Factors Influencing Compressive Strength in Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Concrete: A Comprehensive Review

The amount of cement used has increased phenomenally due to the development and massive expansion of the infrastructure sector. The manufacture of cement requires more incredible embodied energy and produces greenhouse gases. Geopolymer concrete (GPC) was developed to alleviate the environmental adverse effects caused by carbon dioxide emissions (CO₂) and the extensive use of fossil fuels in cement manufacturing. GPC concrete is more durable and has better mechanical properties than traditional concrete; for all types of concrete composites, including GPC, compressive strength (Cst) is the most essential engineering property. The result is impacted by a multitude of factors, encompassing the number of binder materials utilized, the proportion of alkaline activators to binder (AL/Bi), the quantity of additional water incorporated, the dosage of superplasticizers, the ratio of alkaline activators (AAR), the concentration molarity of hydroxide of sodium (SHy), the temperature of curing, and the duration of cure. This review article aims to illustrate how these various parameters affect the compressive strength of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete (FAGPC). To accomplish this, an extensive dataset was gathered and analyzed. The results indicate that the compressive strength of FAGPC is mainly influenced by the temperature for curing, the amount of sodium hydroxide, and the amount of alkaline in the binder.