Performance of green concrete paving block imbibed with industrial scrap steel mill scale for sustainable construction

Abstract

The utilization of industrial waste materials in concrete compensates the shortage of natural resources by not only solving the problem due to disposal of wastes but also by developing alternative solutions to protect the environment as well as reduction in the area requirement for landfill. The concrete made with such wastages using less energy during its production and eco-friendly is called as Green Concrete. Variety of industrial wastes is employed as whole or partial substitution for coarse or fine aggregate. Steel mill scale is one such kind of waste materials produced as a result of hot process of rolling of steel in steel companies with rich source of iron content with least impurities. This research study investigates the viability of adopting steel mill scale as a partial substitute material for fine aggregate (M-sand). The current study investigates the influence on fresh and hardened concrete paving blocks and its properties, when M-sand is replaced at 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% with steel mill scale using a mix ratio of 1:1.6:2.1 at sustained water-cement ratio value of 0.5 and target strength at 28 days of 30 Mega Pascal. Physical and chemical characterisation of the materials, concrete compressive strength, concrete split tensile strength, water absorption, and also micro-structural examination of hardened paving blocks are experimentally investigated. Results suggest that 60% of the replacements outperformed the originals. The research findings point towards the feasibility of producing paving blocks from scrap steel mill scale for enhancing environmentally friendly construction practices and sustainable pavement infrastructure.