COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OPTIMIZATION OF CONCRETE MIXED WITH WASTE CERAMICS AND FLY ASH

Abstract

Waste utilization has been one of the most vital aspects in the construction industry towards
sustainability. It addresses the dilemmas that waste disposals face specifically the non-biodegradable materials
such as damaged ceramics and industrial byproducts like fly ash. Recent studies have shown that damaged
ceramics and fly ash obtain physical properties that are similar to the conventional aggregates of concrete and
cement, respectively. In this study, experimental procedures were conducted to evaluate the compressive
strength of concrete mixed with varying amount of fly ash and waste ceramics following the compressive
strength test stipulated under ASTM C 39. Furthermore, strength development was also accounted through
subjecting the concrete specimens to different curing periods. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used
to provide the optimum combination of fly ash and waste ceramics that produces the most desirable
compressive strength. The optimization results indicated that the optimum combination of waste ceramic tiles
and fly ash replacements was 75% and 25% substitutions, respectively. This combination attains the maximum
nominal compressive strength of 37.188 MPa. Similarly, the resulting Response Surface Methodology (RSM)
model was validated to ensure that the model is acceptable.