Sustainable Development of Alkali-Activated Bricks using Cinders

Sustainable Development of Alkali-Activated Bricks using Cinders | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Sustainable Development of Alkali-Activated Bricks using Cinders Amberdeep Oraon, Thejas H K This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4204124/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 3 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates the feasibility and efficacy of utilizing cinder, a byproduct of industrial processes, as a fine aggregate in the production of geopolymer bricks. Geopolymer technology offers a promising alternative to conventional brick manufacturing methods by utilizing industrial by-product materials and reducing the environmental impact associated with traditional clay brick production. The research focuses on optimizing the geopolymer formulation by varying the proportions of cinder, alkali activator, and other additives to achieve desirable properties such as compressive strength, and durability performance. Mechanical property compressive strength is evaluated along with durability aspects such as water absorption, and efflorescence. For this purpose, five different brick compositions were synthesized with fly ash, GGBS, and Cinder along with Na 2 SiO 3 sol.The raw materials underwent characterization through different methods including X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The resulting bricks exhibited a peak compressive strength of 12.11 MPa and a minimal water absorption rate of 15%. Notably, the use of 8% Na 2 SiO 3 as an alkaline activator, combined with fly ash and GGBS, enabled the incorporation of over 30% cinder, resulting in the production of high-quality bricks under ambient curing conditions.The results demonstrate the potential of incorporating cinder as a fine aggregate in geopolymer bricks, offering a sustainable solution for waste utilization and contributing to the development of environmentally friendly building materials. Cinder Geopolymer brick Alkali Activator strength durability Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Introduction The rapid expansion of the national economy has led to substantial growth in sectors such as steel, chemicals, and non-ferrous metals. China has emerged as the foremost global producer and consumer of iron, copper, lead, and zinc[ 1 ]. In the steel industry, the manufacturing process yields various solid waste materials like slag, dust, cinder, and sludge, prompting an increased focus on both their utilization and environmental impact[ 2 ]. The steelmaking process involves multiple stages, encompassing primary and secondary steelmaking, as well as ingot casting and continuous casting, each generating significant amounts of waste. Consequently, there's a growing imperative to reduce and manage waste effectively due to its profound environmental consequences. Presently, in the Indian steel sector, solid waste production ranges from 450 to 550 kg per ton of crude steel, with recycling rates fluctuating between 40% and 70%. This scenario contributes to elevated production costs, diminished productivity, and worsened environmental degradation[ 3 ]. Cinder, also referred to as slag, emerges as a residual product during iron and steel production within the metallurgical sector. It primarily comprises non-metallic elements separated from the molten metal during the smelting or refining stages[ 4 ]. Its constituents typically encompass oxides, silicates, and other compounds found in the raw materials utilized for steelmaking, like iron ore, limestone, and coal. The composition of cinder varies, influenced by factors such as furnace type, raw material selection, and the specific steelmaking method employed[ 5 ]. Upon creation, cinder is commonly skimmed off from the molten metal's surface and rapidly cooled, transforming it into its solid state. While traditionally viewed as waste, contemporary steelmaking practices strive to leverage cinder beneficially. It can be reintegrated into the steelmaking process as a flux or aggregate, thereby curbing the consumption of raw materials and energy. Furthermore, cinder finds application in construction materials like concrete and asphalt, offering a sustainable substitute for conventional aggregates[ 6 ], [ 7 ]. On a global scale, the iron and steel industry annually yield millions of tons of cinder. Estimates indicate that the worldwide production of steel slag alone surpasses several hundred million tons annually. India emerges as a significant player in steel production globally, consequently generating substantial quantities of cinder or slag as a byproduct[ 7 ], [ 8 ]. Estimates suggest that India's annual steel slag production reaches several tens of millions of tons. The types of cinder generated in India encompass blast furnace slag, basic oxygen furnace slag, and electric arc furnace slag, depending on the steelmaking processes adopted by different facilities. Effective management and utilization of cinder play a pivotal role in mitigating environmental impacts and enhancing the overall efficiency and sustainability of the iron and steel industry[ 9 ], [ 10 ]. Cinder, a byproduct of the iron and steel industry, has garnered significant attention in various research studies. Scholars have delved into multiple facets of cinder, encompassing its chemical composition, physical attributes, environmental ramifications, and potential uses[ 11 ]. The construction sector has particularly explored the utilization of cinder, also known as slag, owing to its advantageous characteristics and potential to foster sustainable practices[ 12 ]. Several applications of cinder in construction have been extensively investigated[ 13 ], including its incorporation as aggregate in concrete[ 14 ], utilization as a base material in road construction, blending into asphalt mixtures, utilization as railroad ballast[ 15 ], application in soil stabilization, and as a cover material in landfills[ 16 ]. In India, the government has been actively advocating for the sustainable utilization of industrial byproducts, including cinder derived from the iron and steel industry, through policy frameworks and initiatives. These endeavors are geared towards curtailing waste generation, conserving natural resources[ 17 ], and encouraging environmentally sound practices within the industrial sphere. Furthermore, India has witnessed research and development endeavors focused on innovatively harnessing cinder's potential[ 18 ]. These efforts encompass studies aimed at optimizing its characteristics for specific applications, devising novel construction materials integrating cinder, and exploring its viability across diverse sectors such as agriculture and wastewater treatment[ 19 ]. The utilization of industrial waste materials is essential in the pursuit of sustainable development in construction for various reasons. Primarily, it lessens the need for new materials, thus preserving precious natural resources and mitigating the environmental harm caused by their extraction[ 20 ]. Furthermore, the incorporation of industrial waste materials aids in waste management by decreasing the amount of waste sent to landfills and reducing pollution. Moreover, the integration of these materials often leads to energy conservation during the manufacturing process, resulting in decreased carbon emissions and improved energy efficiency of buildings. However, these studies have been carried out on concrete mixtures only. To contribute more to the knowledge of the use of cinder in building materials, this study was taken to investigate the effect of cinder on the mechanical properties of bricks[ 21 ]. In this study, cinder was used to replace sand up to 50% and the corresponding mechanical properties were evaluated. The compressive strength, water absorption, efflorescence, and electrical resistivity of the bricks were evaluated at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. In this paper the results from the experimental investigations carried out. Experimental Program 3.1 Materials The materials used in this study are Cinder, Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS), and Fly Ash (FA) with chemical composition presented in Table 1 . The cinder was obtained from local supplier and GGBS were obtained from JSW cement industry, while the FA was obtained from the Raichur thermal power station. The obtained cinder was in the form of coarse aggregate so it was cursed using a ball mill machine and then the cinder was sieved particles passing through a 1.18 mm sieve for the use of replacement of the sand. Figures 1 and 2present the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the cinder, GGBS, and FA. It can be seen from Fig. 1 that the cinder particles have a rough surface texture with voids while GGBS particles are angular in shape and FA is spherical and smooth on the surface. This rough surface texture with voids in the cinder is expected to accommodate much finer particles of GGBS and FA.The XRD analysis identified the presence of compounds such as Aluminium Iron Silicide (4.5/1/1) - Beta in the cinder as seen in Fig. 2 (a) . Nevertheless, since the Cinder exhibits a crystalline structure, it is expected to remain chemically inert when mixed with other substances. The mineralogy of GGBS and FA was also determined, as illustrated in Fig. 2 (b) and 2 (c). The results indicate that both GGBS and FA exhibited a hump in the 2θ range of 10.72°-44.62°and 16.41°-67.81°, respectively, which signifies their amorphous nature. Also, to bind the materials one part alkali activator was used which is sodium silicate (Na2SiO3). Apart from that water was used in the ratio of 1:1. Table 2 presents the physical properties of the materials and the alkali activator. Table 1 Chemical composition of materials. Compounds in % Cinder GGBS FA SiO 2 52.1 32.5 59.1 Al 2 O 3 20.6 17.54 21.48 Fe 2 O 3 18.3 1.36 3.70 CaO 5.13 37.10 6.42 MgO 1.43 7.34 2.2 SO 3 0.31 0.86 0.42 MnO 8.38 0.66 0.06 TiO 2 1.65 0.36 0.09 K2O 0.37 0.35 1.41 LOI(%) 1.78 1.82 2.48 Table 2 Physical properties of the materials and the alkali activator. Material Density (Kg/m 3 ) Specific Gravity Cinder 2250 2.86 GGBS 1340 2.73 FA 1182 2.14 Na 2 SiO 3 1593 - 3.2 Mix Proportion The utilization of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) and Fly Ash (FA) in the construction industry is an effective way to achieve sustainable practices that are abundantly available worldwide. Recently, several studies have reported its positive influence in developing alkali-activated binders. Recent studies have demonstrated that the incorporation of 5% -15% FA in GGBS enhances the compressive and tensile properties of alkali-activated binders, as reported by Mehta and Siddique [ 23 ]. Likewise, Venkatesan and Pazhani[ 24 ] found that replacing 10% of GGBS with FA leads to improved strength and durability properties. Therefore, in this study, the geopolymer binder was proportioned with 50% GGBS and 50% FA of the total binder content. The total quantity of cinder was decided based on initial laboratory trials and it was fixed at 30% by the total weight of the solid fraction. To activate the solid precursors, Na2SiO3 sol. was added based on the previous study. There was a need for additional water to achieve the desired consistency for the mix, and it was set at 8% based on initial laboratory trials. So, for mix C30P70 the cinder was 30% and from the remaining binder content which is 70%, both GGBS and FA were divided into half which is 35% GGBS and 35% FA. Similarly, the remaining mix where also designed and there was an increase of 5% in cinder content in the mix, and the remaining binder decreased by 5%. The detailed mix composition of the bricks is given in Table 3 . Table 3 Mix proportion of the bricks evaluated in percentage (%). Sl No. Mix Cinder GGBS FA (Na 2 SiO 3 ) Water 1. C30P70 30 35 35 8 8 2. C35P65 35 32.5 32.5 8 8 3. C40P60 40 30 30 8 8 4. C45P55 45 27.5 27.5 8 8 5. C50P50 50 25 25 8 8 3.3 Mixing, sample preparation, and curing. The mixture for bricks was made by first dry mixing the binder followed by the addition of Na2SiO3 and water. The mixture was mixed thoroughly after the addition of Na2SiO3 and water to get lump lump-free consistency blend. The mixing process was performed manually. After mixing, the composition of the ingredients was transferred to a metal scoop. Later the ingredients were placed in a steel mould of size 230×110×75mm and pressed manually in a brick-making machine as shown in Fig. 4 . After the manual compaction, the brick was carefully ejected from the brick-making machine and the final product was stored for curing in ambient conditions for 28 days. 3.4 Test Methods The testing program was performed to evaluate the strength and durability performance of the developed alkali-activated bricks. A total of 100 bricks were cast and ambient cured for 28 days. For each test, three brick specimens for each composition were tested. The details of the various tests are explained in the following sub-sections. 3.4.1 Compressive Strength The compressive strength of bricks was determined using a digital compression testing machine in accordance with IS 3495: Part 1 [ 25 ]. The load was applied axially at a uniform rate of 14 N/mm 2 N/mm 2 per minute till failure. The compressive strength was expressed by noting the maximum load at failure in ‘N’ and dividing it by the average net area of two faces under compression in ‘mm’. 3.4.2 Bulk Density The bulk density of each specimen was determined in accordance with ASTM C134-95 [ 26 ]. The bricks were dried in the oven at 110 ◦ 2 C for 24 h, cooled, and weighted. The dry weight for each specimen was recorded. The dimensions for each brick were measured at three locations for length, width, and thickness, and the average value was reported. The bulk density was calculated using Eq. (1). $$Bulk Density (Kg/m3)=\frac{Dry weight}{Volume of specimen}$$ 3.4.3 Water Absorption The determination of water absorption was carried out as per the guidelines given in IS 3495 (Part 2): 1992[ 25 ]. The specimen was kept in a ventilated oven at a temperature of 105 to 115°C until it attained substantially constant mass. After the specimen cooled down to room temperature its weight was taken (M1). Immerse the completely dried specimen in clean water at a temperature of 27 ± 2°C for 24 hours (as shown in Fig. 3 ). Then the specimen was removed and traces of water were removed with a damp cloth and weigh the specimen. And the weighing was completed 3 minutes after the specimen was removed from the water (M2). The water absorption, percent by mass is calculated using the formula $$Water Absorption=\frac{(M2-M1)}{M2}\times 100$$ 3.4.4 Efflorescence The efflorescence test was conducted in accordance with IS 3495 (Part 3): 1992[ 25 ]. The end of the brick specimen was placed in the dish containing distilled water, ensuring that the depth of immersion was 25 mm (as shown in Fig. 4 ). The dish was covered with a suitable glass cylinder to prevent excessive evaporation. And was placed in a warm and well-ventilated room until all the water in the dish was absorbed by the specimen and the surplus water evaporated. When the water was absorbed and the brick appeared to be dry a similar quantity of water was placed in the dish. 3.4.5 Electrical Resistivity The electrical resistivity of developed bricks was determined using the procedure followed by Kuranchie et al. [ 27 ]. The bricks were attached with probes on both ends and connected to a multimeter with a capacity of 40 MΩ as shown in Fig. 5 . The resistivity of brick was calculated using the recorded value of resistance and the brick dimensions. Eq. (3) was used to calculate the electrical resistivity in (Ω m) $$\varvec{E}\varvec{l}\varvec{e}\varvec{c}\varvec{t}\varvec{r}\varvec{i}\varvec{c}\varvec{a}\varvec{l} \varvec{r}\varvec{e}\varvec{s}\varvec{i}\varvec{t}\varvec{i}\varvec{v}\varvec{i}\varvec{t}\varvec{y}\left(\varvec{\rho }\right)=\frac{\varvec{R}\varvec{A}}{\varvec{L}}$$ 3.4.6 Microscopic Analysis Microscopic analysis of the developed brick was performed to study the microstructure changes that occurred due to the addition of cinder in alkali-activated bricks. The pieces of bricks were chosen from the interior portion and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was performed employing JEOL Model JSM-6390LV with a resolution of 1.38 eV. Further, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) was used for phase identification of the developed brick. The brick sample is finely ground and the powder X-ray diffraction was performed using a Bruker AXS D8 diffractometer with Ni-filtered Cu K α radiation source (λ = 1.5406 Å) in the range of 10–80 6 ◦ at a scan rate of 0.5 ◦ /min. Results and discussions 4.1 Compressive Strength The crucial characteristic of alkali-activated bricks is their compressive strength, which represents their ability to withstand compressive force and demonstrates a successful reaction between the alkali source and solid aluminosilicates. A stronger resistance to compressive force also implies a superior microstructure and enhanced durability properties for the bricks. Figure 6 shows the compressive strength of the bricks. As seen, the results showed a steady increase in the compressive strength for all the brick types from 7 days to 28 days. However, the brick type C30P70 shows the maximum compressive strength in 28 days which is 12.11 MPa. And then for the remaining brick type, there is a decrease in compressive strength as the cinder content is increased. The reason for the more compressive strength of the brick type C30P70 is due to more content of precursors fine particles which can fill the voids between the cinder particles forming C-S-H gel[ 28 ]. And as for the remaining brick type as the content of cinder increases and precursors decrease the voids start to increase which causes a reduction in the compressive strength. Also, it is interesting to notice that the addition of fly ash and GGBS was effective in improving the compressive strength of bricks with a high proportion of cinder with low silica and thus suggesting the prospective to improve the recyclability of cinder in the brick industry. The compressive strength of developed bricks was compared with various standard specifications andbrick type C30P70 satisfies the IS 1077 [ 29 ], and ASTM C62-17 [ 30 ] minimum strength limits, while other brick type C50P50 satisfies only the IS 1077 requirements. 4.2 Bulk Density Figure 7 shows the obtained bulk density of the bricks. The normal required range for bulk density for burnt clay bricks is 1800–2000 kg/m 3 [ 25 ], and the obtained values were well within the limits and from the recent findings it is reported that the geopolymer bricks usually have less bulk density. The results indicate that the incorporation of cinder has led to a reduction in the self-weight of the bricks, as we can see brick type C30P70 has higher density as compared to other brick types. The reason for the reduction in density is due to the addition of more cinder content and the reduction of GGBS and FA content in the bricks. And as the cinder content is increased the voids in the composition increase and the density decreases. From the SEM images (Fig. 10) we can see that there are more voids in the brick type C50P50 as compared to C30P70. 4.3 Water Absorption The water absorption of bricks is an important property that will influence the porosity and durability properties of the brick. The addition of cinder has influenced the water absorption of the bricks as seen in Fig. 8 . For instance, the brick type C30P40 showed the lowest average water absorption of 15% and met the requirements of IS 1077[ 29 ] for first-class brick. Similarly, the brick type C50P50 showed the highest average water absorption of 19.12% and meet the requirements of IS 1077 for second-class brick. Such findings indicate that with an increase in cinder, the porosity of bricks increases, primarily due to more voids formed due to increase in cinder content. Also, decreasing GGBS and FA content reduces the filling ability in voids, thus reducing the water absorption of the bricks. 