Development of a Sustainable Industrial Byproduct Based Seawater and Sea Sand Ultra-High Performance Concrete †

Authour(s)

Shameer Saleh, Xiao-Ling Zhao and Ehab Hamed

Abstract

This study investigates the feasibility of establishing an environmentally sustainable ultra-high performance concrete from seawater and sea sand (SWSS-UHPC) which utilizes industrial byproducts (i.e., ground slag and silica fume) by partially substituting ordinary Portland cement (OPC).

Several SWSS-UHPC trial mixes were prepared with varying cement substitution ratio and water-to-binder ratio to reach desired cube compressive strength and workability. A maximum of 50% OPC was successfully replaced by 37.5% slag and 12.5% silica fume without sacrificing the strength and workability.

Finally, influences of vibration during molding and thermal curing were evaluated by comparing identical mixes prepared with and without these treatments. Results suggest that locally available marine resources and high volume of industrial byproducts can be incorporated in UHPC fabrication without any special treatments.

Keywords

seawater and sea sand ultra-high performance concrete (SWSS-UHPC); OPC replacement; industrial byproducts; compressive strength; workability; vibration; thermal curing