The present study evaluates the mechanical characteristics and thermal resilience of conventional cement concrete (CC) and geopolymer concrete (GPC) after exposure to the standard fire conditions of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 834, particularly in the context of seismic performance. The primary goal is to assess the behavior of beam–column (B-C) joints made from CC and GPC by investigating key seismic parameters, such as bond strength, stiffness, energy dissipation, and load-carrying capacity postheating conditions. Our findings highlight that GPC outperforms CC in several aspects. Notably, unheated GPC specimens demonstrate 28% higher stiffness compared to unheated CC specimens, which stresses the material’s superior structural integrity at ambient conditions. Even after 60 min of heating, GPC specimens were seen to retain 14% more energy dissipation capacity than their CC counterparts. The results suggest that GPC is better equipped to handle energy absorption and release during seismic activity. Further, the degradation in load-carrying capacity for GPC specimens is 28–33% lower than that observed in CC specimens after exposure to elevated temperatures. This reduced degradation suggests that GPC maintains its structural efficiency more effectively than CC, particularly when exposed to harsh thermal conditions.
Kanagaraj et al. (Mon,) studied this question.