4.4 Efflorescence Deposits of soluble salts on the surface of bricks are known as efflorescence. This occurrence is commonly seen when water-soluble salts, water, and a porous medium are present in the bricks. The downside of efflorescence is that it can cause damage to wall plaster and even affect the paint on the wall. Additionally, if the bricks are not plastered, it can greatly impact the appearance of the wall. This is why it is preferable for bricks to be free of efflorescence. The amount of salt deposited on the brick surface is defined according to IS 3495 (part 3)[ 25 ].Table 4 presents the details of efflorescence as defined in accordance with Indian Standard. And the results of the efflorescence on the developed bricks are shown in Fig. 10. As observed from Fig. 9 , the efflorescence levels were constant across all brick types and were not influenced by the addition of cinder. The levels of efflorescence were found to be moderate to heavy, as per the specifications outlined in IS 3495. It is important to note that several factors can affect efflorescence in geopolymer mixes. As the efflorescence test was conducted after 28 days of curing, it is reasonable to expect efflorescence with the aging of bricks. Therefore, while efflorescence is a common issue in geopolymer bricks, the study’s results indicate that there is further study has to be done on the mix composition to resolve the problem. Table 4 Efflorescence is defined as per IS 3495 (Part 3) standards. Efflorescence Definitions Nil No perceptible deposit of efflorescence. Slight Approximately 10% of the brick surface covered with a thin deposit of salts Moderate Approximately 50% of the brick surface is covered with a thin deposit of salts, but unaccompanied by powdering or flaking of the surface Heavy More than 50% of the brick surface is covered with a thin deposit of salts, but unaccompanied by powdering or flaking of the surface Serious Heavy deposit of salts accompanied by powdering or flaking on the exposed surface 4.5 Electrical Resistivity The purpose of conducting an electrical resistivity test was to ensure the safety of the bricks by preventing potential hazards related to electricity conduction and shocks. This was deemed necessary due to the presence of iron content in the cinder, which has a higher likelihood of being conductive compared to traditional bricks. The results of the test, presented in Table 5 , indicate that the addition of cinder has slightly decreased the electrical resistivity of the bricks, likely due to the higher conductivity of cinder [ 27 ]. However, this decrease can be considered insignificant, and all the bricks can still be deemed safe for use in construction. In comparison to other studies, the obtained resistivity values appear to be reasonable, with conventional bricks showing a resistivity of 1.08MΩ and geopolymer bricks with cinder showing values ranging from 1.8-2 MΩ [ 27 ]. Table 5 Results of Electrical Resistivity. Brick Type Resistance (MΩ) C30P70 2 C35P65 2 C40P60 1.9 C45P55 1.9 C50P50 1.8 4.6 Microscopic Analysis It is common to observe the presence of various zeolite types including analcime, sodalite, natrolite, and nepheline when alkaline activation is utilized in the production of geopolymers. However, the specific type and amount of these phases can be influenced by factors such as the precursor material, calcination temperature, and alkaline sources. Despite expectations, no crystalline phases similar to those shown in Fig. 10 (a), (b), (c), (d) , and (e) were detected during the investigation, likely due to the curing process being carried out at room temperature. Additionally, the disordered structure of silica and alumina oxides in cinder may have hindered their identification through XRD analysis. Furthermore, research has shown that the use of one-part alkali-activated mixes results in fewer hydration products compared to traditional alkali-activated mixes [ 31 ]. This was confirmed in the study. It is worth noting that the addition of GGBS to the mix has led to an increase in the brick's strength, attributed to the formation of C-S-H through the alkaline activation of GGBS. The presence of C-S-H was most prominent in the 2Ɵ range of 25–30 ◦ and specifically a peak at 27 ◦ for all types of bricks, indicating its dominance in the phase composition [ 32 ]. The SEM micrographs of the bricks are shown in Fig. 11 . It is evident that the best microstructure is observed for brick type C30P70 with a dense matrix of reactive products that minimizes the pores, and holds the constituents together, which further improves the resistance of brick to external forces. Also, as the content of cinder increases in the bricks, the formation of reactive products decreases and more voids start to appear. For instance, in brick type C50P50, there are many unreacted particles, and therefore large voids were noticed in the micrographs, suggesting the poor performance of these bricks to external forces. Finally, unreacted fly ash particles were also noticed which occupy the space between cinder particles and further help reduce the voids in the brick. Conclusion The feasibility of using the cinder a by-product of steel industries to produce geopolymer bricks was studied by alkali activation. The investigation was done to find the effects of sodium silicate content, and ambient curing, on compressive strength, microstructure, bulk density, water absorption, efflorescence, and electrical resistivity. Based on the results, the following conclusions were drawn: There is a significant decrease in the compressive strength of alkali-activated cinder bricks with incremental addition of Cinder and a decrease in GGBS and Fly Ash. The best performance of 12.11 MPa after 28 days of curing was observed for brick C30P70. Such improvement can be attributed to the distinct reaction between GGBS and Fly Ash with cinder, which provides better strength over time. The brick type C30P70 which consists of 30% Cinder, 35% fly ash, and 35% GGBS, along with 8% Na2SiO3 sol. and 8% water performed the best. The increase in cinder content reduced the compressive strength and the least performance was observed for brick type C50P50. However, bricks with up to 30% cinder meet the standard requirements of first-class bricks as per Indian standards code 3495-(1992) and the rest of the brick composites fall under second-class categories, this suggests the prospect of alkali-activated binders in improving the recyclability of cinder. The bulk density of the alkali-activated Cinder bricks varied between 1691.73 kg/m 3 to 1654.73 kg/m 3 , which is way below the conventional clay bricks. Moreover, the inclusion of fly ash and GGBS led to an increase in the packing density, indicating the advantages of utilizing these materials to fill the gaps between the cinder particles and improve the microstructure of the bricks. The water absorption of 15% for C30P70 was the lowest among all alkali-activated brick types. This assures the positive interaction between GGBS, fly ash, and cinder, which improves the compactness of the blocks primarily due to the filling up of the voids with products of pozzolanic reaction and GGBS particles. The water absorption of all the alkali-activated bricks was less than 20% and they satisfy the requirements for second-class brick as per Indian standards. The results of alkali-activated bricks in the efflorescence test revealed that there was moderate to heavy efflorescence for all brick types. This is due to the alkali activators in the brick. The electrical resistivity of brick shows that all the brick types have good electrical resistance. In particular, brick types C30P70 and C35P65 show good resistance of 2 (MΩ), and the remaining brick types were under 2 (MΩ) which is well within the limits suggesting that the electrical resistivity of developed bricks is high enough to be used as construction material. Upon microscopic examination, it was discovered that the primary factor contributing to the increase in strength was the formation of C-S-H resulting from the alkaline activation of GGBS. Additionally, the inclusion of fly ash further enhanced the microstructure by filling in the empty spaces between cinder particles. Based on the obtained results, the properties of the bricks will be significantly affected by the variation in physical and chemical properties of the source material; in particular, the characteristics of Cinder need to be understood. Furthermore, it is interesting that cinder can be utilized in developing first-class alkali-activated bricks at ambient conditions. This improves the practical feasibility of making alkali-activated bricks with cinder and incurs environmental benefits over the energy-intensive methods of brick manufacturing such as firing. Declarations Funding The author received no direct funding for this research. 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N.SivalingaRao, “Properties of light weight concrete with cinder and silica fume.,” International journal of earth sciences and Engineering , vol. 4, 2011. A. I. Ai-Negheimish, F. H. Ai-Sugair, and R. Z. Ai-Zaid, “Utilization of Local Steelmaking Slag in Concrete,” 1997. H. Yousef Malkawi, “Review of steel slag utilization in Saudi Arabia,” 2003. [Online]. Available: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228410867 A. Mehta, R. Siddique, T. Ozbakkaloglu, F. Uddin Ahmed Shaikh, and R. Belarbi, “Fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag-based alkali-activated concrete: Mechanical, transport and microstructural properties,” Constr Build Mater , vol. 257, p. 119548, Oct. 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119548. R. P. Venkatesan and K. C. Pazhani, “Strength and durability properties of geopolymer concrete made with Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag and Black Rice Husk Ash,” KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering , vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 2384–2391, Sep. 2016, doi: 10.1007/s12205-015-0564-0. “IS 3495: Part 1–4, Methods of Tests of Burnt Clay Building Bricks, Bureau of India standards, New Delhi, India, 2019. .” “ASTM C134-95, Standard Test Methods for Size, Dimensional Measurements, and Bulk Density of Refractory Brick and Insulating Firebrick, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, United States, 2016. .” F. A. Kuranchie, S. K. Shukla, and D. Habibi, “Utilisation of iron ore mine tailings for the production of geopolymer bricks,” Int J Min Reclam Environ , vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 92–114, Mar. 2016, doi: 10.1080/17480930.2014.993834. H. K. Thejas and N. Hossiney, “Alkali-activated bricks made with mining waste iron ore tailings,” Case Studies in Construction Materials , vol. 16, Jun. