Structural performance of reinforced geopolymer concrete members: A review

• Structural performance of geopolymer concrete members is summarized.
• No detrimental effects of using geopolymer concrete in structural members.
• General behaviour is similar with conventional reinforced concrete structural members.
• Design codes for structural member are applicable, but conservative.

Due to the significant benefit of carbon footprint reduction with the use of cement-less geopolymer concrete, researches had shifted their focus towards the study of the behaviour of geopolymer concrete on micro- and macro-scales. The most important application of concrete in building construction is nonetheless reinforced concrete structural members. Therefore, this review aims to summarize and discuss the reported findings on the structural behaviour of geopolymer concrete members in order to give a clearer understanding of effects of such concrete in structural elements. Among the geopolymer concrete members highlighted in this review include reinforced concrete beams, columns, slabs and panels. It is found that generally there is no detrimental effect of using geopolymer concrete as structural member in terms of its load-carrying capacity, and standard codes of practice could be used to safely design the geopolymer concrete members. Nevertheless, it is suggested that further researches may be carried out to provide a more realistic and cost-effective design guidelines for utilizing geopolymer concrete in structural elements so as to expedite the use of such concrete for large-scale field applications in the future.