EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON STRENGTHENING OF GEO POLYMER CONCRETE SLAB WITH BUBBLE TECHNOLOGY

The Bubble Deck technology developed in Europe makes use of high-density polyethylene hollow spheres to replace the ineffective concrete in the centre of the slab, thus decreasing the dead weight and increasing the efficiency of the floor. This method is used in the concrete floor system. Concrete is good in compression and hence is more useful in the compression region than in the tension region. The reduction in concrete can be done by replacing the tension zone concrete. Keeping the same idea in mind, an attempt has been made to find out the effectiveness of plastic bubbles by replacing concrete in the tension zone of Ordinary Portland Cement Concrete (OPCC) and Geo-Polymer Concrete (GPC) beam. Ingredients selected are cement, sand and coarse aggregate for OPCC and for GPC cement is completely replaced with 70% flyash, 15% GGBS and 15% glass powder. NaOH solution of 12M is added in place of water for GPC. Geo-Polymer Concrete does not form calcium- silicate-hydrates (CSHs) for matrix formation and strength like OPCC but utilizes the poly condensation of silica and alumina precursors to attain structural strength. In this project, M45 concrete mix is used to prepare both OPCC and GPC beams. The trial mix is tested for compressive strength in 7 days and 28 days. Flexure test is done for 7 days and 28 days of curing of the beams. The procedure is repeated for beam samples with bubble mesh and bubble mesh along with shear reinforcement. Comparative analysis of the OPCC and GPC beams are done to observe the percentage reduction in self-weight and cost ii effectiveness. Analysis of behavior of GPC beam in comparison with that of OPCC beam is also carried out.