Abstract
Although free-cement-based alkali-activated paste, mortar, and concrete have been recognised as sustainable and environmental-friendly materials, a considerable amount of effort is still being channeled to ascertain the best binary or ternary binders that would satisfy the requirements of strength and durability as well as environmental aspects. In this study, the mechanical properties of alkali-activated mortar (AAM) made with binary binders, involving fly ash (FA) and granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS) as well as bottle glass waste nano-silica powder (BGWNP), were opti-mised using both experimentally and optimisation modelling through three scenarios. In the first scenario, the addition of BGWNP varied from 5% to 20%, while FA and GBFS were kept constant (30:70). In the second and third scenarios, BGWNP (5–20%) was added as the partial replacement of FA and GBFS, separately. The results show that the combination of binary binders (FA and GBFS) and BGWNP increased AAM’s strength compared to that of the control mixture for all scenarios. In addition, the findings also demonstrated that the replacement of FA by BGWNP was the most significant, while the effect of GBFS replacement by BGWNP was less significant. In particular, the highest improvement in compressive strength was recorded when FA, GBFS, and BGWNP were 61.6%, 30%, and 8.4%, respectively. Furthermore, the results of ANOVA (p values < 0.0001 and high F-values) as well as several statistical validation methods (R > 0.9, RAE < 0.1, RSE < 0.013, and RRSE < 0.116) confirmed that all the models were robust, reliable, and significant. Similarly, the data variation was found to be less than 5%, and the difference between the predicted R2 and adj. R2 was very small (<0.2), thus confirming that the proposed non-linear quadratic equations had the capability to predict for further observation. In conclusion, the use of BGWNP in AAM could act as a beneficial and sustainable strategy, not only to address environmental issues (e.g., landfill) but to also enhance strength properties.
Highlights
Green concrete has emerged as one of the main focuses within the research community, in which the subject is linked to the utilisation of agricultural [1,2,3,4], industrial [5,6], or byproduct [7] waste materials as the replacement of cement or aggregate in both cement-based and free-cement-based materials involving paste, mortar, or concrete [8,9,10,11,12,13]
activated binders (AABs) are developed through the substitution of cement with alternative pozzolanic binders, such as metakaolin (MK), silica fume (SF), palm oil fuel ash (POFA), granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS), and fly ash (FA) [14,15]
These equations are useful to estimate and provide a quick insight into the evolution of the mechanical properties of the alkali-activated mortar made with a binary of FA and GBFS as well as nano silica
Summary
Green concrete has emerged as one of the main focuses within the research community, in which the subject is linked to the utilisation of agricultural [1,2,3,4], industrial [5,6], or byproduct [7] waste materials as the replacement of cement or aggregate in both cement-based and free-cement-based materials involving paste, mortar, or concrete [8,9,10,11,12,13]. AABs are developed through the substitution of cement with alternative pozzolanic binders, such as metakaolin (MK), silica fume (SF), palm oil fuel ash (POFA), granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS), and fly ash (FA) [14,15] The variations in their chemical composition have since prompted researchers to utilise these pozzolanic binders to tackle current serious environmental issues, and to achieve a high quality alkali-activated material. This study, contributes to the body of knowledge by quickly and effectively providing the required information and assessing the significance and interaction between the involved reaction parameters This present study will promote the utilisation of glass waste materials as the partial replacement of binders, which will be feasible and beneficial for environmental issues but will enhance its properties. Microstructure tests such as FE-SEM, XRD, and XRF were conducted to support the present findings
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