Investigation Optimization of the Percentage of Agro-Waste in Non-structure Concrete
摘要
Nowadays, the management of waste is one of the most crucial challenges worldwide. In the past decades, agro-waste has become one of the most significant environmental challenges in waste management. In this way, the disposal of agricultural waste has been turned into one of the most critical issues for environmentalists worldwide. Consequently, agro-waste is used in the construction industry in order to have sustainable buildings. In this study, the potential of using agro-waste in non-structural concrete as a partial replacement for coarse aggregate was investigated. Initially, the used agro-waste was characterized, and properties were compared with coarse aggregate specifications for non-structural concrete applications. Then, fresh, and hardened properties were evaluated for mixtures with various agro-waste contents. Results showed that density was directly affected by the percentage of replacement, while the compressive strength was significantly reduced until 60% due to the spongy characteristic of agro-wastes when the replacement goes up to 20%. However, both meet the limits for some non-structural applications. In this regard, the optimum percentage of using agro-waste in structural concrete is 10% as a replacement for coarse aggregate.