The effect of waste marble powder and silica fume as a partial replacement of cement on concrete durability

Marble waste powder (MWP) is an inert material which is obtained as an industrial by-product during sawing, shaping, and polishing of marble and causes a serious environmental problem. This research describes the procedures and results of a laboratory investigation of durability properties carried out on 16 concrete mixes containing MWP (0, 5, 10, 20%) and silica fume (0, 2.5, 5, 10%) as partial replacement of Portland cement. In all concrete mixes, a constant water/binder ratio in 0.45 was used and concrete mixes with a target initial slump of 80±10 were prepared. Workability, bulk density, compressive strength, electrical resistivity, durability to sodium sulphate, magnesium sulphate and sulphuric acid attack tests were performed. The results of tests indicate that the strength and durability of concrete containing MWP tend to decline for replacement ratios of more than 10%. Satisfactory results were obtained for replacement ratios of MWP up to 10%. Replacing 5% and 10% silica fume leads to compensating for defects in concrete durability containing high percentages of MWP and improve the durability properties of samples containing MWP, respectively.