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Stereolithographic 3D Printing with Renewable Acrylates
Published on: September 12, 2018
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A comprehensive study on engineering and sustainability characteristics with emphasizing on 3R's approach in building
Samuvel Raj R1, G Prince Arulraj1, N Anand1
1Research Scholar, Department of Civil Engineering, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, India.
Heliyon
|June 27, 2024
Summary
This study optimizes sustainable concrete (SC) using ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and fly ash (FA), finding optimal mix designs for high compressive strength and durability. The research highlights GGBFS as the most influential parameter for SC performance.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Civil Engineering
- Sustainable Construction
Background:
- The construction industry faces pressure to adopt sustainable practices, necessitating the development of eco-friendly concrete alternatives.
- Traditional Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) production has a significant carbon footprint, driving research into supplementary cementitious materials and alternative binders.
- Sustainable Concrete (SC) offers a promising avenue, utilizing industrial byproducts like fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) to reduce environmental impact.
Purpose of the Study:
- To optimize the mechanical properties, durability, and microstructure of sustainable concrete (SC) through systematic parameter investigation.
- To evaluate the influence of varying GGBFS content, binder content, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) molarity, alkaline activator (AA) ratio, AA to-binder ratio, and curing temperature (CT) on SC performance.
- To assess the sustainability and energy efficiency of SC in comparison to OPC.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Taguchi method for experimental design to efficiently explore multiple parameters.
- Employed grey relational analysis (GRA), analysis of variance (ANOVA), and signal-noise ratio (SNR) for multi-response optimization.
- Characterized SC properties including fresh density, slump, tensile strength (TS), flexural strength (FS), modulus of elasticity (MOE), compressive strength (CS), dry density (DD), impact strength, water absorption (WA), and sorptivity.
Main Results:
- Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) significantly accelerates geopolymerization, reducing setting time and enhancing early-age compressive strength (CS).
- Optimal mix design (600 kg/m³ binder, 30% GGBFS, 12 M NaOH, 1.5 AA ratio, 0.35 AA:binder ratio, 90°C CT) yielded superior mechanical properties, with CS exceeding 40 MPa.
- Mixtures with 10% GGBFS achieved 28-day CS above 30 MPa, suitable for structural applications. Microstructural analysis revealed compact C-A-S-H and N-A-S-H gels in optimized mixes.
- GGBFS content was identified as the most influential parameter affecting SC properties.
Conclusions:
- Optimized SC mixes demonstrate high mechanical strength and durability, comparable or superior to conventional concrete in specific applications.
- The study validates the effectiveness of Taguchi methods and GRA for optimizing complex material formulations like SC.
- While SC may have a lower sustainability score than OPC based on certain metrics, it offers better energy efficiency, aligning with the 3Rs (recycle, reuse, reduce) principles.
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