Case Studies in Construction Materials (Dec 2023)
Engineering characteristics of ultra-high performance basalt fiber concrete incorporating geranium plant waste
Abstract
This study investigates the sustainability aspects of Ultra-High Performance Basalt Fiber Concrete (UHPBFC) by using Geranium plant (GP) waste burned for 3 h at 300–900 °C at interval of 200 °C. The UHPBFC was used to partly replaced ordinary Portland cement (OPC) such that UHPBFC/(UHPBFS+OPC) varied as 0.1–0.5 at interval of 0.1. Waste glass sheet powder and basalt fiber were incorporated as alternative fine aggregate and fiber reinforcement, respectively to improve mechanical, microstructure, transport and thermal performance of the concrete. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Test (EDEX), and X-ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD) were conducted for product characteristics and microstructural analysis. The results showed a significant increase in mechanical properties for all mixes, and the optimum mixes are obtained at 50%, 40%, 40%, and 20% for mixes containing (GP) waste burned at 300 0C, 500 0C, 700 0C, and 900 0C, respectively. In addition, the optimum results are obtained at 40% replacement burned at 700 °C with an increment increase of 14.5%, 17.6% and 30% for compressive, split tensile and flexural strengths, respectively. High sorptivity and fire resistances were obtained with 40% loss of strength at 900 0C with concomitant dense microstructure at h higher Ca/Si ratio.
