Overview of trends in the application of waste materials in self-compacting concrete production

Abstract

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) production is growing rapidly due to its several advantages in terms of enhanced properties and applications. However, there are associated sustainability issues with the SCC materials. With the demand for SCC expected to continually increase, an ideal solution is therefore required to sustain the technology, such as derivation of alternative materials. Thus, this study explores innovative application of industrial wastes in self-compacting concrete production, with the aim of finding the most appropriate technique in SCC material use. Also, the potential limitations in using some of the waste materials as sustainable alternatives were highlighted. This study found that several materials emanating from industrial rejects have been mostly investigated as a potential material for making SCC, which showed that the incorporation of waste materials into SCC could be a viable approach. However, in order to achieve optimal performance of SCC, an adequate material composition is necessary. It is clear from this study that factors such as embodied carbon, energy and cost of SCC production can notably be reduced with the incorporation of waste materials. The study also identified areas for further investigations that can help in the improvement of SCC for construction applications.