Properties of concrete containing Guar gum

Abstract

This study explores the effect of Guar gum as an eco-friendly additive on concrete mechanical characteristics. In the first stage, the slump and relative humidity tests were carried out for the fresh mortar, and tensile and compressive strengths were then determined for fifteen different mixture designs with two different curing times. Further, an exponential correlation was obtained between the ultrasonic pulse velocity and the compression test results. Additionally, scanning electron microscope (SEM) was employed to assess the bond between aggregates and Guar gum. At last, the Taguchi method and ANOVA were utilized to conduct the optimum states of the mechanical characteristics of the concrete specimens and to estimate the contribution of each effective factor on their mechanical properties, respectively. The findings indicate that concrete compressive and tensile strengths are enhanced when displacing up to 0.8 percent of cement with Guar gum which is effective in achieving a sustainable and eco-friendly mixture. Moreover, in the presence of Guar gum, an increase in water to cement ratio negatively affects the mechanical properties of concrete by decreasing compressive and tensile strengths. Finally, the SEM results reveal the fact that concrete morphological characteristics are altered due to the formation of Guar gum strings.