Effect of liquid-solid ratio on metakaolin-based geopolymer binder properties

Abstract This article aims to achieve the hardening of geopolymer binder-based metakaolin under the same setting time and hardening temperature as traditional cement. It studied the hardening of the geopolymer binder-based metakaolin at two temperatures of 60 °C and room temperature using different liquid-to-solid ratios of 0.8, 0.95, and 1.1. The bulk density, compressive strength, sitting times, thermal conductivity, and microstructure were measured for geopolymer binders. Based on the specified range for cement characteristics, the geopolymer binder was solidified at room temperature, utilizing a liquid-to-solid ratio of 0.8 to achieve optimal results stratified according to the cement's ideal characteristics. It had a bulk density of 1.264 g cm −3 , compressive strength of 19.12 MPa, initial setting time of 288 min, final setting time of 358 min, and thermal conductivity of 0.49 W m −1 K.