Use of marble slurry powder and fly ash to obtain sustainable concrete

Abstract

Abstract Marble production is increasing with the increase in demand. Production of marble includes many steps from mining to finished product. While processing of marble stone, a huge quantity of waste generates in the various forms such as boulders, pebbles, grits, fines and slurry. In the absence of proper disposal plan, these wastes are dumped on forest land, roadsides etc. which results in deterioration of ecosystem of the nearby area. The marble slurry produced from the processing of marble has finer particle size which is airborne. It causes respiratory and eye infections to the human being. Also, fly ash is considered as waste byproduct generated from thermal power plants. The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of these industrial waste materials as replacement of conventional materials in concrete. In this study, 1 control mix and 4 mixes with replacements were prepared and investigated for workability, fresh density, flexural strength and DIN water permeability of prepared mixes. The result specifies that inclusion of fly ash as 35% cement replacement enhanced the fresh properties whereas admixture dosage was increased to get required workability in case of fine aggregate replacement by marble slurry powder (MSP). Fresh density increased on substitution of fine aggregate by marble slurry powder. The flexural strength was optimum for the control mix. The minimum water penetration depth was recorded for 20% fine aggregate replacement by marble slurry powder. The result indicated that the inclusion of marble slurry powder and fly ash may be used as partial substitution of fine aggregate and cement.