Effect of crushed ceramic waste tile on the microstructure of self-compacting concrete subjected to alternate wetting and drying cycles

Use of ceramic materials in construction industry as tiles, sanitary fittings and insulators used in electrical supply etc. is on the rise. Due to the brittle nature of ceramics, substantial amount of ceramic waste is generated during production, processing, transportation, and fixing of these ceramic products. Using such waste ceramic in production of self-compacting concrete (SCC) can assist with ceramic waste management along with betterment of the SCC characteristics. Therefore, six mixtures of SCC were prepared with crushed ceramic waste tile as a replacement of fine aggregate (FA). These mixes were tested for J-ring diameters, segregation resistance, fresh density, rebound hammer number, pull-out, alkalinity and wetting and drying cycles to gauge the fresh, mechanical and durability characteristics of SCC blends. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Radiation (FTIR) techniques were used to conduct the microstructural examination after wetting and drying cycles. Fresh properties of SCC were found to be within acceptable limit of the EFNARC standard. The mechanical strength of crushed ceramic waste tile (CCWT) mixtures surges till 60% substitution level and after that rebound hammer number of the SCC starts reducing. The outcomes indicated that crushed ceramic waste tile can be used as fine aggregate to create SCC which is resilient and durable.