Micromechanics-guided development of a slag/fly ash-based strain-hardening geopolymer composite

Strain-hardening geopolymer composite (SHGC) lately emerged as a promising alternative to traditional strain-hardening cementitious composite with added advantages of industrial by-product utilization and enhanced sustainability. However, as the design of SHGC requires multi-factor optimization, the application of traditional trial-and-error method is inefficient and hinders the development of this material. This paper aims at the development of a slag/fly ash-based SHGC with low slag content using a micromechanical model to guide the composite mixture design. To this end, experimentally characterized physical properties of fiber, matrix and interface are used as input for the micromechanical model, which serves as a predictive tool for the tensile performance of SHGC. Following the guidance, a slag/fly ash-based SHGC with tensile strain capacity of 4.8% and ultimate tensile strength above 3.8 MPa was systematically developed. The feasibility and effectiveness of using micromechanics as the design basis of SHGC are demonstrated and experimentally verified.