Sustainable Reinforced Prestressed Alkali-Activated Concrete Beams Using Industrial Wastes: An Experimental Investigation

Urmil Dave; Sonal Thakkar; Darshan Bhatol; Abhishek Chanda

Authors

Urmil Dave Nirma University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5245-3402
Sonal Thakkar Civil Engineering Department, Institute of Technology, Nirma University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7584-3198
Darshan Bhatol Nirma University https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6867-0723
Abhishek Chanda Nirma University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9395-680X

Keywords:

Non-Prestressed Reinforced Concrete Beams, Prestressed Reinforced Beams, Alkali-Activated Non-Prestressed Reinforced Concrete Beams, Alkali-Activated Prestressed Reinforced Concrete Beams

Abstract

In an era where the sustainability of the construction industry is of prime importance, alternatives to cement are a matter of urgency. In today’s era, alkali-activated concrete (AAC) which is a widely researched area, offers a viable alternative to cement concrete; it has the potential to utilize industrial waste as source material. The current study delves into assessing the impact of prestressing force on both reinforced AAC and reinforced ordinary cement concrete (OPCC) beams. Industrial wastes that serve as primary constituents for AAC are slag and fly ash, which in the present investigation are activated using sodium-based activators. The concrete is developed using ambient curing with a compression value of 40 MPa to achieve sustainability. Analysis of deflection, load-carrying capacity, and failure characteristics was conducted on the reinforced concrete beams in unprestressed and prestressed states, encompassing both reinforced AAC and reinforced OPCC variety of beams. In comparison to reinforced AAC beams, OPCC beams had 18.9% higher strength in flexure, but the deflection was 53.3% higher for AAC beams with rebars. In prestressing conditions of beams, the reinforced OPCC beams had 22.5% more load-carrying capacity compared to reinforced prestressed AAC beams but had 26.2% more deflection compared to reinforced OPCC beams. Thus, sustainable reinforced concrete beams can be manufactured from industrial waste, having very good flexural behavior and load-carrying capacity.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Urmil Dave, Nirma University

Dr. Urmil Dave is associated with Civil Engineering Department since 1997 and presently, is working as a Professor and Head. He obtained ME (Structures) degree from Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidynangar and PhD degree from IIT Bombay. Dr. Dave has twenty-seven years of professional experience including twenty-five years of academic experience and two years of industry exposure. He is guiding six research scholars. Three scholars have pursued PhD under his guidance. Dr. Dave has guided more than eighty dissertations for MTech (CASAD) students. He has carried out research projects funded by SERB-DST, ISRO-RESPOND, Institution of Engineers (India), and GUJCOST. Dr Urmil successfully completed two collaborative international research projects. He is one of the inventor of one granted patent. He has published a number of papers at national and international conferences and journals. Dr. Dave co-authored a book on Mechanics of Solids. He is actively involved in consultancy and testing work related to Concreting materials. Dr Dave has been invited for giving expert talks by industries and academic institutions. He organized various short-term training programs, seminars, and conferences. Dr. Dave received a travel grant from DST, AICTE, CSIR, and CICS. He has been working as a reviewer for national and international Journals. He received an award for a highly commendable paper at conference on recent advances in concrete technology held at Washington DC, USA in 2007. He was felicitated for guiding the best MTech thesis in Civil Engineering by the ISTE in 2010. His research areas include, enhancing performance of concrete using supplementary cementitious materials & other waste materials and non-destructive testing & repair and rehabilitation of structures using innovative materials and techniques. Dr. Dave has worked as the Deputy Director of Centre for Quality Assurance and Academic Development at Nirma University in the past. He has been invited by NAAC as a part of Peer Team for Accreditition. He is working as a member of CED54 by Bureau of Indian Standards.
Sonal Thakkar, Civil Engineering Department, Institute of Technology, Nirma University

Dr Sonal Thakkar is Associate Professor in Civil Engineering Department at Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Abhishek Chanda, Nirma University

Mr. Abhishek Chanda is a PhD scholar (Full-Time) in the Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Technology, Nirma University. He graduated in Civil Engineering from Dr. K.N. Modi University, Rajasthan. He received his MTech degree in Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering) from Dr. K.N. Modi University, Rajasthan in 2018. He has 3 years of teaching experience at Jaipur Engineering College, Rajasthan. His areas of interest are Earthquake Engineering, Concrete Technology and Building Materials. He is also associated with the South Asia Institute of Science & Engineering and the IAENG Society as a Life Member.