Abstract
Nowadays, the use of concrete as the primary material for construction projects has increased dramatically. Pozzolans as cementitious materials are used to improve the quality and properties of concrete. Pozzolanic material as an alternative to cement reduces the consumption of cement and emission of CO2 and moves towards sustainable development. The mechanical properties of concrete, including compressive strength and durability, were increased by pozzolans, and its permeability was reduced. Experimental and economic study of the effect of the substitution and effective cementitious coefficient of zeolite and silica fume on the compressive strength and other properties of concrete was explored in this work. Three mix designs were considered, including zeolite with 15, 20, and 25% of cement weight replacement and effective coefficients of 0.6, 0.8, 1, and 1.2, and with silica fume at 3, 5, and 7% of cement weight with effective coefficients of 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Test results of these mix designs were compared with those of references with different compressive strengths of 25, 30, and 35 MPa. Test results indicated that coefficients equal to 0.79 and 2.9 for zeolite and silica fume were the most effective cementitious coefficients for cement substitutes. The optimal percentage of zeolite and silica fume replacement was 20 and 7%, respectively. The average water absorption rate for concretes containing zeolite was 14% while that for concretes containing silica fume was 3% less than reference concretes. The specific gravity of concretes containing zeolite and higher compressive strength was increased, but the same parameters for concretes containing silica fume and higher compressive strength were decreased.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdi Moghadam M, Izadifard R (2020) Effects of zeolite and silica fume substitution on the microstructure and mechanical properties of mortar at high temperatures. J Constr Build Mater 253:119206
ACI Committee 318 (2019) Building code requirements for structural concrete: (ACI 318-19). American Concrete Institute
Afzali Naniz O (1398) Evaluation of the performance of micro silica and nano-silica particles on the fracture parameters of self-compacting lightweight concrete. Ph.d. thesis, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Tarbiat Dabir Shahid Rajaei University (in Persian)
Ahmadi B, Shekarchi M (2010) Use of natural zeolite as a supplementary cementitious material. Cem Concr Compos 32:134–141
Ahmadi J, Azizi H, Koohi K (2015) Effect of zeolite on the strength and permeability of conventional concrete with different content of cement. Concr Res V8(2):5–18
American Concrete Institute. Committee 211 (2014) Recommended practice for selecting proportions for normal and heavyweight concrete (ACI 211.5R-14). The Institute, Detroit
Beshr H, Almusallam AA (2003) Effect of coarse aggregate quality on the mechanical properties of high strength concrete. Constr Build Mater J 17:97-103–107
Collepardi M, Collepardi S, Skarp U, Troli R (2004) Optimization of silica fume, fly ash, and amorphous nano-silica in superplasticizer high-performance concrete. In: Proceedings of 8th CANMET/ACI international conference on Fly Ash, silica fume, slag and natural pozzolans in concrete, SP-221, Las Vegas, USA, pp 495–506
Cioffi R, Colangelo F, Caputo D, Liguori B (2007) Influence of high volumes of ultra-fine additions on self-compacting concrete. In: Advances in cement research, publication: symposium paper, vol 239, pp 117–136
Dahir RK, McCarthy MJ, Tittle PAJ (2006) Role of cement content in the specification for concrete durability: aggregate type Influences. Struct Build 159:229–242
Değirmenci FN (2018) Utilization of natural and waste pozzolans as an alternative resource of geopolymer mortar. Int J Civ Eng 16:179–188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40999-016-0115-1
Elahi A, Basheer PAM, Nanukuttan SV, Khan QUZ (2010) Mechanical and durability properties of high-performance concrete containing supplementary cementitious materials. Constr Build Mater 24(3):292–299
Erfanimanesh A, Sharbatdar MK (2020) Mechanical and microstructural characteristics of geopolymer paste, mortar, and concrete containing local zeolite and slag activated by sodium carbonate. J Build Eng 32:101781
Hartt WH, Powers RG, Leroux V, Lysogorski DK (2004) A critical literature review of high-performance corrosion reinforcement in a concrete bridge application. Report no. FHWA-HRT-04-093, Federal Highway Administration, pp 54
Iranian Concrete code, Volume 2, Materials and implementation, publication No. 120-2, 2021, Road and Urban Development Research Center (in Persian)
