Utilizing alkali-activated materials as ordinary Portland cement replacement to study the bond performance of fiber-reinforced polymer bars in seawater sea-sand concrete

Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) are considered an eco-friendly alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) for mitigating greenhouse-gas emissions and enabling efficient waste recycling. In this paper, an innovative seawater sea-sand concrete (SWSSC), that is, seawater sea-sand alkali-activated concrete (SWSSAAC), was developed using AAMs instead of OPC to explore the application of marine resources and to improve the durability of conventional SWSSC structures. Then, three types of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars, that is, basalt-FRP, glass-FRP, and carbon-FRP bars, were selected to investigate their bond behavior with SWSSAAC at different alkaline dosages (3%, 4%, and 6% Na2O contents). The experimental results manifested that the utilization of the alkali-activated binders can increase the splitting tensile strength ( ft) of the concrete due to the denser microstructures of AAMs than OPC pastes. This improved characteristic was helpful in enhancing the bond performance of FRP bars, especially the slope of bond-slip curves in the ascending section (i.e., bond stiffness). Approximately three times enhancement in terms of the initial bond rigidity was achieved with SWSSAAC compared to SWSSC at the same concrete strength. Furthermore, compared with the BFRP and GFRP bars, the specimens reinforced with the CFRP bars experienced higher bond strength and bond rigidity due to their relatively high tensile strength and elastic modulus. Additionally, significant improvements in initial bond stiffness and bond strength were also observed as the alkaline contents (i.e., concrete strength) of the SWSSAAC were aggrandized, demonstrating the integration of the FRP bars and SWSSAAC is achievable, which contributes to an innovative channel for the development of SWSSC pavements or structures.

Influence of Aluminium and Autoclaving Temperature on the Properties of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete

Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) prepared by the mixing of ordinary Portland cement, lime powder, sand, aluminium powder and water. This study covers the variation of physical, mechanical and functional properties of autoclaved aerated concrete with autoclaving temperature and aluminium content and compared with that of normal weight cement mortar sample. In this work, two dosage of aluminium content of 0.4% and 0.8% of the dry weight of ordinary Portland cement and three different autoclaving temperature of 160oC, 180oC and 200oC were used. AAC sample with 0.8% aluminium and 160oC temperature had unit weight of 1490kg/m3 which was lowest among all samples including the control or normal weight cement blocks. Weight reduction of AAC sample was 31.53%. AAC sample with 0.4% aluminium and 200oC autoclaving temperature gave maximum compressive and tensile strength of 19.4MPa and 1.81MPa respectively which were close to that of normal weight concrete and strength of AAC increased with autoclaving temperature and decreased with aluminium content. In this research, the functional propertiesof AAC, absorption capacity was much higher than normal weight concrete and this capacity was increased with aluminium content and with decreasing autoclaving temperature and unit weight of AAC. For AAC with 0.8% aluminium and 160oC temperature gave maximum water absorption capacity (=9.93%). Again, surface absorption rate was higher for first 12hours and with time it would be constant because of its saturated position. Journal of Engineering Science 12(3), 2021, 11-17

Effect of Ornamental Stone Waste Incorporation on the Rheology, Hydration, Microstructure, and CO2 Emissions of Ordinary Portland Cement

The ornamental stone industry generates large amounts of waste thus creating environmental and human health hazards. Thus, pastes with 0–30 wt.% ornamental stone waste (OSW) incorporated into ordinary Portland cement (OPC) were produced and their rheological properties, hydration kinetics, and mechanical properties were evaluated. The CO2 equivalent emissions related to the pastes production were estimated for each composition. The results showed that the paste with 10 wt.% of OSW exhibited similar yield stress compared to the plain OPC paste, while pastes with 20 and 30 wt.% displayed reduced yield stresses up to 15%. OSW slightly enhanced the hydration kinetics compared to plain OPC, increasing the main heat flow peak and 90-h cumulative heat values. The incorporation of OSW reduced the 1-, 3-, and 28-days compressive strength of the pastes. Water absorption results agreed with the 28 days compressive strength results, indicating that OSW increased the volume of permeable voids. Finally, OSW incorporation progressively reduced the CO2 emission per m3 of OPC paste, reaching a 31% reduction for the highest 30 wt.% OSW content. Overall, incorporating up to 10 wt.% with OSW led to pastes with comparable fresh and hardened properties as comported to plain OPC paste.

Effective Utilization of Industrial and Agricultural Waste for Developing Sustainable Self-Compacting Concrete

SCC (Self compacting concrete) can fill formwork and encloses reinforcing bars under gravity and maintains homogeneity without vibration. SCC shortens the period of construction, guarantees compaction in confined zones, moreover terminates noise due to vibration. The wide spread application of SCC is restricted because of the high cost for the production of SCC with high cement content and chemical admixtures. In order to make the production of SCC economical, and to reduce the high cement content the Ordinary Portland Cement in SCC can be blended with pozzolanic materials like rice husk ash and supplementary cementitious materials like fly ash. In this paper the fresh state properties and mechanical properties such as compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength of SCC with ternary blends of rice husk ash (RHA) and fly ash (FA) were studied. For this purpose, different mixes were prepared by replacing Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) with 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of rice husk ash (RHA) and the percentage of addition of fly ash (FA) is fixed as 15% for all these mixes. It was observed that the specimen incorporating 10% of rice husk ash (RHA) and 15% of fly ash (FA) as ternary blend exhibits better mechanical properties such as: Compressive, split tensile and flexural strengths at 28 days of age as compared to traditional mix of SCC without RHA (Rice Husk Ash) and FA (Fly Ash). This research demonstrates that the ideal percentage for a mixture of rice husk ash (RHA) and fly ash as ternary blend is 10% and 15% respectively.

Alkali-Activated Hybrid Cements Based on Fly Ash and Construction and Demolition Wastes Using Sodium Sulfate and Sodium Carbonate

This article demonstrates the possibility of producing alkali-activated hybrid cements based on fly ash (FA), and construction and demolition wastes (concrete waste, COW; ceramic waste, CEW; and masonry waste, MAW) using sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) (2–6%) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) (5–10%) as activators. From a mixture of COW, CEW, and MAW in equal proportions (33.33%), a new precursor called CDW was generated. The precursors were mixed with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) (10–30%). Curing of the materials was performed at room temperature (25 °C). The hybrid cements activated with Na2SO4 reached compressive strengths of up to 31 MPa at 28 days of curing, and the hybrid cements activated with Na2CO3 yielded compressive strengths of up to 22 MPa. Based on their mechanical performance, the optimal mixtures were selected: FA/30OPC-4%Na2SO4, CDW/30OPC-4%Na2SO4, FA/30OPC-10%Na2CO3, and CDW/30OPC-10%Na2CO3. At prolonged ages (180 days), these mixtures reached compressive strength values similar to those reported for pastes based on 100% OPC. A notable advantage is the reduction of the heat of the reaction, which can be reduced by up to 10 times relative to that reported for the hydration of Portland cement. These results show the feasibility of manufacturing alkaline-activated hybrid cements using alternative activators with a lower environmental impact.