Environmentally Friendly High‐Strength Concrete by Using Partial Substitution of Corn Stalk Ash and Silica Fume Instead of Cement

In view of the significant negative impacts of the development of the cement industry on the Earth’s environment, research on sustainable cementitious materials (as substitutes for cement) has attracted substantial attention. This paper focuses on a mixture composed of corn stalk ash (CSA) and silica fume (SF) to explore its feasibility in partially replacing cement for high‐strength concrete (HSC) production. This study employed an experimental research approach. The findings demonstrate that the highest strength performance of concrete mixtures is achieved at a cement mass substitution rate of 20%, with CSA and SF added at proportions of 10% each. The concrete mixture formulated with this specific combination exhibited a compressive strength of 102.09 MPa and a flexural strength of 16.65 MPa. The optimal water–binder ratio of the HSC is 0.20. In addition, polypropylene fibers have a minimal effect on enhancing the strength of HSC, whereas steel fibers can significantly increase the strength of HSC. The results demonstrate that CSA can serve as an eco‐friendly material to partially replace cement in the production of HSC.