Green Concrete for a Circular Economy: A Review on Sustainability, Durability, and Structural Properties

A primary concern of conventional Portland cement concrete (PCC) is associated with the massive amount of global cement and natural coarse aggregates (NCA) consumption, which causes depletion of natural resources on the one hand and ecological problems on the other. As a result, the concept of green concrete (GC), by replacing cement with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), and metakaolin (MK), or replacing NCA with recycled coarse aggregates, can play an essential role in addressing the environmental threat of PCC. Currently, there is a growing body of literature that emphasizes the importance of implementing GC in concrete applications. Therefore, this paper has conducted a systematic literature review through the peer-reviewed literature database Scopus. A total of 114 papers were reviewed that cover the following areas: (1) sustainability benefits of GC, (2) mechanical behavior of GC in terms of compressive strength, (3) durability properties of GC under several environmental exposures, (4) structural performance of GC in large-scale reinforced beams under shear and flexure, and (5) analytical investigation that compares the GC shear capacities of previously tested beams with major design codes and proposed models. Based on this review, the reader will be able to select the optimum replacement level of cement with one of the SCMs to achieve a certain concrete strength range that would suit a certain concrete application. Also, the analysis of durability performance revealed that the addition of SCMs is not recommended in concrete exposed to a higher temperature than 400 °C. Moreover, combining GGBFS with FA in a concrete mix was noticed to be superior to PCC in terms of long-term resistance to sulfate attack. The single most striking observation to emerge from the data comparison of the experimentally tested beams with the available concrete shear design equations is that the beams having up to 70% of FA as a replacement to OPC or up to 100% of RCA as a replacement to NCA were conservatively predicted by the equations of Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE-1997), the American Concrete Institute (ACI 318-19), and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA-A23.3-14).

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Phase-Change Materials in Concrete: Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainable Construction and Building Materials

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma15010335 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 335

Author(s):

Raju Sharma ◽

Jeong-Gook Jang ◽

Jong-Wan Hu

Keyword(s):

Phase Change ◽

Large Scale ◽

Building Materials ◽

Phase Change Materials ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Concrete Strength ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Cementitious Materials ◽

Supplementary Cementitious Materials ◽

Sustainable Construction

The use of phase-change materials (PCM) in concrete has revealed promising results in terms of clean energy storage. However, the negative impact of the interaction between PCM and concrete on the mechanical and durability properties limits field applications, leading to a shift of the research to incorporate PCM into concrete using different techniques to overcome these issues. The storage of clean energy via PCM significantly supports the UN SDG 7 target of affordable and clean energy. Therefore, the present study focuses on three aspects: PCM type, the effect of PCM on concrete properties, and connecting the outcome of PCM concrete composite to the United Nations sustainable development goals (UN SDGs). The compensation of reduction in strength of PCM-contained concrete is possible up to some extent with the use of nanomaterials and supplementary cementitious materials. As PCM-incorporated concrete is categorized a type of building material, the large-scale use of this material will affect the different stages associated with building lifetimes. Therefore, in the present study, the possible amendments of the different associated stages of building lifetimes after the use of PCM-incorporated concrete are discussed and mapped in consideration of the UN SDGs 7, 11, and 12. The current challenges in the widespread use of PCM are lower thermal conductivity, the trade-off between concrete strength and PCM, and absence of the link between the outcome of PCM-concrete composite and UN SDGs. The global prospects of PCM-incorporated concrete as part of the effort to attain the UN SDGs as studied here will motivate architects, designers, practicing engineers, and researchers to accelerate their efforts to promote the consideration of PCM-containing concrete ultimately to attain net zero carbon emissions from building infrastructure for a sustainable future.