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.cscm.2022.e00973. “IS-1077, Common Burnt Clay Building Bricks – Specification, Bureau of India standards, New Delhi, India, 2007. .” “ASTM C62-17, Standard Specification for Building Brick (Solid Masonry Units Made from Clay or Shale), ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, United States, 2017. .” J. Ren et al. , “Experimental comparisons between one-part and normal (two-part) alkali-activated slag binders,” Constr Build Mater , vol. 309, p. 125177, Nov. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.125177. S. Yousefi Oderji, B. Chen, M. R. Ahmad, and S. F. A. Shah, “Fresh and hardened properties of one-part fly ash-based geopolymer binders cured at room temperature: Effect of slag and alkali activators,” J Clean Prod , vol. 225, pp. 1–10, Jul. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.290. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editor assigned by journal 08 Apr, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 03 Apr, 2024 First submitted to journal 02 Apr, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4204124","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":287088769,"identity":"44358f62-a6eb-4748-b792-9b298a7901ce","order_by":0,"name":"Amberdeep Oraon","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"CHRIST (Deemed to be University)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amberdeep","middleName":"","lastName":"Oraon","suffix":""},{"id":287088770,"identity":"3137ea0c-6c97-47e2-90fe-a6f6b7c2dafb","order_by":1,"name":"Thejas H K","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"CHRIST (Deemed to be University)","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Thejas","middleName":"H","lastName":"K","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-04-02 05:57:51","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4204124/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4204124/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":54322036,"identity":"1bb851e2-b59d-43e3-b481-6fee8b2291d0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-08 19:42:01","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":99906,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSEM of (a) Cinder, (b) GGBS, and (c) FA.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4204124/v1/52a60d88b4f213d7c795e3cc.jpg"},{"id":54322035,"identity":"1a5aa1cd-fe06-4897-9e84-8d746f244b4c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-08 19:42:01","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":270814,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eXRD of \u003cstrong\u003e(a)\u003c/strong\u003e Cinder, \u003cstrong\u003e(b)\u003c/strong\u003e GGBS, and \u003cstrong\u003e(c)\u003c/strong\u003e FA.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4204124/v1/00fc9782629e62d29cb1f12d.jpg"},{"id":54322033,"identity":"ff5f9f09-1fa7-48a6-aecc-ddee6e8c892a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-08 19:42:01","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":43092,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eWater absorption test.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4204124/v1/305fc557a701dcd600e49afe.jpg"},{"id":54322039,"identity":"cbf00d84-b180-4cf9-98a4-0feca57d5f9c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-08 19:42:01","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":38155,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEfflorescence Test.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4204124/v1/db401496adfa94fdb6383cfc.jpg"},{"id":54322041,"identity":"621c0106-8de6-4423-91e2-d07d80cb4878","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-08 19:42:01","extension":"jpg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":25631,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eElectrical Resistivity Test.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"5.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4204124/v1/182e62ab7208d5c618d46e4d.jpg"},{"id":54322038,"identity":"ca59fe5f-f0af-4394-9d08-023581a06624","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-08 19:42:01","extension":"jpg","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":68371,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eCompressive strength of bricks.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"6.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4204124/v1/3331cd4f6d16ecd50d97cfe1.jpg"},{"id":54322043,"identity":"a42fccb8-aaf8-4664-baa3-8a4ad2a46adc","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-08 19:42:01","extension":"jpg","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":41717,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eBulk density of the bricks.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"7.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4204124/v1/fc60310ed64a4c1c52541491.jpg"},{"id":54322037,"identity":"d2e0fecc-3be8-4503-ad46-b59446425c9a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-08 19:42:01","extension":"jpg","order_by":8,"title":"Figure 8","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":41745,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eWater absorption of bricks.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"8.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4204124/v1/4e3b65855fe16cb238e8c9b7.jpg"},{"id":54322034,"identity":"c78213f6-bc9f-4567-aa4e-e76c9f716fe3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-08 19:42:01","extension":"jpg","order_by":9,"title":"Figure 9","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":78782,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEfflorescence test results.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"9.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4204124/v1/4492afc01352d99475cbc11d.jpg"},{"id":54322042,"identity":"223c08bf-f9ea-4ad0-9e78-044ae523b344","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-08 19:42:01","extension":"jpg","order_by":10,"title":"Figure 10","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":452927,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eXRD patterns of the prepared bricks, (a) C30P70, (b) C35P65, (c) C40P60, (d) C45P55, and (d) C50P50.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"10.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4204124/v1/911a7304454dfcc2d8b311cf.jpg"},{"id":54322040,"identity":"ad583e75-91af-49cd-a8c7-55b891f55797","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-08 19:42:01","extension":"jpg","order_by":11,"title":"Figure 11","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":192030,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSEM images of the prepared bricks.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"11.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4204124/v1/ff8f10609ca48679a4c20a1a.jpg"},{"id":54322454,"identity":"e94197a2-5c2d-4e19-afaa-e75044e6350a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-08 19:50:03","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":946083,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4204124/v1/d73381e3-4382-4caf-afa0-60b029b75982.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Sustainable Development of Alkali-Activated Bricks using Cinders","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe rapid expansion of the national economy has led to substantial growth in sectors such as steel, chemicals, and non-ferrous metals. China has emerged as the foremost global producer and consumer of iron, copper, lead, and zinc[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]. In the steel industry, the manufacturing process yields various solid waste materials like slag, dust, cinder, and sludge, prompting an increased focus on both their utilization and environmental impact[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. The steelmaking process involves multiple stages, encompassing primary and secondary steelmaking, as well as ingot casting and continuous casting, each generating significant amounts of waste. Consequently, there's a growing imperative to reduce and manage waste effectively due to its profound environmental consequences. Presently, in the Indian steel sector, solid waste production ranges from 450 to 550 kg per ton of crude steel, with recycling rates fluctuating between 40% and 70%. This scenario contributes to elevated production costs, diminished productivity, and worsened environmental degradation[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCinder, also referred to as slag, emerges as a residual product during iron and steel production within the metallurgical sector. It primarily comprises non-metallic elements separated from the molten metal during the smelting or refining stages[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]. Its constituents typically encompass oxides, silicates, and other compounds found in the raw materials utilized for steelmaking, like iron ore, limestone, and coal. The composition of cinder varies, influenced by factors such as furnace type, raw material selection, and the specific steelmaking method employed[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. Upon creation, cinder is commonly skimmed off from the molten metal's surface and rapidly cooled, transforming it into its solid state. While traditionally viewed as waste, contemporary steelmaking practices strive to leverage cinder beneficially. It can be reintegrated into the steelmaking process as a flux or aggregate, thereby curbing the consumption of raw materials and energy. Furthermore, cinder finds application in construction materials like concrete and