Study on Mechanical, Durability Performance, and Life Cycle Assessment of Reactive Powder Concrete Made with Large Quantities of Waste Materials

Although cement is currently commonly utilized for infrastructure, there are serious environmental problems associated with its enormous consumption throughout the concrete-making process. High production of industrial waste, such as C-type fly ash (C-FA) and ferronickel slag (FNS), is currently an environmental burden. This present study aims to investigate the influence of using a large amount of waste materials on the mechanical and durability performance, and life cycle assessment of reactive powder concrete (RPC). Two water-to-binder ratios of 0.20 and 0.21 were applied for four RPC series mixtures. The results obtained showed that the slump flow increased when C-FA was substituted for ordinary Portland cement 1 (OPC 1) and marble flour (MF). The initial and final setting times were slowed down by substituting C-FA for OPC 1 and MF. In comparison to other RPC combinations, the compressive strength of RPC Series 2 increased after 90 days of curing, demonstrating the beneficial effect of C-FA. As demonstrated by Series 2 and Series 4, the use of C-FA as OPC 1 and MF substitution produced favorable RPC outcomes after 90 days of curing. Series 2 achieved a larger reduction, dropping twice between 28 and 90 days, whereas the other Series combinations only marginally decreased porosity. Despite its high waste element content, these results show the developed RPC's considerable potential for long-term performance in environments exposed to chloride. RPC can reduce its environmental impact without sacrificing its superior performance by optimizing the binder and MF using C-FA.