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Effect of ground granulated blast funrnace slag and fly ash on strength, permeability, and under-water abrasion of fine-grained concrete

Transport and Communication Science Journal ◽

10.25073/tcsj.71.7.4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 71 (7) ◽

pp. 775-788

Author(s):

Quyet Truong Van ◽

Sang Nguyen Thanh

Keyword(s):

Fly Ash ◽

Concrete Strength ◽

Cementitious Materials ◽

Supplementary Cementitious Materials ◽

Chloride Permeability ◽

Cement Replacement ◽

Fine Grained ◽

Granulated Blast Furnace Slag ◽

Compressive Strength Test ◽

Economic Ground

The utilisation of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) is widespread in the concrete industry because of the performance benefits and economic. Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and fly ash (FA) have been used as the SCMs in concrete for reducing the weight of cement and improving durability properties. In this study, GGBFS at different cement replacement ratios of 0%, 20%, 40% and 60% by weight were used in fine-grained concrete. The ternary binders containing GGBFS and FA at cement replacement ratio of 60% by weight have also evaluated. Flexural and compressive strength test, rapid chloride permeability test and under-water abrasion test were performed. Experimental results show that the increase in concrete strength with GGBFS contents from 20% to 40% but at a higher period of maturity (56 days and more). The chloride permeability the under-water abrasion reduced with the increasing cement replacement by GGBFS or a combination of GGBFS and FA

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Evaluation of strength of concrete on different initial exposure condition

Current Materials Science ◽

10.2174/2666145413999201224112446 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

Author(s):

Sri Ram Krishna Mishra ◽

Pradeep Kumar Ghosh ◽

Manoj Kulshreshtha

Keyword(s):

Portland Cement ◽

High Strength ◽

Cementitious Materials ◽

General Purpose ◽

Supplementary Cementitious Materials ◽

Exposure Condition ◽

Portland Cement Concrete ◽

Initial Exposure ◽

Skilled Manpower ◽

Standard Practices

Background: The previous studies have focused curing effect of mainly on high strength concrete, where strict supervision is maintained. This study is based upon general purpose concreting work for commercial and residential construction in absence of skilled manpower and supervision. Objective: The objective of this study is to establish a thumb rule to provide 7 days initial curing for maintaining quality for unsupervised concreting irrelevant to type of cement and grading. Methods: In this study concrete samples made with locally available commercial cements were cured for various initial exposure. Results: The results shows that concrete cured after a gap of 4 days from the time of de-moulding have given lowest strength as compared to concrete cured in standard practices i.e. where proper curing protocol had been followed. Conclusion: Initial curing is most important aspect of gaining desired strength. The findings after this study shows that curing affects the strength of concrete in variable grading. Initial curing has great importance for concrete with all types of Portland cement. Concrete with supplementary cementitious materials gives lowest strength initially but results higher strength after 28 days as compared to Portland cement.

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Influence of Rice Husk Ash Density on the Workability and Strength of Structural Concrete

European Journal of Engineering Research and Science ◽

10.24018/ejers.2017.2.3.292 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 36 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

John Kamau ◽

Ash Ahmed ◽

Fraser Hyndman ◽

Paul Hirst ◽

Joseph Kangwa

Keyword(s):

