Experimental Investigations On the Partial Replacement of Cement by Alccofine and Flyash

Abstract

Concrete is one of the most commonly used material in the construction sector. It is usually comprised of Portland cement as the main component for making of concrete. Cement manufacturing is highly energy consuming and emissions intensive because of the extreme heat required to produce it. Producing a ton of cement requires 4.7 million BTU of energy, equivalent to about 400 pounds of coal, and generates nearly a ton of CO2. The production of cement release greenhouse gas emissions both directly and indirectly into the environment. The heating of limestone release CO2 directly, while the burning of fossil fuels to heat the kiln indirectly results in CO2 emissions. The major problem due to the production of cement is that the carbon- dioxide is liberated in a large quantity which in-turn increases the temperature of the atmosphere resulting global warming. Hence, we need a permanent replacement of cement in concrete to overcome the issue of global warming due to carbon-dioxide emission. In this paper the effects of partial replacement of cement by Alccofine has been studied. Alccofine 1203 is a specially manufactured material based on high glass content with high reactivity achieved through the process of controlled granulation. Concrete attains high strength at a very early age, due to the presence of Alccofine material. In this experimental stretch Alccofine was replaced by 0%, 25%, 50% & 75% by the weight of cement and Various properties like workability of fresh concrete using slump cone & compaction factor test, Compressive strength on concrete cubes, split tensile strength on concrete cylinders at 7, 14 & 28days of curing period were studied. The grade of concrete used was M15. It was observed from the result that the Alccofine material increases the strength to a large extent at an optimum replacement level of 25% after which decrease in the strength of concrete was observed. On the basis of strength increment in the variation of concrete mix, it gives better performance which indicates the consumption of waste material as mineral admixture for concrete could be encouraged in a better way to achieve environmental sustainability.