Cyclically Loaded Copper Slag Admixed Reinforced Concrete Beams with Cement Partially Replaced with Fly Ash.

Generally, the concrete with higher strength appears to produce brittle failure more easily. However, the use of mineral admixture can help in enhancing the ductility, energy dissipation, and seismic energy in the designed concrete. This paper presents energy absorption capacity, stiffness degradation, and ductility of the copper slag (CS) admixed reinforced concrete with fly ash (FA) beams subjected to forward cyclic load. The forward cyclic load was applied with the help of servo-hydraulic universal testing machines with 250 kN capacity. Twenty-four beams with a size of 100 mm × 150 mm × 1700 mm made with CS replaced for natural sand from 0% to 100% at an increment of 20%, and FA was replaced for cement from 0% to 30% with an increment of 10% were cast. Beams are designed for the grade of M30 concrete. Based on the preliminary investigation results, compressive strength of the concrete greatly increased when adding these two materials in the concrete. Normally, Grade of concrete can change the behaviour of the beam from a brittle manner to be more ductile manner. So, in this work, flexural behaviour of RC beams are studied with varying compressive strength of concrete. Experimental results showed that the RC beam made with 20% FA and 80% CS (FA20CS80) possesses higher ultimate load-carrying capacity than the control concrete beam. It withstands up to 18 cycles of loading with an ultimate deflection of 60 mm. The CS and FA admixed reinforced concrete composite beams have excellent ultimate load carrying capacity, stiffness, energy absorption capacity, and ductility indices compared to the control concrete beam.

Machine Learning Prediction Models to Evaluate the Strength of Recycled Aggregate Concrete.

Compressive and flexural strength are the crucial properties of a material. The strength of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) is comparatively lower than that of natural aggregate concrete. Several factors, including the recycled aggregate replacement ratio, parent concrete strength, water-cement ratio, water absorption, density of the recycled aggregate, etc., affect the RAC's strength. Several studies have been performed to study the impact of these factors individually. However, it is challenging to examine their combined impact on the strength of RAC through experimental investigations. Experimental studies involve casting, curing, and testing samples, for which substantial effort, price, and time are needed. For rapid and cost-effective research, it is critical to apply new methods to the stated purpose. In this research, the compressive and flexural strengths of RAC were predicted using ensemble machine learning methods, including gradient boosting and random forest. Twelve input factors were used in the dataset, and their influence on the strength of RAC was analyzed. The models were validated and compared using correlation coefficients (R2), variance between predicted and experimental results, statistical tests, and k-fold analysis. The random forest approach outperformed gradient boosting in anticipating the strength of RAC, with an R2 of 0.91 and 0.86 for compressive and flexural strength, respectively. The models' decreased error values, such as mean absolute error (MAE) and root-mean-square error (RMSE), confirmed the higher precision of the random forest models. The MAE values for the random forest models were 4.19 MPa and 0.56 MPa, whereas the MAE values for the gradient boosting models were 4.78 MPa and 0.64 MPa, for compressive and flexural strengths, respectively. Machine learning technologies will benefit the construction sector by facilitating the evaluation of material properties in a quick and cost-effective manner.

A Step towards Concrete with Partial Substitution of Waste Glass (WG) in Concrete: A Review.

The annual worldwide production rate of waste glass is a million tons; the waste glass is non-biodegradable, resulting in environmental pollution. However, the chemical composition of waste glass (WG) is promoted to be used as a partial substitution of binding or filler (aggregate) material in concrete production. Although significant research has been conducted in this area, the results of these studies are scattered, and it is difficult to judge the suitability of waste glass in concrete. This review looks at the effects of waste glass on concrete's fresh, mechanical, and durability properties. It concludes that waste glass decreased the flowability of concrete. Furthermore, waste glass can be used as pozzolanic material, creating secondary cementitious compound (CSH) gel. CSH gel increased the cement paste's binding properties, leading to increased mechanical performance. Moreover, this study reveals that the optimum dose of waste glass is important to minimize the possibility of an alkali-silica reactions. Based on this review, most researchers conclude that 20% substitution of waste glass as binding material is the optimum dose. The wide range of discussion provides the necessary guideline for the best research practice in the future.

Fly Ash Application as Supplementary Cementitious Material: A Review.

This study aimed to expand the knowledge on the application of the most common industrial byproduct, i.e., fly ash, as a supplementary cementitious material. The characteristics of cement-based composites containing fly ash as supplementary cementitious material were discussed. This research evaluated the mechanical, durability, and microstructural properties of FA-based concrete. Additionally, the various factors affecting the aforementioned properties are discussed, as well as the limitations associated with the use of FA in concrete. The addition of fly ash as supplementary cementitious material has a favorable impact on the material characteristics along with the environmental benefits; however, there is an optimum level of its inclusion (up to 20%) beyond which FA has a deleterious influence on the composite's performance. The evaluation of the literature identified potential solutions to the constraints and directed future research toward the application of FA in higher amounts. The delayed early strength development is one of the key downsides of FA use in cementitious composites. This can be overcome by chemical activation (alkali/sulphate) and the addition of nanomaterials, allowing for high-volume use of FA. By utilizing FA as an SCM, sustainable development may promote by lowering CO2 emissions, conserving natural resources, managing waste effectively, reducing environmental pollution, and low hydration heat.

Concrete by Preplaced Aggregate Method Using Silica Fume and Polypropylene Fibres.

Preplaced aggregate concrete (PAC) is prepared in two steps, with the coarse aggregate being initially laid down in the formwork, after which a specialised grout is injected into it. To enhance the properties of concrete and to reduce the emission of CO2 produced during the production of cement, supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are used to partially substitute ordinary Portland cement (OPC). In this study, 100 mm × 200 mm (diameter x height) PAC cylinders were cast with 10 per cent of cement being substituted with silica fume; along with that, 1.5% dosage of Macro polypropylene fibres were also introduced into the coarse aggregate matrix. Compressive strength test, splitting tensile strength test, mass loss at 250 °C, and compressive strength at 250 °C were performed on the samples. PAC samples with 10% of cement replaced with Silica Fume (SPAC) were used as control samples. The primary objective of this study was to observe the effect of the addition of Polypropylene fibres to PAC having Silica fume as SCM (FRPAC). The aforementioned tests showed that FRPAC had a lower compressive strength than that of the control mix (SPAC). FRPAC had greater tensile strength than that of NPAC and SPAC. Mass loss at 250 °C was greater in SPAC compared to FRPAC. The compressive strength loss at 250 °C was significantly greater in FRPAC compared to SPAC. FRPAC exhibited a greater strain for the applied stress, and their stress-strain curve showed that FRPAC was more ductile than SPAC.