Alkali-activated binder offers a large reduction in CO2 emissions (up to 80%) compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), promoting alkali-activated binder as a component of sustainable concrete constructions. Alkali-activated mortar and concrete exhibit better engineering properties and durability than OPC mortar and concrete, respectively. In addition, alkali-activated mortar and concrete can effectively include by-products and waste materials. Waste glass can be reused as raw material in the construction industry to reduce the negative impacts on the environment and preserve natural resources. However, the use of waste glass as construction material still remains under-utilised and inadequately explored, and there is a significant opportunity for the expansion of the value-added use of waste glass. This thesis presents a research study on the use of waste glass powder and waste glass sand in ambient cured alkali-activated mortars (AAMs) and concrete (AAC).
The use of an alkali-activated binder as a replacement for ordinary Portland cement (OPC) for the manufacturing of concrete would help in reducing CO2 emissions in the environment. In this study, different percentages of graphene nano-platelets (by weight of aluminosilicate materials) were added in slag-fly ash-based ambient cured alkali-activated concrete. The slump, compressive, flexural, splitting tensile, pulse velocity and direct tensile tests were performed. It has been observed that the addition of 0.5% graphene by weight of aluminosilicate materials improved the compressive, splitting tensile, flexural and direct tensile strengths of slag-fly ash-based ambient cured alkali-activated concrete.