Aerogel are synthetic light weight material obtained in a gel form with gas without any shrinkage. The first form of aerogel is produced by using Silica gels. There are several other types of aerogels such as carbon-Based aerogel, clay-Based aerogel and silica-Based aerogel. Aerogel are mostly in solid form with extremely low conductivity and possess very low density and high porosity ( < 100nm). Aerogel are water repellent material. In recent years, Aerogel have attracted towards various sectors, including building construction based on their promising properties and surprising applications in wide range of technical spaces. Aerogel based materials are prepared for its high-performance thermal insulation applications in building sectors. Despite, it also used in manufacture of chemical products, Electronics, thermal and acoustic insulations, energy absorbers, space suits and in building systems. This paper reviews the properties, formation and applications of aerogel in various sectors and its abundant utilization in building construction.

The concrete plays a vibrant role in infrastructural developments. The major dispute of environmental degradation with sources of river sand is been substituted by M sand substantially at faster rate. The efforts to minimize the usage of Portland cement in concrete by other supplementary cementitious materials are also forging to control the environment-related problems. The study involves the behaviour of high performance concrete using partial replacement of cement by silica fume and partial replacement of M sand by Eco sand for M60 grade of concrete. Eco sand is an industrial waste product obtained from the cement industry is utilized as per the gradation analysis to evolve a better waste utilization and management system. The experimental works were conducted to evaluate the mechanical properties of high performance concrete containing cementitious materials of silica fume replaced by cement with 1-5%, M sand replaced by Eco-sand of 15-20%. Super plasticizer also added of about 1% to improve the workability of concrete. The results shows that the compressive strength gradually increased with 25% replacement of Eco sand and the optimal percentage of silica fume replacement identified as 5% by weight. The flexural strength at 28 days shows better for 20% replacement of eco sand than the control mix.

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