ADVANCING ENVIRONMENTAL CONCRETE: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE SUSTAINABLE CEMENTITIOUS PROPERTIES OF MICRO SILICA

Abstract

Concrete's intrinsic strength properties establish it as the paramount engineering material in the construction industry. However, the addition of certain materials has the potential to modify its qualities. The increasing popularity of pre-stressed concrete and high-rise structures has led to a growing demand for concrete with enhanced compressive strength. Micro silica, commonly referred to as silica fumes, is generated as a byproduct in used in electric arc furnaces to produce basic silicon or silicon-containing alloys. This study discusses the possibility of using bio mineralization to create distinctive, economical, and environmentally conscious concrete. An essential part of concrete, cement is costly and contributes 9–12% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Research endeavors investigating the impact of pozzolanic-characteristic supplemental cementitious materials (SCMs) on concrete are widely discussed in the literature at the moment. However, there has frequently been insufficient attention paid to the thorough investigation of micro-scale fillers. The objective of this research is to use silica fume to improve the mechanical properties and durability of cementitious concrete (SF) to create binary cementitious systems. Investigations on concrete mixes meant for M30 grade have been performed to evaluate the consequences of substituting silica fume (micro-silica) for some of the cement. The replacement percentages of micro-silica that were examined were 0%, 1.5%, 3%, 5%, 7%, and 10%. In this work, several characteristics of hardened concrete have been methodically evaluated at the age of 7,14,28 days. A thorough durability investigation on acid attack was carried out, and the weight loss percentage was contrasted with that of conventional concrete. The test findings proves that adding Micro-silica fume to concrete has increased the material's durability and strength.