ENHANCING THE PERFORMANCE OF CINDER-BASED LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE THROUGH CARBON FIBER AND NANO CaCO₃ ADDITIONS: A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION FOR CONSTRUCTION AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

Abstract The present work studies the viability of using industrial waste such as cinder to develop lightweight aggregate concrete. The lightweight concrete using cinder aggregate as a substitute material in producing concrete for an alternative to conventional coarse aggregate aids in conserving natural resources. This research explores the feasibility of using 100% replacement of cinder as a fine aggregate in concrete to meet the strength requirements for various applications in sustainable construction. The characteristics like mechanical and physical properties including gradation, specific gravity, aggregate strength, water absorption, shape and texture tests, play crucial roles in determining concrete mechanical strength and microstructural properties. The properties of cinder lightweight aggregate is generally influenced by the loading and exposure conditions. The experimental program focused on assessing the mechanical characteristics of cinder lightweight aggregate concrete incorporating cement of OPC 53 grade, Nano CaCO3 and carbon fiber in volume proportions with the variation from 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, 1%, and 1.2%. The conducted experimental investigations on the carbon fiber reinforced cinder based lightweight concrete included compressive strength test on cube specimen, split tensile test on cylinder specimen, flexural strength test on prism specimen. This study evaluated the mechanical and microstructural properties of concrete by utilizing the 100% cinder as a coarse aggregate with the variation of 0% to 5% of Nano Calcium Carbonate (Nano CaCO3). Mineralogical and microstructural characteristics have been performed through X- ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for optimum mix combination of the concrete. The Results indicated that concrete with benefitted strength could be achieved through the complete replacement of lightweight coarse aggregate (Cinder) with Natural Coarse Aggregate (NCA), supplemented with 2% Nano CaCO3 and 1% Carbon fibers.