Consistency and mechanical properties of sustainable concrete blended with brick dust waste cementitious materials

Amakye, S. Y.; Abbey, S. J.; Olubanwo, A. O.

Abstract

The reuse of waste materials in civil engineering projects has become the topic for many researchers due to their economic and environmental benefits. In this study, brick dust waste (BDW) derived from cutting of masonry bricks and demolition waste which are normally dumped as land fill is used as partial replacement of cement in a concrete mix at 10%, 20% and 30% respectively, with the aim of achieving high strength in concrete using less cement due to the environmental problems associated with the cement production. To ascertain the effects of BDW on the consistency and mechanical performance of concrete mix, laboratory investigations on the workability of fresh concrete and the strength of hardened concrete were carried out. Slump and compaction index test were carried out on fresh concrete mix and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) test and tensile strength test were conducted on hardened concrete specimen after 7, 14 and 28 days of curing. The results showed high UCS and tensile strength with the addition of 10% BDW to the concrete mix, hence achieving the set target in accordance with the relevant British standards. A gradual reduction in strength was observed as BDW content increases, however, recording good workability as slump and compaction index results fell within the set target range in accordance with relevant British standards. Findings from this study concluded that BDW can partially replace cement in a concrete mix to up to 30% igniting the path to a cleaner production of novel concrete using BDW in construction work.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 24, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Mar 4, 2021
• Publication Date: Mar 4, 2021
• Deposit Date: Mar 6, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 12, 2021
• Journal: SN Applied Sciences
• Electronic ISSN: 2523-3971
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 3
• Article Number: 420
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-021-04430-w
• Keywords: Brick dust waste; Partial cement replacement; Construction demolition waste; Unconfined compressive strength; Tensile splitting strength; Workability; Green concrete
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7190165
• Additional Information: Received: 3 August 2020; Accepted: 24 February 2021; First Online: 4 March 2021; : ; : The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest associated with this publication and no financial support has been given to influence the outcome of this work.