Civil Engineering and Architecture Vol. 9(5), pp. 1513 - 1529
DOI: 10.13189/cea.2021.090523
Reprint (PDF) (829Kb)

Using Epoxy Resin as Partial Cement Replacement in Concrete with Silica Sand as Fine Aggregate

Gul Ahmed Jokhio ^1,*, Yasmeen Gul ², Abid Abu-Tair ^1
1 Faculty of Engineering & IT, The British University in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
² College of Architecture and Design, Al Ghurair University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

ABSTRACT

Plain concrete has low tensile strength, therefore, it is reinforced with steel for structural use. Both the production of concrete and the manufacture of steel adversely affect the environment. Moreover, there is a new developing technology of 3D printing complex structural shapes, which makes it difficult to provide conventional steel reinforcement. This can be addressed partially by increasing the efficiency of concrete with respect to its properties; specifically, the tensile strength. Traditionally, silica fume is used for this purpose. This research is exploratory in nature in that it is breaking new ground by incorporating epoxy resin to partially replace cement in concrete with the fine aggregate partially replaced by silica. It was hypothesized that an increase, especially in the strength of concrete in tension, by the incorporation of epoxy resin will reduce the requirement of reinforcing steel, and thus making it a more suitable material for 3D printing of complex structural shapes. To test this hypothesis, a total of 144 concrete cubes and cylinders were made with the cement substituted by epoxy resin at the levels from 0 to 30% with 10% increments. The mechanical properties of these samples were measured after 3, 7, and 28 days. For lower values of cement replacement with epoxy, both the compressive and the tensile strength were reduced. However, when the epoxy proportion was increased, a positive change was noticed in the mechanical properties, especially the tensile strength. While the results obtained in the present study are not comprehensive, this research is a significant step towards further exploration in this area.

KEYWORDS
Epoxy Resin, Cement Replacement, Silica, Aggregate Replacement, Sustainable Concrete

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Gul Ahmed Jokhio , Yasmeen Gul , Abid Abu-Tair , "Using Epoxy Resin as Partial Cement Replacement in Concrete with Silica Sand as Fine Aggregate," Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vol. 9, No. 5, pp. 1513 - 1529, 2021. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2021.090523.

(b). APA Format:
Gul Ahmed Jokhio , Yasmeen Gul , Abid Abu-Tair (2021). Using Epoxy Resin as Partial Cement Replacement in Concrete with Silica Sand as Fine Aggregate. Civil Engineering and Architecture, 9(5), 1513 - 1529. DOI: 10.13189/cea.2021.090523.