Iswarya G, Beulah M (2020) Use of zeolite and industrial waste materials in high strength concrete—a review. J Mater Today Proc. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.06.329
Karakurt C, Topçu IB (2012) Effect of blended cement with natural zeolite and industrial by-products on rebar corrosion and high-temperature resistance of concrete. Constr Build Mater 35:906–911
Kaboosi K, Kaboosi F, Fadavi M (2020) Investigation of greywater and zeolite usage in different cement contents on concrete compressive strength and their interactions. J Ain Shams Eng J 11(1):201–211
Najimi M, Sobhani J, Ahmadi B, Shekarchi M (2012) An experimental study on durability properties of concrete containing zeolite as a highly reactive natural pozzolan. Constr Build Mater 35:1023–1033
Nagrockiene D, Girskas G (2016) Research into the properties of concrete modified with natural zeolite addition. Constr Build Mater 113:964–969
Poon CS, Lam SC (2008) The effect of aggregate-to-cement ratio and types of aggregate on the properties of pre-cast concrete blocks. Cement Concr Compos 30:283–289
Poon L, Lam SC, Kou ZS, Lin CC (1999) A study on the hydration rate of natural zeolite blended cement pastes. Constr Build Mater 13:427–432
Rashid MA, Abul MM (2009) Considerations in the producing high strength concrete. J Civ Eng (IEB) 37(1):53–63
Ranjbar MM, Madandoust R, Mousavi SY, Yosefi S (2013) Effects of natural zeolite on the fresh and hardened properties of self-compacted concrete. Constr Build Mater 47:806–813
Rajabi MR (2015) Experimental evaluation of thawing and freezing cycles on mechanical properties and slip resistance of roller concrete pavements containing zeolite powder. M.Sc. thesis, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Semnan University (in Persian)
Shahmansouri A, Yazdani M, Ghanbari S, Akbarzadeh H, Jafari A, Ghatte H (2021a) Artificial neural network model to predict the compressive strength of eco-friendly geopolymer concrete incorporating silica fume and natural zeolite. J Clean Prod 279:123697
Shah SP (2000) In: Leung CKY, Li Z, Ding JT (eds) High-performance concrete—workability, strength, and durability. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
Shain R, Demirboga R (2003) The effect of different cement dosages, slumps and pumice aggregate ratio on the compressive strength and densities of concrete. Cem Concr Res 33:1245–1249
Shi C (2004) Effect of mixing proportions of concrete on its electrical conductivity and rapid chloride permeability test (ASTM C 1202 or ASSHTO T277) results. Cem Concr Res 34:537–545
Shahmansouri AA, Bengar A, Azerijafari H (2021b) Life cycle assessment of eco-friendly concrete mixtures incorporating natural zeolite in the sulfate-aggressive environment. J Constr Build Mater 268:121136
Sharbatdar MK, Arovi M (2015) Improved compressive, tensile and flexural strength of unreinforced concrete specimens and reinforced concrete beams containing zeolite. J Civ Environ Eng (tabriz) 8(4):103–113 (in Persian)
Tran Q, Ghosh P (2020) Influence of pumice on mechanical properties and durability of high-performance concrete. Constr Build Mater 249:118741
Vejmelkova E, Konakova D, Kulovana T, Keppert M, Zumar J, Rovnanikova P, Keršner Z, Sedlmajer M, Cerny R (2015) Engineering properties of concrete containing natural zeolite as supplementary cementitious material: strength, toughness, durability, and hygrothermal performance. Cem Concr Compos 55:259–267
Valipour M, Pargar F, Shekarchi M, Panahi S (2013) In situ study of chloride ingress in concretes containing natural zeolite, metakaolin, and silica fume exposed to various exposure conditions in a harsh marine environment. In: Construction and building materials, pp 63–70
Wild S, Sabir B (1995) Factors influencing strength development of concrete containing silica fume. Cem Concr Res J 25:1567–1580
Yegiter H, Yezici H (2007) Effect of cement type, water/cement ratio and cement content on the seawater resistance of concrete. Build Environ 42:1770–1776
Yari A, Sharbatdar MK, Khyroddin A (2022) The effect of zeolite and micro-silica on the compressive and flexural strength of lightweight concrete structures containing expanded polystyrene. J Mater Concr Struct 6(1):129–147 (in Persian)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Sharbatdar, M.K., Azimi, D. & Wahedy, M.N. Effects of Percentages and Effective Cementitious Coefficient of Zeolite and Silica Fume on the Compressive Strength and Water Absorption of Concrete. Iran J Sci Technol Trans Civ Eng 47, 2845–2863 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40996-023-01088-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40996-023-01088-9