Workability, mechanical, and durability properties of self-compacting concrete using the treated wastewater

Urban development, industrialization, and increasing population increase water consumption. Limited water resources, especially in an arid climate, are a challenging issue; therefore, water reuse is vital. A huge amount of treated wastewater is discharged to the rivers and groundwater daily. The construction industry, especially for producing concrete uses a huge amount of tap water. Hence, we studied the feasibility of using the treated domestic wastewater to produce self-compacting concrete (SCC) with different concrete mix designs, using silica fume, fly ash, slag, zeolite, and a mixture of silica fume and fly ash according to ASTM and BS standards. The experimental work included workability, mechanical, and durability properties of different concrete mix designs using the treated wastewater. The results of workability (filling ability) including Slump flow, T-50, and V funnel were 600-800 mm, 2-5 s, and 6-12 s, respectively, and satisfied the European guidelines for SCC. Also, the results of passing ability, including J-ring and L box experiments, complied with the European guidelines. The compressive strength of different types of the concrete mixes using treated wastewater was found to be one to 8% below using the tap water in 7, 28, 56, and 90 days after the concrete samples were made. Scanning electron microscope images confirmed the results. Using the treated wastewater decreased the electrical resistivity of concrete in the SCC in different concrete mix designs. However, the results of chloride ion permeability remained in the very low range (37-254 omega/m) of the AASHTO (95) standard.