Journal of Structural and Construction Engineering

Journal of Structural and Construction Engineering

Investigating the substitution of pumice with cement in self-compacting earth concrete in terms of mechanical strength, microstructure and life cycle analysis

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
afshin khodaparast 1
Kianoosh Samimi 2
Mahyar Pakan 3
1 PhD student, Faculty of Civil, Water and Environmental Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Civil, Water and Environmental Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
3 PhD, Faculty of Civil, Water and Environmental Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
10.22065/jsce.2024.470374.3479
Abstract
Clearly, with increased awareness of global warming, earth-based construction is gaining renewed interest. Therefore, a comprehensive study has been conducted to evaluate the use of natural pozzolan (pumice) as an alternative to cement in self-compacting earth concrete. In this regard, fresh state, mechanical, microstructural, and life cycle analyses of pumice-containing self-compacting earth concrete are evaluated in this study. To choose the optimal type of earth, compressive strength, chemical analysis, and required SP amount for three different types of earth pastes were investigated. Based on this result, in order to achieve the allowable self-compacting earth concrete fresh state, the amount of SP required decreases as the amount of pumice replacement increases. Based on the results, pumice substitution decreases compressive strength at all curing ages. However, pumice's pozzolanic effects increase compressive strength over time. Stress-strain results indicate that the failure modes of pumice-containing mixtures are more brittle due to the insufficient cementation hydration products at early curing ages. Also, with increasing the proportion of pumice in the SCEC mixtures at long-term curing ages, the ductility and maximum strain of the concrete increase at long-term curing ages. A microstructural analysis indicated that substituting pumice for cement increases voids and cracks at an early curing age due to insufficient hydration products. Long-term pumice pozzolanic reactions also increase CH and CSH phases after 90 days of curing. Furthermore, the life cycle analysis based on the ReCiPe 2016 method indicates that increasing pumice substitution can reduce environmental impact of the SCEC mixtures. Moreover, substituting 35% of cement content for pumice reduces CO2 emissions by 31.22%.
Keywords
CO2 emission
Self-Compacting Earth Concrete
Pumice
Mechanical strength
Life cycle

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 24 August 2024
  • Revise Date 19 November 2024
  • Accept Date 23 November 2024