An experimental investigation of Marble Powder as a Partial Replacement of cement and Waste Metal Scrap as Reinforcing Material on the Mechanical Characteristics of Concrete

Abstract

To conduct the study, the researchers incorporated marble powder into the cement at varying proportions: 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% by weight of the cement. This led to the creation of concrete with a M35-grade classification. After the concrete samples were given 7, 14, and 28 days to cure, several tests were performed to evaluate their flexural strength, compression strength, and split tensile strength. The experimental investigations demonstrated that the mechanical properties of the concrete specimens exhibited an initial enhancement when the cement weight was substituted with marble powder up to a 10% replacement, after which they began to decline. However, the inclusion of metal scrap in addition to marble powder showed positive effects on the strength properties. This finding indicates that the incorporation of both marble powder and metal scrap in concrete can effectively improve its mechanical strength. Furthermore, the researchers examined the microstructural properties of marble powder through the utilization of advanced methodologies such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX)). The research findings indicated that the most optimum combination for attaining the maximum mechanical strength, in comparison to traditional concrete, involved incorporating 0.75% metal scrap and replacing 10% of the cement with marble powder. Beyond this proportion, a substantial reduction in strength was seen. The results also showed that incorporating a certain amount of marble powder with metal scrap led to improved interlocking of the aggregates, resulting in increased durability compared to traditional cement concrete.