Study on Engineering Properties of Concrete Containing Marble Powder as Admixture

The construction industry relies heavily on concrete for its operations in the development of houses and other infrastructural facilities due to its structural stability and strength. To fulfil the requirement of concrete materials, this study focuses on investigating the use of marble powder as admixture in concrete production and its effect on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete. About 72 samples of concrete were prepared using marble powder admixture in four separate mixes by adding marble dust with the range from 0% to 6% at an incremental rate of 2wt.% of cement. The workability of the concrete mix with marble waste admixture was found to be higher than that of the control mix. The maximum compressive strength increases with the 4% marble powder admixture after 28 days and it equal to 24.50%, as compared with control mix and the flexural strength also shows a maximum increment in strength with 4% of marble powder after 28 days, which is 5.59% as compared with control mix. The density of concrete increases from 2.14 to 2.82 gm. /cm3 with the increase in admixture from 0% to 4%, on other hand with 6% marble waste the density slightly decreases when compared with the result obtained from 4% marble waste admixture. Therefore, using marble powder as an admixture up to 4% in concrete production gives excellent results in compressive strength, flexural strength, and density compared to the control mixes of concrete.