Improvement on Mechanical Properties of Fresh and Hardened Concrete by Marble Waste and Pumicite

Abstract

Development, world-over is fuelled by growth of the economy and the growth of economy is fuelled by growth in infrastructure. Estimates record a consumption of 6.6 Gigatonnes of concrete in China in earlier part of this decade, for infrastructure development. But today the world is poised on a tipping point environmentally, and sustainable growth is the need of the hour. This requirement is leading to research in replacement of energy intensive materials, along with capture and utilization of available waste. Marble powder waste which has deleterious impact on environment is one such material. Existing literature majorly focus on utilization of marble powder as fine aggregates in concrete. This study aims to study the suitability of marble powder as a filler material and as a replacement of cement. Pumice breccias are used as coarse aggregates. Experimental investigations were conducted to ascertain the compressive and split tensile strength in concrete with marble powder replacing cement by various percentages. The results indicate a general improvement in both compressive and split tensile strength.