Effect of waste glass powder on the durability and microstructural properties of fly ash-GGBS based alkali activated concrete containing 100 % recycled concrete aggregate

Abstract

This research investigates the effective utilization of waste glass powder (WGP) in fly ash (FA)-ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) based alkali-activated concrete (AAC) containing 100 % recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) cured at ambient temperature. FA substituted with WGP in the range of 0–25 %, and the percentage of GGBS was kept unaltered at 50 %. The influence of WGP on the strength, durability, and microstructural properties of FA-GGBS based AAC was evaluated. The experimental results showed that the strength and durability were enhanced with the increases of WGP of up to 20 %, and then started to decrease. The highest compressive strength (51.4 MPa) and ultrasonic pulse velosity (UPV) (4.35 km/s) were obtained for F30W20 (FA:GGBS:WGP - 30:50:20). In addition, sorptivity, chloride, and water permeability were reduced by 39.92 %, 56 %, and 64.13 %, respectively for optimized specimens as compared to a control sample (without WGP). Furthermore, the microstructural analysis was carried out to investigate the alteration in the mineralogical and morphology. On the basis of microstructural investigations, WGP notably enhanced the microstructure of FA-GGBS-based AAC by enhancing the formation of reaction products, including C-S-H and C-(N)-A-S-H gel. At last, this study found that CO2 emissions, energy consumption, and cost analysis were lowered by approximately 60 %, 28 %, and 41 % compared to conventional concrete of the same quality.