Compressive Strength ◽

Rice Husk ◽

Water Demand ◽

Rice Husk Ash ◽

Concrete Strength ◽

High Water ◽

Cementitious Materials ◽

Supplementary Cementitious Materials ◽

Hardened Concrete ◽

Structural Applications

Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) have been known to improve the properties of fresh and hardened concrete, and at the same time enhance the sustainability of concrete. Rice husk Ash (RHA), is one such material, but has neither been widely studied nor applied in practice. This work investigated the effect of the density of RHA on the workability and compressive strength of fresh and hardened RHA-replaced concrete respectively. Cement was replaced with RHA in concrete by weight (RHA-W) and by volume (RHA-V) at steps of 0%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%. The 0% replacement was used as the reference point from which performances were measured. Results showed that unlike the characteristic of other established pozzolans, RHA significantly reduced the workability of wet concrete and the rate of compressive strength gain over curing time due to a high water demand that is caused by the increased volume of replaced concrete, which results from its low density. Workability reduced with increased replacement for both RHA-W and RHA-V. Replacements of above 15% were not possible for the RHA-W due to the high water demand. However, replacements of up to 30% were achieved for the RHA-V. RHA-W specimens achieved lower compressive strengths and were observed to gain strength at a lower rate over the 28 to 91-days period of curing compared to RHA-V specimens. This behavior was attributed to the shortage of water that is necessary for the hydration of cement and subsequent pozzolanic reaction, which is the basis of the contribution that is made to the strength and performance of concrete by SCMs. However, the compressive strengths achieved were above the study’s target concrete strength of class C32/40 at 91 days, which is among those classes that are listed as being durable and suitable for structural applications. A conclusion that RHA should supplement cements by volumetric replacement rather than simple substitution by weight was drawn.

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Long-term performance of sustainable pavements using ternary blended concrete with recycled aggregates

10.21079/11681/40780 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gilson Lomboy ◽

Douglas Cleary ◽

Seth Wagner ◽

Yusef Mehta ◽

Danielle Kennedy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Portland Cement ◽

Cementitious Materials ◽

Recycled Concrete ◽

Supplementary Cementitious Materials ◽

Recycled Aggregates ◽

Concrete Aggregate ◽

Portland Cement Concrete ◽

Cement Concrete ◽

Concrete Aggregates ◽

Concrete Mixtures

Dwindling supplies of natural concrete aggregates, the cost of landfilling construction waste, and interest in sustainable design have increased the demand for recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) in new portland cement concrete mixtures. RCA repurposes waste material to provide useful ingredients for new construction applications. However, RCA can reduce the performance of the concrete. This study investigated the effectiveness of ternary blended binders, mixtures containing portland cement and two different supplementary cementitious materials, at mitigating performance losses of concrete mixtures with RCA materials. Concrete mixtures with different ternary binder combinations were batched with four recycled concrete aggregate materials. For the materials used, the study found that a blend of portland cement, Class C fly ash, and blast furnace slag produced the highest strength of ternary binder. At 50% replacement of virgin aggregates and ternary blended binder, some specimens showed comparable mechanical performance to a control mix of only portland cement as a binder and no RCA substitution. This study demonstrates that even at 50% RCA replacement, using the appropriate ternary binder can create a concrete mixture that performs similarly to a plain portland cement concrete without RCA, with the added benefit of being environmentally beneficial.

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The effect of supplementary cementitious materials on the permeability of chloride in steam cured high-ferrite Portland cement concrete

Construction and Building Materials ◽

10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.11.107 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 197 ◽

pp. 99-106 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Xiao Huang ◽

Shuguang Hu ◽

Fazhou Wang ◽

Lu Yang ◽

Meijuan Rao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Portland Cement ◽

Cementitious Materials ◽

Supplementary Cementitious Materials ◽

Portland Cement Concrete ◽

Cement Concrete

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Crack Growth Resistance in Fibre Reinforced Geopolymer Concrete Exposed to Sustained Extreme Temperatures

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.711.511 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 711 ◽

pp. 511-518 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Vivek Bindiganavile ◽

Jose R.A. Goncalves ◽

Yaman Boluk

Keyword(s):

