Engineering the Concrete to Achieve the Mechanical Properties by Replacing Demolished Concrete Wastes as Aggregates and adding Steel Fibers as Micro-Reinforcements

Abstract

Even for the construction of conventional buildings, materials for construction expense is unnecessarily rising, and this is becoming a major factor impacting the global housing market. This has made research into the economy of building materials necessary. In this regard, concretes have been created that partially substitute conventional aggregates with Demolished Concrete Waste (DCW) as coarse and fine aggregates. By bridging concrete cracks, the steel fibers’ characteristic helps to increase the inherent tensile strength of the material. For the purposes of this study, three distinct combinations of DCW content replacement were created using M25 grade concrete: 50% of Aggregate obtained through recycling process (RCA) + 20% Recycled Fine Aggregate (RFA), 50% RCA + 10% RFA, and 50% RCA. Additionally, 1% steel fiber reinforcements were added to each combination. To ascertain the required mechanical properties, concrete specimens in the shape of a “cube, cylinder, & prism” were cast and tested after seven, fourteen, and twenty eight days of curing. The mechanical properties of the newly developed concrete included splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, and compressive strength. These properties were evaluated and compared to those of traditional concrete. According to test results, the newly developed concrete produced strengths that were on par with those of conventional concrete.