Experimental analysis on light weight concrete utilizing compost and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS): Insights into elevated temperature properties through TGA.

Whenever a new material is replaced in concrete, some other tests other than strength and durability need to be carried out to validate the viability of the material replaced. This study aims to investigate the sustaining capacity of the light weight concrete manufactured with compost and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) for M sand and cement respectively subjected to high temperature. Four concrete samples are tested, which includes the control specimen and three specimens are opted based on the optimum mix arrived from the strength and durability studies. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) is done on the samples and they are heated up to 1,000 °C. For the specimens tested, the loss in mass with respect to the temperature is obtained. It is noted that the mass loss of the concrete samples with 15% GGBS along with compost at 0 & 10% is found lower than the control specimen. Also, from the loss in mass, the loss of chemically bound water and free CH content can be found, which aids in contributing strength to the concrete. For the concrete to be sustainable, compost can be replaced at 10% and GGBS at 15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]