Portland Cement ◽

Crack Growth ◽

Volume Fraction ◽

Cementitious Materials ◽

Supplementary Cementitious Materials ◽

Geopolymer Concrete ◽

Extreme Temperatures ◽

Portland Cement Concrete ◽

Promising Alternative ◽

Cement Binder

Portland cement concrete (PCC) is now second only to potable water in per capita consumption. And notwithstanding its numerous benefits, Portland cement itself is responsible for between 4 to 5% of the world’s manmade greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, geopolymer concrete is a promising alternative, wherein the Portland cement binder is replaced entirely by supplementary cementitious materials triggered by alkaline activators. Relatively little is known on the fracture response of this system, especially when exposed to extreme temperatures. The study reported here focused on the crack growth response of such a system prepared with Class F fly ash and reinforced with steel and polymeric fibres up to 1% volume fraction. The geopolymerization was effected with a blend of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate to achieve a compressive strength of 30 MPa at 28 days. The resulting geopolymer concrete was subjected to temperatures between-30 oC to 300 oC, sustained for 2 hours. A fibre blend of steel to polypropylene in the mass ratio of 4:1 was incorporated. Based on the results, four different stages for fracture behaviour were identified with superior fibre efficiency seen at sub-zero temperatures.

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Utilization of Iraqi Metakaolin in Special Types of Concrete: A Review Based on National Researches

Journal of Engineering ◽

10.31026/j.eng.2021.08.06 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 27 (8) ◽

pp. 80-98

Author(s):

Mahmood Fawzi Ahmed

Keyword(s):

Construction Material ◽

Cementitious Materials ◽

Pozzolanic Reaction ◽

Supplementary Cementitious Materials ◽

Partial Replacement ◽

Portland Cement Concrete ◽

Cement Concrete ◽

Concrete Technology ◽

Natural Pozzolans ◽

Sustainability Issue

Portland cement concrete is the most commonly used construction material in the world for decades. However, the searches in concrete technology are remaining growing to meet particular properties related to its strength, durability, and sustainability issue. Thus, several types of concrete have been developed to enhance concrete performance. Most of the modern concrete types have to contain supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) as a partial replacement of cement. These materials are either by-products of waste such as fly ash, slag, rice husk ash, and silica fume or from a geological resource like natural pozzolans and metakaolin (MK). Ideally, the utilization of SCMs will enhance the concrete performance, minimize environmental pollution and mitigate the drawbacks of cement production attributed to the highly CO2 emission. In general, MK's ultra-fineness and high pozzolanic activity are exhibited a remarkable performance of concrete in terms of strength and durability. However, the filler effect, acceleration of cement hydration, and the pozzolanic reaction with calcium hydroxide (CH) are the main factors influencing the performance of metakaolin as a cementitious material. Therefore, numerous researches have been undertaken on inclusion MK in concrete and mortar and production of (free-cement concrete) geopolymer concrete. This paper reviews some of previous native researches on effect of using Iraqi metakaolin as a pozzolanic material in different types of concrete. The standpoint of this review will guide the researchers on the importance of utilization of local MK and highlight the missing researches toward completing a comprehensive understanding of incorporation Iraqi-metakaolin in concrete technology.

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Effect of ground granulated blast funrnace slag and fly ash on strength, permeability, and under-water abrasion of fine-grained concrete

Transport and Communication Science Journal ◽

10.47869/tcsj.71.7.4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 71 (7) ◽

pp. 775-788

Author(s):

Quyet Truong Van ◽

Sang Nguyen Thanh

Keyword(s):

Fly Ash ◽

Concrete Strength ◽

Cementitious Materials ◽

Supplementary Cementitious Materials ◽

Chloride Permeability ◽

Cement Replacement ◽

Fine Grained ◽

Granulated Blast Furnace Slag ◽

Compressive Strength Test ◽

Economic Ground

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Bamboo ashes as an eco-friendly alternative to cement - a systematic review

ForScience ◽

10.29069/forscience.2021v9n2.e889 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. e00889

Author(s):

Yuri Mariano Carvalho ◽

Laura Ferreira Velasco

Keyword(s):

Chemical Composition ◽

Large Scale ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Activity Index ◽

