Impact on fresh, mechanical, and microstructural properties of high strength self-compacting concrete by marble cutting slurry waste, fly ash, and silica fume.

• Improved fresh properties were found by introducing MCSW and FA in HSSCC. • FA used up to 25% in ternary mixes resulted in comparable compressive strength with the 5SF mix. • Combined use of MCSW up to 10% and FA up to 15% along with 5% SF resulted in better resistance to water absorption. • SEM analysis indicated improved microstructure by combined use of MCSW up to 10% and FA up to 15% along with 5% SF. Disposal of marble cutting slurry waste (MCSW) has acquired a disastrous proportion and is a leading cause of environmental and health-related issues. On the other hand, high strength self-compacting concrete (HSSCC) is being widely used which requires a higher quantity of cement and ultimately resulting in the substantial CO 2 emission to the environment. The aim of this study is to produce economical and eco-efficient HSSCC using MCSW, fly ash (FA), and silica fume (SF). This would help to beneficially use MCSW and minimize the need to use large quantities of cement in HSSCC production, thus significantly reducing CO 2 emissions. Total sixteen number of HSSCC mixes in binary, ternary and quaternary form were prepared by incorporating MCSW, FA, and SF as a replacement of cement. Among all HSSCC mixes, one mix was prepared with a 100% cement binder which was named as control mix. The impact on fresh properties was assessed by slump flow, T 500 time, V-funnel time, fresh density, L-box height ratio, J-ring flow, and J-ring step height. Mechanical performance in terms of compressive strength, and other properties like percentage of water absorption, percentage of voids, and dry bulk density were also examined. The microstructural investigation was carried out using the Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared radiation (FTIR) techniques. It was observed that the incorporation of MCSW and FA improved the fresh properties of HSSCC. A combined use of 10% MCSW and 15% FA with 5% SF as cement replacement resulted in enhanced mechanical performance and amended microstructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]