Fresh and hardened properties of self-compacting concrete with perna viridis and zeolite

Certain problems are currently present in the construction industry, such as the unavailability of construction materials in rural areas and the annual decrease in cement capacity. Alternatives for these traditional construction materials may therefore be a solution to this problem.In this study, perna viridis, comonly known as green mussel shell or tahong in the Philippines, and zeolite, a natural mineral, were selected as the alternatives for cement. Moreover, instead of conventionally-vibrated concrete, self-compacting concrete (SCC) was selected due to the limited studies that have been conducted for it in the Philippine setting as well as its advantages such as the reduction of on-site repairs and construction time easier placement due to its high workability and improvement of the safety of construction personnel through eliminating the use of industrial vibrators.To determine the suitability of perna viridis and zeolite as alternatives, the individual and combined effects of both materials on the fresh and hardened properties of SCC were evaluated. The fresh properties of the experimental SCC mixes were tested using Abrams cone test and L-box test, while the hardened properties were tested by using the compresive strength test and splitting tensile strength test. The replacement increments were measured as percentages of the weight of cement. Specifically, 5, 10, and 15% replacements were used.The results of the tests revealed that perna viridis and zeolite have both positive and negative effects on the properties. It was discovered that the addiiton of zeolite reduced the filling ability. The passing ablity was initially improved and peaked at 5% zeolite, but was reduced at larger percentages. And both the compressive and tensile strengths were also improved by zeolite. As for perna viridis, its addition improved the mix's filling ability while reducing the passing ability. Also, both the compressive and tensile strengths were reduced by perna viridis. At equal percentages, perna viridis and zeolite was discovered to reduce both filling and passing ability, while improving both compressive and tensile strength. Even though the filling and passing ability decrease, it was observed to have values close to that of the control mix.