Experimental Investigation of Partial Replacement of Cement with Glass Powder

Abstract

In present day scenario, concrete industry is the one of the largest consumer of natural resource. In the concrete industry, cement plays a vital role. Due to increased cement production, cement manufacturing industries have become the largest contributors of CO2 emission, which severely affects the environment. Hence it is necessary to find an alternative and sustainable replacement for cement in concrete. Glass powder, with cement-like properties can be used as a partial replacement for cement in concrete. Millions of tons of glass waste are being generated annually all over the world. Once glass becomes unusable, it is disposed in landfills, which cannot be decomposed by the environment. As obtained from Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDXS), glass is principally composed of silica which can be used as a partial replacement of cement. In this project, M25 grade of concrete is used for testing the properties of glass-powder incorporated concrete. The cement in concrete is partially replaced with glass powder in various proportions like 0%, 10%, 20% & 30% and tested for its compressive, tensile and flexural strength up to 7 days, 14 days, 28 days and compared with the conventional concrete. A 20% replacement of cement with waste glass powder was found to be convincing considering cost and sustainability criteria.