Suitability of marble powders in production of high strength concrete

A tremendous amount of non-biodegradable waste is created during mining and processing tasks of layered stones like marble. Over time, this has become a global problem because it harms the environment in multiple ways. Hence, it is necessary to find an alternate way to securely dispose and reuse marble wastes. The construction sector is one of the significant consumers of natural resources for the production of material binders and aggregates. As a result, in recent years, number of researchers have carried out studies in which various kinds of marble waste have been incorporated into concrete with the intention of substituting either cement or aggregates or both. This paper presents the effect of two locally sourced waste marble powders Kadapa marble powder (KMP) and Bethamcherla marble powder (BMP) as partial replacement of cement on mechanical and durability properties of high strength concrete (HSC). Their effect at different replacement levels in HSC is evaluated in compressive, indirect tensile and flexural strengths, elastic modulus, chloride penetration resistance and freeze–thaw durability properties. Micro-structural investigation is also conducted to evaluate their impact on the matrix of HSC containing waste marble powders as additional cementitious materials. Results show that the HSC consisting of KMP and BMP content of 10% and 15%, respectively exhibited higher mechanical and durability properties than the control HSC. Micro-structural investigation also supports this finding. It can be concluded that the use of marble powders as partial replacement of cement does not have any adverse impact on the properties of concrete. The use of KMP and BMP reduces the vast amount of energy required to produce cement, cost and time with reduction in environmental hazards.