EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE INCORPORATING SUGARCANE BAGASSE ASH

Abstract

Geopolymer concrete is a sustainable alternative to conventional cement concrete because it can utilize alumino-silicate-rich industrial and agricultural wastes as binder constituents. The present study investigates the effect of Sugarcane Bagasse Ash (SCBA) as a partial replacement of Class F Fly Ash in geopolymer concrete and evaluates the resulting mechanical performance. Five mixtures were prepared by replacing Fly Ash with 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% SCBA, designated as G0, G5, G10, G15, and G20, respectively. A 12 M Sodium Hydroxide solution and Sodium Silicate were used as alkaline activators, with the Na₂SiO₃:NaOH ratio maintained at 2.5:1. Fresh concrete workability was assessed using the slump test, while hardened properties were evaluated through compressive strength, split tensile strength, and flexural strength tests. Compressive strength was measured at 7, 14, and 28 days, while tensile and flexural tests were performed at 28 days. The results show a consistent increase in strength up to 10% SCBA replacement, followed by a reduction at higher replacement levels. The G10 mixture achieved the highest 28-day compressive strength of 43.70 MPa, split tensile strength of 3.52 MPa, and flexural strength of 4.91 MPa. In addition to the experimental investigation, Linear Regression, Decision Tree Regression, and Random Forest Regression were applied for predictive analysis. The reported model comparison gave R² values of 0.89, 0.93, and 0.97, respectively, with the Random Forest model also reporting the lowest error measures in the comparison table. The study demonstrates the potential of controlled SCBA utilization in geopolymer concrete and the usefulness of regression-based prediction for reducing experimental effort.