Current construction industry is responsible for a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions due to the widespread use of building materials with high-embodied energy such as ordinary Portland cement-based materials and steel. Therefore, this thesis presents the development of a new eco-friendly building material based on a geopolymer matrix produced with Fired Clay Brick Powder (FCBP) and reinforced with natural fibers as a low CO2 alternative for the traditional building materials. With this purpose, a review of recent advances in the application of geopolymer composites and geopolymers reinforced with natural fibers in the construction industry were first presented. This review covers two major eco-friendly materials for construction: first, geopolymers obtained from industrial by-products and waste materials, such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, construction and demolition wastes and main tailings; and second, natural fibers used as reinforcement for geopolymer composite materials. Literature review allowed the definition of morphology, size, and the molar ratio of SiO2/Al2O3 in the raw material, together with the alkaline solution/solid ratio, NaOH concentration, SiO2/M2O molar ratio in the total alkaline solution and the curing conditions as key parameters in the formulation of geopolymers. It has been also found that the type, pre-treatment, amount and length of the natural fibers play an important role in the reinforcement of geopolymer matrices. Once key parameters of geopolymer composites production were identified, an attempt for the formalization of a methodology to improve the compressive strength of FCBP-based geopolymers is presented. The tests allowed the definition of optimum conditions of the FCBP-based geopolymers formulation and curing conditions, which resulted in a cementitious matrix with high compression strengths of up to 37 MPa. Nevertheless, high-strength geopolymers evidenced a fragile behavior and low ductility similar to Portland cement-based materials. Therefore, the last part of the work was focused on the evaluation of natural cellulose fibers (jute and sisal) as reinforcement of FCBP-based geopolymers. The results indicated that jute and sisal fiber addition at the optimum content significantly improved the compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strength with respect to the unreinforced geopolymer matrix and lead to a shifting of the failure mode from a brittle to a more ductile failure in all mechanical tests. / Tesis

Current construction industry is responsible for a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions due to the widespread use of building materials with high-embodied energy such as ordinary Portland cement-based materials and steel. Therefore, this thesis presents the development of a new eco-friendly building material based on a geopolymer matrix produced with Fired Clay Brick Powder (FCBP) and reinforced with natural fibers as a low CO2 alternative for the traditional building materials. With this purpose, a review of recent advances in the application of geopolymer composites and geopolymers reinforced with natural fibers in the construction industry were first presented. This review covers two major eco-friendly materials for construction: first, geopolymers obtained from industrial by-products and waste materials, such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, construction and demolition wastes and main tailings; and second, natural fibers used as reinforcement for geopolymer composite materials. Literature review allowed the definition of morphology, size, and the molar ratio of SiO2/Al2O3 in the raw material, together with the alkaline solution/solid ratio, NaOH concentration, SiO2/M2O molar ratio in the total alkaline solution and the curing conditions as key parameters in the formulation of geopolymers. It has been also found that the type, pre-treatment, amount and length of the natural fibers play an important role in the reinforcement of geopolymer matrices. Once key parameters of geopolymer composites production were identified, an attempt for the formalization of a methodology to improve the compressive strength of FCBP-based geopolymers is presented. The tests allowed the definition of optimum conditions of the FCBP-based geopolymers formulation and curing conditions, which resulted in a cementitious matrix with high compression strengths of up to 37 MPa. Nevertheless, high-strength geopolymers evidenced a fragile behavior and low ductility similar to Portland cement-based materials. Therefore, the last part of the work was focused on the evaluation of natural cellulose fibers (jute and sisal) as reinforcement of FCBP-based geopolymers. The results indicated that jute and sisal fiber addition at the optimum content significantly improved the compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strength with respect to the unreinforced geopolymer matrix and lead to a shifting of the failure mode from a brittle to a more ductile failure in all mechanical tests. / Tesis

Los geopolímeros son materiales de construcción alternativos al concreto común, los cuales pueden cumplir la misma función, pero sin generar grandes cantidades de gases de efecto invernadero. Estos son preparados a partir de una materia prima rica en aluminio y silicio, la cual es activada mediante la adición de una solución acuosa de hidróxido de sodio y silicato soluble. La materia prima utilizada puede ser un residuo de alguna industria o proceso, por ejemplo, el generado de la producción de silicio elemental, la producción de energía mediante el consumo de combustibles fósiles y de la producción de acero. También se pueden utilizar derivados de minerales como materias primas para la preparación de geopolímeros, siendo el metacaolín la materia prima más utilizada de esta categoría. El presente trabajo describe los estudios realizados con el fin de elucidar el rol de cada uno de los componentes de la solución activadora y la materia prima en la formación y características del geopolímero. Se ha estudiado el efecto del silicato y del hidróxido de sodio en la disolución de la materia prima, y se encontró que ambos cumplen un rol importante en este proceso y en la cinética de la reacción. Asimismo, se ha estudiado el efecto de la velocidad de liberación del aluminato y silicato de la materia prima, la liberación de estas especies afecta tanto a la composición final del geopolímero, como a la cinética de la reacción. Finalmente, se ha estudiado el efecto de las condiciones de curado y la cantidad de hidróxido de sodio en las propiedades mecánicas de estos materiales, se ha encontrado una relación clara entre estos parámetros y la resistencia a la compresión del geopolímero formado.