Influence of curing regimes on strength development of slag-waste glass-based binary geopolymer

The disposal of waste glass is an environmental concern to municipal solid waste management authorities. An effective approach for reducing the environmental burdened and disposal problems with waste glass is its reuse in the construction industry. Hence, the feasible utilization of glass powder (GP) was assessed by studying the strength properties of the slag-GP binary geopolymers cured at different curing regimens. It includes ambient (30 °C), low (− 15 °C, 0 °C, and 15 °C) and high temperatures (45 °C, 60 °C, 75 °C, and 90 °C) under dry and humid conditions. In addition, the impact of submerged and autoclave curing conditions was assessed. The workability, setting period, and bulk density of the slag-GP mixes were reduced with increased GP content. As per the experimental data, the optimum GP dose was 10% at ambient temperature. However, a higher dose of GP is beneficial for specimens cured at elevated temperatures. No improvement in strength with the curing period was noticed for specimens cured at low temperatures. Under humid curing, slag-GP geopolymers attained dense microstructure, whereas intense micro-cracks were observed in dry environments. Submerged curing conditions achieved better strength gain under alkali conditions compared to normal and saline conditions. Autoclave-curing conditions established rapid strength gain due to geopolymer mechanism advancements. Moreover, the proposed analytical models predict well the CS at different GP contents, curing temperatures, and curing durations.