Assessing the suitability of fly ash geopolymer for strengthening existing reinforced concrete structure

Abstract from the Young Researchers’ Forum, XIII AIMAT Congress and SIB Congress - Ischia, Italy, July 2016. Fiber-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composites have gained increasing interest as newly developed system for strengthening reinforced concrete structures. FRCM system provides for the embedding of high-strength fibers into an inorganic matrix. The possibility of using geopolymers instead of cementitious matrix is very attractive since this new class of inorganic material, synthetized through the alkali activation of an aluminosilicate precursor, showed competitive features when compared to cement based materials in both terms of performances and sustainability. However, research dealing with the use of geopolymer for strengthening and rehabilitation of reinforced concrete structures with externally-bonded composite materials are limited.