Environmental Parameters ◽

Cementitious Materials ◽

Physical Characteristics ◽

Supplementary Cementitious Materials ◽

Cement Replacement ◽

Bamboo Leaves

Cement production impacts the environment from raw materials extraction to its industrialized production. Implementing supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) to replace cement is an economical and sustainable practice. Agricultural wastes, for example, represent a new source of SCM studied over the last decades, mainly due to its high generation around the world. Among the published review papers about agro-waste in civil construction, bamboo ashes (BA) appear secondary in large-scale studies. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate BA potential use in the construction industry as cement replacement by identifying their behavior in cementitious compounds and discovering the research gaps about this topic. We overviewed the published literature about concrete made with BA, synthesizing data about BA chemical composition and mechanical and physical characteristics of cementitious materials made with these ashes. We identified a preference for bamboo leaves ashes as SCM, potentially due to its high silica amount. However, other biological and environmental parameters that alter the bamboo chemical composition were not discussed in the papers. Concerning compressive strength, 90% of the studies with BA reported cementitious materials with a strength activity index acceptable for use. This review also identified an optimal percentage of cement replacement with BA ranging from 8% to 12% in concrete specimens. Concrete and mortar with BA also showed a lower density than the reference samples made only with cement. We concluded that BA are promising alternatives to replace cement since they provide desirable mechanical and physical characteristics to concrete and meet sustainability requirements. Besides that, we raised some topics that may guide future researches: (1) the natural and artificial parameters that affect BA composition; (2) BA chemical and physical behavior under microscopical conditions in cementitious composites; and (3) the economic advantages associated with replacing cement with BA. Keywords: Cement substitutes. Addition. Artificial pozzolan. Sustainability. Supplementary cementitious materials. Cinzas de bambu como alternativa eco-amigável ao cimento - uma revisão sistemática Resumo A produção de cimento impacta o meio ambiente desde a extração de matérias-primas até sua produção industrializada, o que reforça a demanda por materiais cimentícios suplementares (MCS) para substituir, mesmo que parcialmente, o uso do cimento. Os resíduos agrícolas, por exemplo, são um bom exemplo de MCS estudado nas últimas décadas, principalmente devido à sua alta geração em todo o mundo. Dentre os artigos de revisão publicados sobre o uso de resíduos agrícolas na construção civil, as cinzas de bambu figuram apenas como subtópico em estudos maiores. Logo, esse trabalho objetivou avaliar o potencial do uso de cinzas de bambu na indústria da construção civil como substituinte parcial ao cimento identificando seu comportamento em compostos cimentícios e sugerindo temas para pesquisas futuras. Esta revisão sistemática fornece uma visão geral da literatura publicada sobre argamassas e concretos feito com cinzas de bambu, sintetizando dados sobre a composição química dessas cinzas e as características mecânicas e físicas dos materiais cimentícios feitos com elas. Identificou-se uma preferência pelo uso de cinzas de bambu advindas da calcinação das folhas dessa planta, potencialmente devido ao seu alto teor de sílica. No entanto, existem parâmetros biológicos e ambientais que alteram a composição química do bambu e que não são discutidos pelos artigos. Quanto à resistência, 90% dos estudos que empregaram cinzas de bambu reportaram à resistência compressão admissível para uso em construções. Levantou-se, também, que a porcentagem ideal de substituição de cimento por cinzas de bambu varia de 8% a 12% em amostras de concreto. Os materiais cimentícios com cinzas de bambu também apresentaram densidade menor que a das amostras de referência feitas apenas com cimento. Conclui-se pelo estudo que as cinzas de bambu são alternativas promissoras para substituir parcialmente o cimento visto que elas proporcionam boas características mecânicas e físicas ao concreto e atendem a demandas sustentáveis. Além disso, foram levantadas lacunas na literatura que podem guiar futuras pesquisas, quais sejam: (1) os parâmetros naturais e artificiais que afetam a composição química das cinzas de bambu; (2) o comportamento químico e físico de cinzas de bambu em compósitos cimentícios sob condições microscópicas; e (3) as vantagens econômicas associadas a substituir parcialmente cimento por cinzas de bambu. Palavras-chave: Substitutos do cimento. Adição. Pozolana artificial. Sustentabilidade. Materiais cimentícios suplementares.

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