asphalt, offering a sustainable substitute for conventional aggregates[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e], [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. On a global scale, the iron and steel industry annually yield millions of tons of cinder. Estimates indicate that the worldwide production of steel slag alone surpasses several hundred million tons annually. India emerges as a significant player in steel production globally, consequently generating substantial quantities of cinder or slag as a byproduct[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e], [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e]. Estimates suggest that India's annual steel slag production reaches several tens of millions of tons. The types of cinder generated in India encompass blast furnace slag, basic oxygen furnace slag, and electric arc furnace slag, depending on the steelmaking processes adopted by different facilities. Effective management and utilization of cinder play a pivotal role in mitigating environmental impacts and enhancing the overall efficiency and sustainability of the iron and steel industry[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e], [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCinder, a byproduct of the iron and steel industry, has garnered significant attention in various research studies. Scholars have delved into multiple facets of cinder, encompassing its chemical composition, physical attributes, environmental ramifications, and potential uses[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]. The construction sector has particularly explored the utilization of cinder, also known as slag, owing to its advantageous characteristics and potential to foster sustainable practices[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e]. Several applications of cinder in construction have been extensively investigated[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e], including its incorporation as aggregate in concrete[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e], utilization as a base material in road construction, blending into asphalt mixtures, utilization as railroad ballast[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e], application in soil stabilization, and as a cover material in landfills[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. In India, the government has been actively advocating for the sustainable utilization of industrial byproducts, including cinder derived from the iron and steel industry, through policy frameworks and initiatives. These endeavors are geared towards curtailing waste generation, conserving natural resources[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e], and encouraging environmentally sound practices within the industrial sphere. Furthermore, India has witnessed research and development endeavors focused on innovatively harnessing cinder's potential[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]. These efforts encompass studies aimed at optimizing its characteristics for specific applications, devising novel construction materials integrating cinder, and exploring its viability across diverse sectors such as agriculture and wastewater treatment[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe utilization of industrial waste materials is essential in the pursuit of sustainable development in construction for various reasons. Primarily, it lessens the need for new materials, thus preserving precious natural resources and mitigating the environmental harm caused by their extraction[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, the incorporation of industrial waste materials aids in waste management by decreasing the amount of waste sent to landfills and reducing pollution. Moreover, the integration of these materials often leads to energy conservation during the manufacturing process, resulting in decreased carbon emissions and improved energy efficiency of buildings.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, these studies have been carried out on concrete mixtures only. To contribute more to the knowledge of the use of cinder in building materials, this study was taken to investigate the effect of cinder on the mechanical properties of bricks[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]. In this study, cinder was used to replace sand up to 50% and the corresponding mechanical properties were evaluated. The compressive strength, water absorption, efflorescence, and electrical resistivity of the bricks were evaluated at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. In this paper the results from the experimental investigations carried out.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Experimental Program","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Materials\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe materials used in this study are Cinder, Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS), and Fly Ash (FA) with chemical composition presented in Table \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. The cinder was obtained from local supplier and GGBS were obtained from JSW cement industry, while the FA was obtained from the Raichur thermal power station. The obtained cinder was in the form of coarse aggregate so it was cursed using a ball mill machine and then the cinder was sieved particles passing through a 1.18 mm sieve for the use of replacement of the sand. Figures \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and 2present the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the cinder, GGBS, and FA. It can be seen from \u003cstrong\u003eFig.\u0026nbsp;1\u003c/strong\u003ethat the cinder particles have a rough surface texture with voids while GGBS particles are angular in shape and FA is spherical and smooth on the surface. This rough surface texture with voids in the cinder is expected to accommodate much finer particles of GGBS and FA.The XRD analysis identified the presence of compounds such as Aluminium Iron Silicide (4.5/1/1) - Beta in the cinder as seen in \u003cstrong\u003eFig.\u0026nbsp;2 (a)\u003c/strong\u003e. Nevertheless, since the Cinder exhibits a crystalline structure, it is expected to remain chemically inert when mixed with other substances. The mineralogy of GGBS and FA was also determined, as illustrated in \u003cstrong\u003eFig.\u0026nbsp;2 (b)\u003c/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003e2 (c).\u003c/strong\u003e The results indicate that both GGBS and FA exhibited a hump in the 2\u0026theta; range of 10.72\u0026deg;-44.62\u0026deg;and 16.41\u0026deg;-67.81\u0026deg;, respectively, which signifies their amorphous nature.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAlso, to bind the materials one part alkali activator was used which is sodium silicate (Na2SiO3). Apart from that water was used in the ratio of 1:1. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e presents the physical properties of the materials and the alkali activator.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003cbr\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eChemical composition of materials.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCompounds in %\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCinder\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGGBS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFA\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e52.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e32.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e59.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAl\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e20.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.54\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e21.48\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFe\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.36\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.70\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCaO\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5.13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e37.10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMgO\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.43\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e7.34\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.31\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.86\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMnO\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8.38\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.66\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.06\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.65\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.36\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eK2O\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.37\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.41\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eLOI(%)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.78\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.82\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.48\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003ctable id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePhysical properties of the materials and the alkali activator.