reducing the ratio of sodium hydroxide to sodium silicate, the modulus of elasticity decreases, and no clear relationship is observed between compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of geopolymer concrete. Therefore, a mix design with a ratio of sodium hydroxide to sodium silicate equal to 0.4 and a concentration of 6 molarity sodium hydroxide with the highest compressive strength was selected to be used for the second step of the research. The performance of beam-column joints in past earthquakes shows their importance on the performance of concrete moment-resisting frames. Therefore, in the second step of this research, an experimental study is done for two beam-column joints with geopolymer concrete and ordinary concrete. In order to investigate the cyclic behavior of the joint, the experiment is performed according to the loading protocol of ACI 374.1-05. The results of the experiment show that the geopolymer concrete beam-column joint has the acceptance criteria of ACI 374.1-05 regulations, and also, its seismic performance assures that plastic hinge is generated in the beam properly.