Potential use of Construction and Demolition Waste Materials as Fine Aggregate in Self-Compacting Concrete

Abstract

River sand being most preferred and widely used fine aggregate in concrete, with urbanization and industrialization the demand for river sand in construction industry has given rise to a situation where extensive availability of river sand has decreased, price has increased and causing extensive environmental problems. In recent times researches are being carried out to find a suitable alternative for fine aggregate. On the other hand, construction industry is generating lot of wastes in various phases of construction and during demolition, the disposal of these materials is also creating environmental damage. In the present investigation an attempt has been made to find an effective way to tackle these problems in construction industry. The rigid waste materials such as waste glass, ceramic waste, waste mortar, granite and concrete blocks were collected and finely grounded to be used in varying replacement levels of 0%, 30%, 70% and 100% in self-compacting concrete (SCC) of grade M30. Mix design was done according to Nan-Su method. Characterisation of mixed rigid waste materials was confirmed to zone II.  The plastic property tests on SCC indicated decrease in workability with increase in replacement level. From compressive strength test result, it was noted that 30% replacement gave maximum strength than control SCC concrete, however the strength at 70% and 100% replacement levels were comparable with control mix.