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMaterial\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDensity (Kg/m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSpecific Gravity\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCinder\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2250\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.86\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGGBS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1340\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.73\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFA\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1182\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.14\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNa\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eSiO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1593\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Mix Proportion\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe utilization of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) and Fly Ash (FA) in the construction industry is an effective way to achieve sustainable practices that are abundantly available worldwide. Recently, several studies have reported its positive influence in developing alkali-activated binders. Recent studies have demonstrated that the incorporation of 5% -15% FA in GGBS enhances the compressive and tensile properties of alkali-activated binders, as reported by Mehta and Siddique [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e]. Likewise, Venkatesan and Pazhani[\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e] found that replacing 10% of GGBS with FA leads to improved strength and durability properties. Therefore, in this study, the geopolymer binder was proportioned with 50% GGBS and 50% FA of the total binder content. The total quantity of cinder was decided based on initial laboratory trials and it was fixed at 30% by the total weight of the solid fraction. To activate the solid precursors, Na2SiO3 sol. was added based on the previous study. There was a need for additional water to achieve the desired consistency for the mix, and it was set at 8% based on initial laboratory trials. So, for mix C30P70 the cinder was 30% and from the remaining binder content which is 70%, both GGBS and FA were divided into half which is 35% GGBS and 35% FA. Similarly, the remaining mix where also designed and there was an increase of 5% in cinder content in the mix, and the remaining binder decreased by 5%. The detailed mix composition of the bricks is given in Table \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003ctable id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMix proportion of the bricks evaluated in percentage (%).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSl No.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMix\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCinder\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGGBS\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFA\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eSiO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWater\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eC30P70\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eC35P65\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e32.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e32.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eC40P60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e40\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eC45P55\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e27.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e27.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e5.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eC50P50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.3 Mixing, sample preparation, and curing.\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe mixture for bricks was made by first dry mixing the binder followed by the addition of Na2SiO3 and water. The mixture was mixed thoroughly after the addition of Na2SiO3 and water to get lump lump-free consistency blend. The mixing process was performed manually. After mixing, the composition of the ingredients was transferred to a metal scoop. Later the ingredients were placed in a steel mould of size 230\u0026times;110\u0026times;75mm and pressed manually in a brick-making machine as shown in Fig. \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. After the manual compaction, the brick was carefully ejected from the brick-making machine and the final product was stored for curing in ambient conditions for 28 days.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.4 Test Methods\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe testing program was performed to evaluate the strength and durability performance of the developed alkali-activated bricks. A total of 100 bricks were cast and ambient cured for 28 days. For each test, three brick specimens for each composition were tested. The details of the various tests are explained in the following sub-sections.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.4.1 Compressive Strength\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe compressive strength of bricks was determined using a digital compression testing machine in accordance with IS 3495: Part 1 [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. The load was applied axially at a uniform rate of 14 N/mm 2 N/mm 2 per minute till failure. The compressive strength was expressed by noting the maximum load at failure in \u0026lsquo;N\u0026rsquo; and dividing it by the average net area of two faces under compression in \u0026lsquo;mm\u0026rsquo;.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.4.2 Bulk Density\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe bulk density of each specimen was determined in accordance with ASTM C134-95 [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e]. The bricks were dried in the oven at 110 ◦ 2 C for 24 h, cooled, and weighted. The dry weight for each specimen was recorded. The dimensions for each brick were measured at three locations for length, width, and thickness, and the average value was reported. The bulk density was calculated using Eq.\u0026nbsp;(1).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Equa\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equa\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e$$Bulk Density (Kg/m3)=\\frac{Dry weight}{Volume of specimen}$$\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.4.3 Water Absorption\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe determination of water absorption was carried out as per the guidelines given in IS 3495 (Part 2): 1992[\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. The specimen was kept in a ventilated oven at a temperature of 105 to 115\u0026deg;C until it attained substantially constant mass. After the specimen cooled down to room temperature its weight was taken (M1). Immerse the completely dried specimen in clean water at a temperature of 27\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;2\u0026deg;C for 24 hours (as shown in Fig. \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). Then the specimen was removed and traces of water were removed with a damp cloth and weigh the specimen. And the weighing was completed 3 minutes after the specimen was removed from the water (M2). The water absorption, percent by mass is calculated using the formula\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Equb\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equb\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e$$Water Absorption=\\frac{(M2-M1)}{M2}\\times 100$$\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.4.4 Efflorescence\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe efflorescence test was conducted in accordance with IS 3495 (Part 3): 1992[\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. The end of the brick specimen was placed in the dish containing distilled water, ensuring that the depth of immersion was 25 mm (as shown in Fig. \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). The dish was covered with a suitable glass cylinder to prevent excessive evaporation. And was placed in a warm and well-ventilated room until all the water in the dish was absorbed by the specimen and the surplus water evaporated. When the water was absorbed and the brick appeared to be dry a similar quantity of water was placed in the dish.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.4.5 Electrical Resistivity\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe electrical resistivity of developed bricks was determined using the procedure followed by Kuranchie et al. [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e]. The bricks were attached with probes on both ends and connected to a multimeter with a capacity of 40 MΩ as shown in Fig. \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e. The resistivity of brick was calculated using the recorded value of resistance and the brick dimensions. Eq.\u0026nbsp;(3) was used to calculate the electrical resistivity in (Ω m)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Equc\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equc\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e$$\\varvec{E}\\varvec{l}\\varvec{e}\\varvec{c}\\varvec{t}\\varvec{r}\\varvec{i}\\varvec{c}\\varvec{a}\\varvec{l} \\varvec{r}\\varvec{e}\\varvec{s}\\varvec{i}\\varvec{t}\\varvec{i}\\varvec{v}\\varvec{i}\\varvec{t}\\varvec{y}\\left(\\varvec{\\rho }\\right)=\\frac{\\varvec{R}\\varvec{A}}{\\varvec{L}}$$\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.4.6 Microscopic Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMicroscopic analysis of the developed brick was performed to study the microstructure changes that occurred due to the addition of cinder in alkali-activated bricks. The pieces of bricks were chosen from the interior portion and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was performed employing JEOL Model JSM-6390LV with a resolution of 1.38 eV. Further, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) was used for phase identification of the developed brick. The brick sample is finely ground and the powder X-ray diffraction was performed using a Bruker AXS D8 diffractometer with Ni-filtered Cu K \u0026alpha; radiation source (\u0026lambda;\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.5406 \u0026Aring;) in the range of 10\u0026ndash;80 6 ◦ at a scan rate of 0.5 ◦ /min.