Abrasion resistance of metakaolin-based geopolymers through accelerated testing and natural wear

Construction and building materials are subject to abrasion wear in a variety of routine applications. The objective of this paper was to investigate the abrasion resistance of metakaolin-based geopolymer concretes. A geopolymer mixture with only metakaolin as precursor material and another mixture with the replacement of 10% of metakaolin by rice husk ash were investigated. Three accelerated abrasion tests were performed. The inorganic abrasion test studies the wear caused by the imposition of sand on the concrete surface. The hydraulic abrasion test wears the concrete surface with metallic spheres in an aquatic environment. The deep abrasion test measures abrasion through wear on a stainless-steel cylinder using silicon carbide. A natural validation step through the exposure of slabs in a natural environment was created to confirm the performance of the geopolymers. The abrasion resistance of geopolymers was the same or better than the abrasion resistance shown in the literature for Portland cement concrete. This behavior is related to the great adhesion of the geopolymer matrix with the aggregates. The performance was validated in the natural exposure of geopolymer concrete slabs to low vehicle traffic.