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Journal of Construction Engineering, Technology & Management Original Research

From Waste to Strength: Hybrid Binder Approach for Sustainable M25 Concrete

  1. Tanushree Dalai Department of civil engineering, Gandhi Institute of Excellent Technocrats, Ghangapatna, Bhubaneswar
  2. Bitishree Patel Department of civil engineering ,Maryland Institute of Technology & Management, Jamshedpur
  3. Madhusmita Biswal Nilachal Polytechnic, Bhubaneswar

Abstract

The growing demand for concrete in infrastructure development has led to increased cement consumption, raising serious environmental concerns due to high energy use and carbon dioxide emissions correlated with cement manufacturing. In this context, the use of industrial residues as partial substitutions for cement has achieved deep focus as a sustainable construction strategy. The current investigations experimentally explore the strength and quality performance of concrete produced using a hybrid binder system incorporating silica fume and fly ash cenospheres. In this investigation, silica fume was used as a constant partial replacement of cement at 12%, while fly ash cenospheres were introduced at varying replacement levels of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. Concrete mixes were prepared using a fixed mix proportion, and standard specimens were cast to evaluate compressive and split tensile strength at 7 and 28 days of curing. In addition to destructive testing, non-destructive evaluation was carried out using the rebound hammer and ultrasonic pulse velocity test to assess surface hardness and internal quality of the concrete. The experimental results indicated that the incorporation of cenospheres up to an optimum level significantly enhanced the structural behavior of concrete. The mix containing 10% cenosphere replacement exhibited the highest strength values in all mechanical tests, which was attributed to improved particle packing and the synergistic pozzolanic action of silica fume. Beyond this level, a gradual reduction in strength was observed due to decreased cementitious content and increased porosity. The non-destructive test results showed good correlation with compressive strength, confirming improved surface hardness and internal uniformity of the optimized mixes. Overall, the study demonstrates that the integrated use of SF and FACs can produce structurally efficient and environmentally sustainable concrete, while reducing dependence on conventional cement.

Keywords

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