Research of Curing Time and Temperature-Dependent Strengths and Fire Resistance of Geopolymer Foam Coated on an Aluminum Plate

Geopolymer foam (GF) uses a potassium activator and can be cured at high temperatures, which can improve its mechanical properties. In this study, we attempted to test this hypothesis by comparing the flexural and compressive strength, apparent density and fire resistance of GF. The composition of the GF used in the experiment included a potassium activator, basalt ground fiber and aluminum powder with a mass ratio to the binder of 0.45, 0.3 and 0.015, respectively. The samples were cured at room temperature and at 50, 70, 85 and 105 °C with a curing time of 2, 4, 6, 12 and 24 h. Then, the samples were kept until being tested on the third, seventh, 14th and 28th day. The results showed that the flexural and compressive strength and apparent density improved and stabilized after seven days at 85 °C. Furthermore, the GF exhibited a substantial increase after three days in its flexural strength by 111% and compressive strength by 122.9% at the optimal temperature of 85 °C for 2 h compared to the values at RT after 28 days. The GF had an apparent density of 0.558–0.623 g/cm3 on the 28th day. As a new alternative to aluminum materials, investigating the fire resistance of sandwich panels (an aluminum plate covered with a GF layer) is important for their safe impregnation. Sandwich panels with thicknesses of 10–20 mm were exposed to a gas fire. The test results showed that the sandwich panels had significantly improved fire resistance compared to unprotected panels. The longest fire resistance times for the aluminum plate coated with 20 mm of GF layer thickness was 7500 s. Thus, the GF coated on the aluminum plate exhibited superior fire resistance and a reduced heat transfer rate compared to uncoated panels.