Development of standard and high strength concretes using sustainable & recycled materials

One of the most complex challenges in the concrete technology is the utilization of additives and optimizing their proportions to enhance their performance. Construction activities cause damage to the environment in terms of pollution & waste generation. Hence, additives used in the concrete must not only be efficient but must also be sustainable to minimize such negative effects. The current research work thus provides an experimental investigation of the workability and mechanical strengths of the Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) for standard and higher grades with inclusion of sustainable materials like Fly ash, GGBS & fine recycled materials, and the results were compared to Nominal mix containing M-sand as the fine material. The different percentage replacements adopted for study were 50% and 100%. The results showed better flow and consistency but lesser strengths in compression, tension & flexure. The declining trend with increase in replacement of the recycled aggregates can be attributed to poor quality, moisture state and properties of the source. However, by replacing appropriate amounts of recycled fine materials, this method can be adopted for structural applications, thereby minimizing the environmental consequences of the recycled materials.