Geopolymer Concrete a Sustainable Building Materials for Rural Housing

Housing is a basic human need. The house is not just shelter to protect from environmental conditions; it also becomes an instrument for social communication and supports a way of life. In present scenario speed, quality and economy of construction are the core issues of housing. Central and state governments are implementing various schemes and programmes for rural poor in construction of house. Out of the total cost of house construction, building materials contribute to about 70 percent in developing countries like India. Hence, there is an urgent need for promotion and adoption of alternative building materials and environmentally friendly cost effective construction technologies.Geopolymer cement concrete is a non-portland cement based sustainable concretes synthesized using industrial by products like ground granulated blast furnace slag, flyash, metakaolin, etc. and alkaline activator solution. It is one of revolutionary development related to novel material as an alternative to Portland cement. The mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete can be optimised by appropriate selection of raw materials, correct mix and design process to suit a particular application. The type of application of geopolymeric materials is determined by the chemical structure in terms of the atomic ratio Si: Al in the polysialate. This paper is an attempt to focus on promotion of new building materials for rural housing. Also it will demonstrate the feasibility of producing building products such as bricks, hollow blocks, building blocks etc. using geopolymer concrete. These sustainable building products will lead to reduce in carbon footprint. Geopolymer concrete has considerable potential to be used as a construction material in rural housing.