Strength evaluation of eco-friendly concrete using Taguchi method

Abstract

Abstract Natural resources are getting depleted day by day. The construction sectors consume a large number of natural resources, which in turn produce a high amount of industrial wastes. In the past, many researchers have tried to make concrete eco-friendly by utilizing industrial wastes such as fly ash, construction and demolition wastes etc., In this study, an eco-friendly concrete was made by replacing cement with fly ash and normal coarse aggregate with recycled coarse aggregate. To check the suitability of using recycled coarse aggregate in eco-friendly concrete, various tests were conducted to determine the physical and mechanical properties of normal coarse aggregate and recycled coarse aggregate. In the present study, work has been carried out by three different phases. In Phase I, eco-friendly concrete was made by using recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as a replacement of normal coarse aggregate (NCA) and fly ash as a replacement for cement. In Phase II, Taguchi method and Minitab software were used as a technique for the optimization of mix design. In Phase III, the specimens of the optimized mix were cast for the confirmation test of Compressive strength, Flexural Strength and Split tensile strength. Furthermore, the study has been extended to analyse the microstructural characteristics of the specimen using SEM. It is concluded that, 40% replacement RCA with NCA was found to be optimum and can be suitably used for the design of eco-friendly concrete.