Glass powder replacement in self-compacting concrete and its effect on rheological and mechanical properties

Abstract

The effect of replacement of Portland cement using glass powder on fresh and mechanical properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC) was investigated in this study. A standard SCC mix design was used with substitution with either fly ash or glass powder of different fineness and replacement levels. Compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and elastic modulus were measured at 7, 28, 90, 180, 365, and 545 days. Rheological testing found that SCC containing glass powder had consistently higher yield shear stress than the control despite testing being conducted at optimum slump flow levels. Replacement of Portland cement with glass powder was found to reduce strength performance in the shorter-term but longer-term strengths were comparable. Tensile strength and elastic modulus of SCC containing glass powder were consistent with design guidelines and can be reliably predicted from compressive strength as is typically used in structural design.

Keywords:

• Glass powder
• rheology
• compressive strength
• elastic modulus

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of BRANZ, Glass Packaging Forum and Golden Bay Cement for their support.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.