Experimental study of the effect of waste steel scrap as reinforcing material on the mechanical properties of concrete

Abstract

This research presents an experimental finding on the mechanical properties of concrete with waste steel scrap. The recycling of scrap metal as a concrete base reinforcement eliminates the issue of disposal. The laboratory tests for compressive strength and splitting tensile strength were conducted for different percentages of waste steel scrap (0%, 0.5 %, 0.75 %, and 1.5 %) determined by the volume of concrete. The compression behavior was obtained using uniaxial compression tests while the tensile behavior was obtained using splitting tensile tests. Laboratory testing of 12 cubic specimens and 12-cylinder specimens was conducted on the 28th day of curing. With the addition of waste steel scrap, it was found in the test results that the compressive strength increased by 26.8 % for 0.5 %, 30.7 % for 0.75 %, and reduced by 5.3 % for 1.5 % by volume of concrete. The splitting tensile strength increased by 11.2 % for 0.5 %, 5.8 % for 0.75 % and 2.5 % for 1.5 % by volume of concrete. The test outcomes showed that the modulus of elasticity and peak strain contains a remarkable increment with the increase in waste steel scrap volume. Compared with plain concrete, the strength properties of concrete with steel scrap were improved, however, with an increased amount of waste scrap, the workability of concrete was reduced.