Nov 22 – UTM-FKA team emerged as the Champion of the National Geopolymer Concrete Competition 2015 (NGCC 2015). The competition was organized by Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) and supported by Malaysian Geopolymer Association (MyGeopolymer) and Sustainable Resources Mission Oriented Research (SUREMOR).
The team also won the Most Consistent Compressive Strength Award and a Special Achievement Award from the Concrete Society of Malaysia (CSM). The second and third places were won by the team from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) respectively. Fifteen teams contested in this competition.
The UTM-FKA team produced the highest geopolymer concrete cube compressive strength of 63.9MPa after 24 hours curing under room temperature. Geopolymer concrete is an innovative construction material and a real alternative to conventional Portland cement concrete for use in transportation infrastructure, construction and offshore applications. It relies on minimally processed natural materials or industrial byproducts to significantly reduce its carbon footprint, while also being very resistant to many durability issues that can plague conventional concretes. It is also known as the cementless concrete.
The UTM-FKA student team participants were Habeeb Lateef Muttashar, Shafiq Ishak, Putri Fatin Amira Saadon, Siti Nur Naqibah Kamarudin, Nooraniza Zulkifle, Mohamad Syawal Md Zain, Adri Mohamad Shafie, Ghasan Fahim Husein, Amalien Aisyah Mohamed, Safinaz Khairul Anuar, Zaidatul Shakirah Zaba and Loh Wai Kin. They were supervised by Dr. Azreen Mohd Ariffin, Dr. Abdullah Zawawi Awang and Associate Prof. Dr. Abdul Rahman Mohd Sam.
The objective of the competition is to encourage students and researchers to put on their creativity skills and technical knowledge to produce competitive geoploymer concrete mix design with high early strength. The competition also served as a platform for students, researchers and geopolymer concrete industry players to share their up-to-date research findings in advanced construction materials.