Recycling of Steel Scraps as a Strength Enhancement Material in Concrete

Abstract

The cement industry is very energy consumptive and produces CO2 and also generates greenhouse gases which are the major cause of global warming. The production of cement and the use of concrete are both rising daily. So, to protect the environment, alternate materials are required. The construction industry has several constructional byproducts and wastes as a variant of traditionally used products. In the process of production and working with steel, steel chips are formed as waste material. The best way to reduce environmental pollution and improve waste recycling is to partially replace concrete with steel chips. Due to these factors and the abundance of material, steel chips were used as a partial cement replacement at 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% by the volume of cement. The properties such as compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural beam strength, and modulus of elasticity are checked after 7, 14, and 28 days. Comparing these qualities to those of control molds showed that by raising the percentage of steel chips in the concrete up to 1.5%, mechanical characteristics are improved; however, when the percentage is increased to 2%, mechanical properties are also affected.