Evaluation of Mechanical and Durability Properties of Sustainable Concrete using Building Debris and Silica Fume

With rising demand for construction materials, alternative materials are becoming increasingly important for long-term growth. The growing societal push for a sustainable, green environment has prompted engineers to seek alternative materials to mitigate the negative impacts of concrete structures. The primary goal of the study is to determine the strength and durability of concrete by using recycled building debris to replace a portion of the coarse aggregate and by incorporating silica fume as a supplementary cementitious material. This incorporates mix designs with 20%, 40%, and 60% building debris and 5%, 10%, and 15% silica fume replacement. Compressive strength was tested at 7, 28, and 90 days. Durability tests include water absorption, acid resistance, and chloride ion penetration. The results suggest that adding silica fume to recycled aggregates increases both the strength and durability of the concrete. The best results were achieved when 40% of the aggregates were replaced with building debris and 10% of the cement was replaced with silica fume. The results of this research indicate that the blended use of building debris and silica fume produces concrete that meets the required strength, durability, and sustainability criteria and is therefore an environmentally responsible approach to resource conservation and reducing construction industry waste.