Geopolymer paste as a repairing material for concrete

Abstract

The appearance of cracks nearly after 30 years of construction has urged researchers to always find a new, eco-friendly and economical solution. Geopolymer paste, which is considered a good potential to replace Ordinary Portland Cement, is also considered a potential to replace commercial repair materials. This research aims to study the mechanical properties of geopolymer paste as an adhesion material for concrete cracks and to compare it with Ordinary Portland Cement. French and Lebanese metakaolin were used as source material in the geopolymer mix. Cylindrical concrete specimens (2.3 cm x 4.6 cm) were created and cut in two ways: 45˚cut using a grinding missile and compressed using the compression machine. Then, geopolymer paste was used as a binder for the cracks. The samples were tested on days 14, 28, 56, 90, and 180 days. The test results indicated that both geopolymer pastes have higher compressive strength than Ordinary Portland Cement mortars on all curing days.