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Mechanical and hygrothermal performance of fly-ash and seashells concrete: in situ experimental study and smart hygrothermal modeling for Normandy climate conditions

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of partial substitution of cement by a smart mixture of waste materials, fly ash and Crepidula shells. The cement is replaced by fly ash and Crepidula accordingly in the range of 5, 10 and 15% by weight. This study focuses on three steps: (i) find the best formulation in terms of compression and hygrothermal behavior, (ii) build a prototype and follow the hygrothermal behavior with sensors, (iii) data collection and development of a neural network model to predict the hygrothermal behavior of the prototype. The results showed that for a fly ash-Crepidula incorporation rate up to 10%, the mechanical properties are higher than the control mortar. Furthermore, the cement substitution by fly ash and Crepidula improves the thermal conductivity of concrete. With the cement replacement of 30%, a prototype was built to monitor the hygrothermal behavior. The data collected from the wireless sensors placed in the prototype are used to train and validate the artificial neural network model. The model used in this study is conducted with eight inputs and two outputs data. The investigation of the condensation risk and the mould growth shows that the chosen concrete mixture can avoid the condensation phenomenon. Indeed, the smart fly ash-Crepidula mixture provides high silica, aluminate, and calcium contents, which react with water originating from humid ambient air to form additional hydrates as a result of pozzolanic reaction and lead to a continuous strengths enhancement.

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Data are available. Author declared that all data and materials as well as software application support his published claims and comply with field standards.

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Acknowledgements

This research is associated with the French DD&RS strategy (Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. COMUE Normandie Université - Laboratoire ESITC CAEN, 1 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 14610, Epron, France

    Manal Bouasria, Mohammed-Hichem Benzaama & Yassine El Mendili

  2. CRISMAT-ENSICAEN, UMR CNRS 6508, Normandie Université, 6 boulevard Maréchal Juin, 14050, Caen, France

    Valérie Pralong

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  1. Manal Bouasria
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  2. Mohammed-Hichem Benzaama
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  3. Valérie Pralong
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  4. Yassine El Mendili
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Contributions

Conceptualization: MB, M-HB, YE; methodology: MB, M-HB, YE; formal analysis and investigation: MB, M-HB, YE; writing—original draft preparation: MB, M-HB, YE; writing—review and editing: MB, M-HB, YE; supervision: M-HB, VP, YE.

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Correspondence to Yassine El Mendili.

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Bouasria, M., Benzaama, MH., Pralong, V. et al. Mechanical and hygrothermal performance of fly-ash and seashells concrete: in situ experimental study and smart hygrothermal modeling for Normandy climate conditions. Archiv.Civ.Mech.Eng 22, 100 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43452-022-00421-9

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