Sustainable Materials in Building Construction

Transforming the various industrial waste materials into an effective construction material is a key to achieve sustainability in the construction industry and it also helps in managing the industrial wastes. Numerous researches have been carried out in self compacting concrete to determine the possibility of dumping the industrial waste materials into it. This paper describes about the effect of sustainable wastes in the fresh properties of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) containing sustainable wastes as a partial replacement for the conventional concreting materials. Notably some materials show high compatibility in improving the fresh properties of concrete, whereas some seems to be detrimental to the flowability of concrete. It is worth to be mentioned here that some waste materials reduce the dosage of super plasticizer and reduce the water demand drastically due to their low water absorption property.

This chapter reports the feasibility of employing steel slag-based aggregates and binders as an alternate for the conventional concrete making materials and their effect on fresh, mechanical and durability properties of concrete. The ladle furnace slag (LFS), basic oxygen furnace slag (BOFS) and electric arc furnace slag (EAFS) are the types of steel slag conceded in this study. The various attempt has been made to dump these steel slags into the concrete as a binder, filler, fine and coarse aggregates. From those various attempts, it is inferred that the utilization of steel slag as filler, fine and coarse aggregate in concrete is a prominent way to fix the sustainability issues in the construction industry and also it paves the path for solid waste management. However, the combined substitution of steel slag as a coarse and fine aggregate slightly affects the inherent properties of concrete. In many cases, the incorporation of steel slag as a binder showed a negative effect on the early strength of concrete/mortar due to its low pozzolanic activity and slow hydration rate but improved the mechanical properties at later ages.

This chapter demonstrates a simple methodology with a worked-out example for proportioning Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) which makes use of the powder content present in the crushed stone sand. This proposed method comprises of three stages, which are designing the paste composition, calculating the paste and aggregate volume, and proportioning fine and coarse aggregate. Seven SCC mixes (SCC-A to SCC-G) were designed in this proposed method with varying cement and Ultra-Fine Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (UFGGBFS) content to evaluate their fresh as well as hardened properties. The total powder content of the SCC mixes was 587 ± 1 kg/m³, the 450 kg/m³ of powder content was contributed by binder and remaining 137 ± 1 kg/m³ was contributed by the powder (particles lesser than 0.125 mm) present in the crushed stone sand. It was inferred that, all the seven SCC mixes possessed high flowability, excellent passing ability and enough segregation resistance. The SCC-B mix with 11% of UFGGBFS achieved a maximal compressive strength of 54 MPa with a split tensile strength of 5.1 MPa at 28 days of curing. On the other hand, SCC-G mix achieved a noticeable compressive strength of 31.3 MPa with a minimum cement content of 150 kg/m³. The mixes designed in this proposed method adhere well with the EFNARC guidelines for proportioning the Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC).

The architectural surfaces, and in particular the facades of historic buildings, not only represent the border between built masses and spaces but also the interface between each building and the environment; in the physical exchange between these two elements the signs of degradation and more generally of the passage of time settle slowly. The intervention on these surfaces must therefore be carried out with critical awareness, which is based on a preliminary study. The use of mortars for plasters developed specifically, using materials available in the territory, contributes to the sustainability of the intervention. Here I propose an example in the particular context of the city of Catania, daughter of the Etna volcano; the occasion offered by a refurbishment intervention has suggested the design of a new lime-based skin with volcanic aggregates.

The built environment is composed by entities, elements and products. Construction products cut cross all stages from design to end use. Product information is used by all agents involved on the value chain but according with different needs and purposes. Digitalization is the driver for construction 4.0 and yet, information management has been less present on industry discussions. This paper explores the role and singularities of the construction process in terms of product information management and outcomes. The characterization of each agent common practices in terms of information needs, the identification of mismatches and conflicts is highlighted as a waste and contribution to fail sustainability targets. To deal with all these problems, information structures are required to foster mutual understanding and efficiency. Data templates are core for this purpose. The paper explores these structures as the enablers towards an effective digitalization of the construction process, as well as promoters of circular economy and sustainability at product level with impacts at built objects level.

There is a shortage of sand for construction worldwide and the need of the hour is to find alternatives to river sand for sustainable and cost-effective construction. Soils, which generally have 40–50% sand content are an obvious choice. However, it should be noted that the top soil, which is essential for agriculture, should not be used. The other possible alternatives are waste products like LD Slag and Construction and Demolition waste (CDW). Since concrete is the most used construction material universally, it is beneficial to consider concretes with alternative fine aggregates. This chapter examines the use of excavated natural soil and its combinations with natural sand, LD Slag and construction and demolition waste as fine aggregates in concrete. Such concrete may be referred to as Stabilized Mud Concrete since soil is invariably one of the primary ingredients. Four different sets of fine aggregate replacements are considered. The mix proportions have been varied and the compressive strength and water absorption of various concretes are determined and reported. This approach is useful in situations where expected strength requirements lie in the range of 5.0–15.0 MPa.

There is an increasing global attention on earthen construction due to its good attributes of having less carbon footprint. In order to improve its competitiveness with other construction materials like concrete and fired bricks, continuous research activities are undertaken across the globe to produce earth-based building materials having desired engineering properties and durability with the greater insights into the understanding of the factors contributing to the improvement in engineering properties and durability of earthen material as a construction material, the confidence level of handling earth materials in construction sector has increased. To further society’s renewed interest in earthen construction, there is a need to make earthen construction more economical and sustainable. In this direction innovative research findings to use conventional stabilizers in combination in the preparation of earth-based building materials has found to have multiple benefits. Further, to make it eco-friendlier, the focus is to try alternate stabilizers which are cost effective and reduce the dependence on energy intensive cement for stabilization, which contributes for the emission of Green House Gas in its production. In this direction use of eco-friendly stabilizers sourced from organic matter in the form of bio-enzymes and biopolymers are being explored as a possible alternative to conventional stabilizers like cement in enhancing the engineering properties of earth-based building materials for construction applications. This research article presents the recent innovative research concepts in stabilized earth-based building materials and construction. It also presents the benefits of utilizing industrial by-products in lieu of sand or as a substitute to soil in construction activities for preserving the scarce natural resources and sustenance of construction industry. This has a lot of practical significance to construction industry in particular and society at large.