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results and discussions","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1 Compressive Strength\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe crucial characteristic of alkali-activated bricks is their compressive strength, which represents their ability to withstand compressive force and demonstrates a successful reaction between the alkali source and solid aluminosilicates. A stronger resistance to compressive force also implies a superior microstructure and enhanced durability properties for the bricks. Figure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e shows the compressive strength of the bricks. As seen, the results showed a steady increase in the compressive strength for all the brick types from 7 days to 28 days. However, the brick type C30P70 shows the maximum compressive strength in 28 days which is 12.11 MPa. And then for the remaining brick type, there is a decrease in compressive strength as the cinder content is increased. The reason for the more compressive strength of the brick type C30P70 is due to more content of precursors fine particles which can fill the voids between the cinder particles forming C-S-H gel[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e]. And as for the remaining brick type as the content of cinder increases and precursors decrease the voids start to increase which causes a reduction in the compressive strength. Also, it is interesting to notice that the addition of fly ash and GGBS was effective in improving the compressive strength of bricks with a high proportion of cinder with low silica and thus suggesting the prospective to improve the recyclability of cinder in the brick industry. The compressive strength of developed bricks was compared with various standard specifications andbrick type C30P70 satisfies the IS 1077 [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e], and ASTM C62-17 [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e] minimum strength limits, while other brick type C50P50 satisfies only the IS 1077 requirements.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2 Bulk Density\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e shows the obtained bulk density of the bricks. The normal required range for bulk density for burnt clay bricks is 1800\u0026ndash;2000 kg/m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e], and the obtained values were well within the limits and from the recent findings it is reported that the geopolymer bricks usually have less bulk density. The results indicate that the incorporation of cinder has led to a reduction in the self-weight of the bricks, as we can see brick type C30P70 has higher density as compared to other brick types. The reason for the reduction in density is due to the addition of more cinder content and the reduction of GGBS and FA content in the bricks. And as the cinder content is increased the voids in the composition increase and the density decreases. From the SEM images (Fig.\u0026nbsp;10) we can see that there are more voids in the brick type C50P50 as compared to C30P70.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.3 Water Absorption\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe water absorption of bricks is an important property that will influence the porosity and durability properties of the brick. The addition of cinder has influenced the water absorption of the bricks as seen in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e. For instance, the brick type C30P40 showed the lowest average water absorption of 15% and met the requirements of IS 1077[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e] for first-class brick. Similarly, the brick type C50P50 showed the highest average water absorption of 19.12% and meet the requirements of IS 1077 for second-class brick. Such findings indicate that with an increase in cinder, the porosity of bricks increases, primarily due to more voids formed due to increase in cinder content. Also, decreasing GGBS and FA content reduces the filling ability in voids, thus reducing the water absorption of the bricks.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.4 Efflorescence\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eDeposits of soluble salts on the surface of bricks are known as efflorescence. This occurrence is commonly seen when water-soluble salts, water, and a porous medium are present in the bricks. The downside of efflorescence is that it can cause damage to wall plaster and even affect the paint on the wall. Additionally, if the bricks are not plastered, it can greatly impact the appearance of the wall. This is why it is preferable for bricks to be free of efflorescence. The amount of salt deposited on the brick surface is defined according to IS 3495 (part 3)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e].Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e presents the details of efflorescence as defined in accordance with Indian Standard. And the results of the efflorescence on the developed bricks are shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;10. As observed from Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e, the efflorescence levels were constant across all brick types and were not influenced by the addition of cinder. The levels of efflorescence were found to be moderate to heavy, as per the specifications outlined in IS 3495. It is important to note that several factors can affect efflorescence in geopolymer mixes. As the efflorescence test was conducted after 28 days of curing, it is reasonable to expect efflorescence with the aging of bricks. Therefore, while efflorescence is a common issue in geopolymer bricks, the study\u0026rsquo;s results indicate that there is further study has to be done on the mix composition to resolve the problem.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEfflorescence is defined as per IS 3495 (Part 3) standards.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEfflorescence\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDefinitions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNil\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo perceptible deposit of efflorescence.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSlight\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eApproximately 10% of the brick surface covered with a thin deposit of salts\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModerate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eApproximately 50% of the brick surface is covered with a thin deposit of salts, but unaccompanied by powdering or flaking of the surface\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHeavy\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMore than 50% of the brick surface is covered with a thin deposit of salts, but unaccompanied by powdering or flaking of the surface\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSerious\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHeavy deposit of salts accompanied by powdering or flaking on the exposed surface\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.5 Electrical Resistivity\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe purpose of conducting an electrical resistivity test was to ensure the safety of the bricks by preventing potential hazards related to electricity conduction and shocks. This was deemed necessary due to the presence of iron content in the cinder, which has a higher likelihood of being conductive compared to traditional bricks. The results of the test, presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e, indicate that the addition of cinder has slightly decreased the electrical resistivity of the bricks, likely due to the higher conductivity of cinder [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e]. However, this decrease can be considered insignificant, and all the bricks can still be deemed safe for use in construction. In comparison to other studies, the obtained resistivity values appear to be reasonable, with conventional bricks showing a resistivity of 1.08MΩ and geopolymer bricks with cinder showing values ranging from 1.8-2 MΩ [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eResults of Electrical Resistivity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBrick Type\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eResistance (MΩ)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC30P70\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC35P65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC40P60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC45P55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC50P50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.6 Microscopic Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt is common to observe the presence of various zeolite types including analcime, sodalite, natrolite, and nepheline when alkaline activation is utilized in the production of geopolymers. However, the specific type and amount of these phases can be influenced by factors such as the precursor material, calcination temperature, and alkaline sources. Despite expectations, no crystalline phases similar to those shown in \u003cb\u003eFig.\u0026nbsp;10 (a), (b), (c), (d)\u003c/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003e(e)\u003c/b\u003e were detected during the investigation, likely due to the curing process being carried out at room temperature. Additionally, the disordered structure of silica and alumina oxides in cinder may have hindered their identification through XRD analysis. Furthermore, research has shown that the use of one-part alkali-activated mixes results in fewer hydration products compared to traditional alkali-activated mixes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e]. This was confirmed in the study. It is worth noting that the addition of GGBS to the mix has led to an increase in the brick's strength, attributed to the formation of C-S-H through the alkaline activation of GGBS. The presence of C-S-H was most prominent in the 2Ɵ range of 25\u0026ndash;30 ◦ and specifically a peak at 27 ◦ for all types of bricks, indicating its dominance in the phase composition [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e]. The SEM micrographs of the bricks are shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig9\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e. It is evident that the best microstructure is observed for brick type C30P70 with a dense matrix of reactive products that minimizes the pores, and holds the constituents together, which further improves the resistance of brick to external forces. Also, as the content of cinder increases in the bricks, the formation of reactive products decreases and more voids start to appear. For instance, in brick type C50P50, there are many unreacted particles, and therefore large voids were noticed in the micrographs, suggesting the poor performance of these bricks to external forces. Finally, unreacted fly ash particles were also noticed which occupy the space between cinder particles and further help reduce the voids in the brick.