Research and new smart techniques on the characterisation of new self-compacting concrete with industrial wastes and fibres to increase its sustainability and service life

Abstract

This work addresses the development of self-compacting mixtures with the incorporation of supplementary materials from industrial waste as cement substitutes to increase sustainability, as well as the introduction of fibres to increase the service life of the mixtures. These proposed materials are biomass ash and granite powder, which are abundantly available and considered wastes from the local industry in the “Galicia–North of Portugal Euroregion”. Given the rising social pressure towards sustainable waste management and resource efficiency, the use of supplementary cementitious materials coming from industrial wastes helps to achieve CO2 mitigation goals advancing towards a circular economy. In this regard, this study was developed at the paste, mortar and concrete level, designing different cement-based mixtures and analysing their performance through knowledge extraction techniques and rheology to obtain the optimum dosage parameters. In addition, to increase the service life of the proposed mixtures, the inclusion of metallic and polypropylene fibres was studied. The results obtained led to the conclusion that the use of supplementary cementitious materials to increase the sustainability of self-compacting mixes is a good option. Moreover, the inclusion of fibres provides both environmental and economic gains without significant drawbacks in the fresh and hardened behaviour of the concretes.