Confinement effectiveness of 2900psi concrete using the extract of Euphorbia tortilis cactus as a natural additive

Abstract

Concrete with cactus is a new type of concrete with high fluidity, strength, and durability with more remarkable advantages. The present paper discusses the role of Euphorbia tortilis cactus (ETC) to achieve the strength, durability, and corrosion resistance properties of concrete specimens. In this work, M20 (2900psi) concrete was designed as per Indian standards, and cactus were used as an additive. ETC extracts from Tamilnadu (India) were replaced with water (1%, 3%, 5%, 7%, 9%) by weight. The performance of cactus concrete was analyzed through destructive and non-destructive tests to investigate strength properties. In addition to that, specific tests such as sorptivity, permeability, half-cell potential test, etc. have been performed further for durability and corrosion resistance. ETC concrete improves the fluidity, thereby enhancing the workability of the mixture. Concrete was analyzed through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to identify the particle distribution. Experimental investigation shows that the strength properties of concrete have been enhanced by 29% due to Polysaccharides at optimum level. However, durability is achieved at a high, which stimulates the effective filling of voids in concrete. It shows that better performance of concrete gives at optimum dosage. On Euphorbia tortilis cactus concrete, no literature has been discovered.