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The consumption of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) has increased enormously in the construction industry. These SCMs are often waste materials or industrial by-products. This study aims to investigate the bond strength using reinforcing bars in Normal Strength Concrete (M20 grade) and High Strength Concrete (M40 grade), developed using SCMs and data was compared with concrete prepared with ordinary portland cement (OPC). The findings of the study will help in reducing the dependency on OPC and promote the utilization of waste materials in Construction.

In the present study, the bond behavior between the steel bars and the concrete was investigated in controlled, binary and quaternary concretes of M20 and M40 grades. Following the conventional procedures, samples were prepared and mechanical tests conducted (as per IS:2770–1 code for M20 and M40 grade concrete structures), which showed an improvement in the bond strength depending on the extent of overall calcium and silica content in these composite mixtures, and thus reflected the importance of vigilant utilization of used industrial waste in the OPC as a replacement without exceeding silica content beyond certain percentages for enhanced structural properties.

Experimental evaluation of bond behavior results showed a brittle nature for the controlled (OPC) concrete mixtures. While binary and quaternary concrete was able to resist the load-carrying capacity under large deformations and prevented the split cracking and disintegration of the concretes. Among different variations in the chemistry, for both M20 and M40 grades, the maximum bond strengths were observed for 10% Metakaolin + 10% Silica Fume + 30% Fly Ash + 50% OPC composition and this could be attributed to the fineness of the additives, better packing and enhanced calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H).

Quaternary concrete may be a future option in place of OPC concrete. Very limited data is available related to the bond strength of quaternary concrete. Experimental analysis on quaternary concrete shows that its use in construction can reduce both construction cost and a burden on natural raw materials used to make OPC.

The purpose of this work is to study the in-situ performance of ternary geopolymer concrete in road repair work. Geopolymer cement concrete is an attractive alternative to Portland cement concrete owing to environmental, economic and performance benefits. Industrial wastes, such as fly ash (FA) and ground granular blast furnace slag (GGBS), have been extensively used to manufacture unitary and binary geopolymer concrete with heat activation (at different temperature); however, it has indicated a limitation for its application in precast industry only.

In the present study, efforts have been made to produce a ternary geopolymer concrete mix, using GGBS, FA and Silica fumes (SF) in varied proportion mixed with 8 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as alkali activator and cured at ambient temperature. Total ten geopolymer concrete mixes have been prepared and tested for strength and durability properties and compared with control mix of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Based on the mechanical properties of various mixes, an optimum geopolymer concrete mix has been identified. The control mix and optimum geopolymer have been studied for microstructural properties through scanning electron microscopy.

The in situ performance of the optimum mix has been assessed when used as a road repair material on a stretch of road. The ternary geopolymer concrete mixes (a) 65% GGBS + 25% FA + 10% SF, (b) 70% GGBS + 20% FA + 10% SF, and (c) 75% GGBS + 15% FA + 10% SF have resulted in good strength at ambient temperature and the mix 75% GGBS + 15% FA + 10% SF have shown good in situ performance when tested for road repair work.

Geopolymer concrete is gaining interest in many fields as an alternative to conventional concrete, as it not only reduces carbon footprint due to huge cement production but also provides a sustainable disposal method for many industrial wastes. This paper focuses on finding some alternative of OPC concrete to reduce dependency on the OPC.

One of the most contested and anticipated research issues is the acceptability of using recycled aggregates instead of fresh aggregates. This study aims to look at the possibility of replacing fresh aggregates with 15%, 30%, 60% and 100% recycled aggregates.

The research is divided into two stages. The compressive, split tensile, flexural and bond strength of the various mixes were examined in the first phase using untreated recycled concrete aggregates (RCA). The second phase entails chemically treating RCA with a 10% 0.1 M sodium metasilicate solution to evaluate differences in strength, indicating the success of the treatment performed. Microstructural experiments such as scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were also conducted to evaluate the formation of interfacial transition zone (ITZ) in treated and untreated RCA specimens.

The observed findings reveal a decrease in concrete strength with increasing RCA concentration; however, when treated RCA was used, the strengths increased significantly when compared to untreated samples. The findings also include curves indicating the correlation between compressive strength and other mechanical strength parameters for an optimum mix of concrete prepared with 30% RCA replacement.

The study through its novel approach, demonstrates the effect of pretreatment of RCA in the absence of any standardized chemical treatment methodology and presents significant potential in minimizing reliance on fresh aggregates used in concrete, lowering building costs and promoting the use of waste materials in construction.