Structural Performance of Fly Ash–GGBS Based Geopolymer Concrete Beams and Columns Under Loading

Paper ID: EIJTEM_2026_13_2_153-164

Author's Name: Revanth Krishna Avula, Naveen Kumar G, Kalyani Gurram, Maheswararao R and Vijaya Sekhar B

Volume: 13

Issue: 2

Year: 2026

Page No: 153-164

Abstract:

By drastically lowering carbon emissions, geopolymer concrete which uses industrial waste materials offers a sustainable substitute for traditional Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete. The mechanical and structural characteristics of geopolymer concrete made of fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) under ambient curing are evaluated in this work. Sodium hydroxide solutions at concentrations of 8M, 10M, and 12M were used to activate different ratios of fly ash and GGBS. Compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, stress-strain behavior, and structural performance of reinforced concrete beams and columns were all evaluated experimentally. Compressive strength increased by 84%, from 28.5 MPa for a 100% fly ash mix (GPC-1) to 52.6 MPa for the optimized combination (GPC-4), according to the results. Split tensile strength increased from 2.6 MPa to 4.4 MPa (≈69% increase), whereas flexural strength increased from 4.1 MPa to 6.8 MPa (≈66% increase). Beam testing revealed an improvement of about 54% in stiffness, with deflection at 90 kN decreasing from 11.5 mm (GPC-1) to 5.3 mm (GPC-5). In a similar vein, stress-strain measurements showed that a larger GGBS content caused a peak stress increase of almost 71%, from 30.5 MPa to 52.3 MPa. Increasing GGBS percentages improved axial load-carrying capacity, according to column testing. 25% fly ash and 75% GGBS made up the composition that achieved the optimal balance between strength and structural performance. This work supports the viability and sustainability of ambient-cured fly ash-GGBS geopolymer concrete for structural applications, lowering CO2 emissions and encouraging environmentally friendly building techniques.

Keywords: Geopolymer Concrete, Fly Ash, GGBS, Ambient Curing, Structural Behavior, Sustainable Construction.

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