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe feasibility of using the cinder a by-product of steel industries to produce geopolymer bricks was studied by alkali activation. The investigation was done to find the effects of sodium silicate content, and ambient curing, on compressive strength, microstructure, bulk density, water absorption, efflorescence, and electrical resistivity. Based on the results, the following conclusions were drawn:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere is a significant decrease in the compressive strength of alkali-activated cinder bricks with incremental addition of Cinder and a decrease in GGBS and Fly Ash. The best performance of 12.11 MPa after 28 days of curing was observed for brick C30P70. Such improvement can be attributed to the distinct reaction between GGBS and Fly Ash with cinder, which provides better strength over time. The brick type C30P70 which consists of 30% Cinder, 35% fly ash, and 35% GGBS, along with 8% Na2SiO3 sol. and 8% water performed the best. The increase in cinder content reduced the compressive strength and the least performance was observed for brick type C50P50. However, bricks with up to 30% cinder meet the standard requirements of first-class bricks as per Indian standards code 3495-(1992) and the rest of the brick composites fall under second-class categories, this suggests the prospect of alkali-activated binders in improving the recyclability of cinder.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe bulk density of the alkali-activated Cinder bricks varied between 1691.73 kg/m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e to 1654.73 kg/m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e, which is way below the conventional clay bricks. Moreover, the inclusion of fly ash and GGBS led to an increase in the packing density, indicating the advantages of utilizing these materials to fill the gaps between the cinder particles and improve the microstructure of the bricks.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe water absorption of 15% for C30P70 was the lowest among all alkali-activated brick types. This assures the positive interaction between GGBS, fly ash, and cinder, which improves the compactness of the blocks primarily due to the filling up of the voids with products of pozzolanic reaction and GGBS particles. The water absorption of all the alkali-activated bricks was less than 20% and they satisfy the requirements for second-class brick as per Indian standards.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results of alkali-activated bricks in the efflorescence test revealed that there was moderate to heavy efflorescence for all brick types. This is due to the alkali activators in the brick.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe electrical resistivity of brick shows that all the brick types have good electrical resistance. In particular, brick types C30P70 and C35P65 show good resistance of 2 (MΩ), and the remaining brick types were under 2 (MΩ) which is well within the limits suggesting that the electrical resistivity of developed bricks is high enough to be used as construction material.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eUpon microscopic examination, it was discovered that the primary factor contributing to the increase in strength was the formation of C-S-H resulting from the alkaline activation of GGBS. Additionally, the inclusion of fly ash further enhanced the microstructure by filling in the empty spaces between cinder particles.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on the obtained results, the properties of the bricks will be significantly affected by the variation in physical and chemical properties of the source material; in particular, the characteristics of Cinder need to be understood. Furthermore, it is interesting that cinder can be utilized in developing first-class alkali-activated bricks at ambient conditions. This improves the practical feasibility of making alkali-activated bricks with cinder and incurs environmental benefits over the energy-intensive methods of brick manufacturing such as firing.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003ch2\u003eFunding\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe author received no direct funding for this research.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoth the autjors have equally contribued for the submitted research\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe author is thankful to the Department of Civil Engineering for promoting this research and also for the support given by School of Engineering \u0026amp; Technology, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eD. Q. Zhu, D. Chen, J. Pan, Y. Cui, and X. L. 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Ren \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, \u0026ldquo;Experimental comparisons between one-part and normal (two-part) alkali-activated slag binders,\u0026rdquo; \u003cem\u003eConstr Build Mater\u003c/em\u003e, vol. 309, p. 125177, Nov. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.125177.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eS. Yousefi Oderji, B. Chen, M. R. Ahmad, and S. F. A. Shah, \u0026ldquo;Fresh and hardened properties of one-part fly ash-based geopolymer binders cured at room temperature: Effect of slag and alkali activators,\u0026rdquo; \u003cem\u003eJ Clean Prod\u003c/em\u003e, vol. 225, pp. 1\u0026ndash;10, Jul. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.290.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-building-pathology-and-rehabilitation","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"bpar","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Building Pathology and Rehabilitation](http://link.springer.com/journal/41024)","snPcode":"41024","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/41024/3","title":"Journal of Building Pathology and Rehabilitation","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Cinder, Geopolymer brick, Alkali Activator, strength, durability","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4204124/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4204124/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study investigates the feasibility and efficacy of utilizing cinder, a byproduct of industrial processes, as a fine aggregate in the production of geopolymer bricks. Geopolymer technology offers a promising alternative to conventional brick manufacturing methods by utilizing industrial by-product materials and reducing the environmental impact associated with traditional clay brick production. The research focuses on optimizing the geopolymer formulation by varying the proportions of cinder, alkali activator, and other additives to achieve desirable properties such as compressive strength, and durability performance. Mechanical property compressive strength is evaluated along with durability aspects such as water absorption, and efflorescence. For this purpose, five different brick compositions were synthesized with fly ash, GGBS, and Cinder along with Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eSiO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003esol.The raw materials underwent characterization through different methods including X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The resulting bricks exhibited a peak compressive strength of 12.11 MPa and a minimal water absorption rate of 15%. Notably, the use of 8% Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eSiO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eas an alkaline activator, combined with fly ash and GGBS, enabled the incorporation of over 30% cinder, resulting in the production of high-quality bricks under ambient curing conditions.The results demonstrate the potential of incorporating cinder as a fine aggregate in geopolymer bricks, offering a sustainable solution for waste utilization and contributing to the development of environmentally friendly building materials.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Sustainable Development of Alkali-Activated Bricks using Cinders","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-04-08 19:41:56","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4204124/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-04-08T17:49:31+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-04-03T11:54:09+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Journal of Building Pathology and Rehabilitation","date":"2024-04-02T05:54:52+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-building-pathology-and-rehabilitation","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"bpar","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Building Pathology and Rehabilitation](http://link.springer.com/journal/41024)","snPcode":"41024","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/41024/3","title":"Journal of Building Pathology and Rehabilitation","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"da048383-79c9-458a-9604-2298e88f6681","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 8th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-04-08T19:41:56+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-04-08 19:41:56","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4204124","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4204124","identity":"rs-4204124","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}