SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, July 7: The faculty members of IIT Indian School of Mines (ISM) Dhanbad have made a major breakthrough in the civil infrastructure field by developing cement-free concrete (CFC).
The CFC research keeps special significance in the present scenario of climate change as it is eco-friendly and made of using industrial wastes such as Fly Ash and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS).
At present around the world, ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) or common cement is generally utilized as the primary binder material for developing concrete which not only affects the environment but also reduces natural resources.
But the team of IIT ISM under Dr Satadru Das Adhikari, assistant professor of the civil engineering department and assisted by Debjit Mitra Roy, has in three years of rigorous research developed cement-free concrete from industrial waste such as GGBS of steel plants and fly ash of coal-based thermal power plants.
“The research is intended at minimizing the usage of natural resources and decreasing the usage of huge energy required in the production of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) or common cement,” said Dr Satadru Das Adhikari.
He said the research process of developing binder material, which started in September 2019, is still continuing.
The researchers claimed that the design (cement-free concrete) would satisfy the desired compressive strength, workability and setting time criteria. The material of CFC is exhaustively explored and compared with national and international standards.
Dr Adhikari said that XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence-a non-destructive analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of materials), XRD (X-Ray Diffraction that allows ascertaining the molecular structure) and FESEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope -Utilized for Characterisation of Micro Structures) were conducted to investigate the microstructural properties and the reaction mechanism of the developed CFC.
“It is believed the developed CFC will be very useful in climate change scenario for construction of large-scale sustainable civil infrastructures in near future,” said Dr Adhikari.
This research has been supported by Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP-III). Tata Steel Limited has highly praised and acknowledged the cement-free concrete development.
