Physical and Mechanical Experimental Investigation of Concrete incorporated with Ceramic and Porcelain Clay Tile Powders as Partial Cement Substitutes Morris Oleng Post Graduate Student Department of Civil Engineering PAN AFRICAN UNIVERSITY Institute for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation (PAUSTI) Nairobi, Kenya Christopher Kanali Professor Dept. of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Nairobi, Kenya Zachary C. Abiero Gariy Professor Department of Civil Engineering Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Nairobi, Kenya Erick Ronoh Doctor Dept. of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Nairobi, Kenya Abstract— The increased demand of construction over the past two decades has led to drastic increase in the cost of concrete production. The increasing cost and scarcity of portland cement has impacted negatively on the delivery of affordable housing and infrastructural development in developing countries like Uganda. For this reason, there is urgent need for finding suitable alternatives which can replace cement partially or at a high proportion. This study focussed on establishing the feasibility of using crushed ceramic and porcelain clay tiles powder as partial replacement of cement in production of eco-friendly concrete. Concrete cubes measuring 150 mm × 150 mm × 150 mm and 100 mm × 200 mm cylinder specimens were made from seven different concrete mixes prepared by using crushed ceramic and porcelain clay tile powder to replace 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% of ordinary portland cement by mass. The workabilities of the fresh concrete mixes were evaluated using the slump while compressive and splitting tensile strengths of hardened concrete were evaluated at different curing periods of 7, 14, and 28 days. The results of slump test showed that increase in ceramic and porcelain powder replacement decreased the workability of concrete. Replacement of cement with ceramic and porcelain powder significantly increased the compressive strength of concrete. Conclusively, the target compressive and tensile splitting strengths were achieved up to 20% replacement of cement with ceramic and porcelain powder beyond which the strength reduced. Keywords— Cement; Ceramic And Porcelain Clay Tile Powder; Concrete; Workability; Compressive Strength; Splitting Tensile Strength I. INTRODUCTION The construction industry constitutes one of the main contributors to the economy of any country (about 10% of the gross domestic product). It plays a huge role in not only economic development but also improving the welfare of the citizens. Recently, the growth rate in construction has increased drastically by over 1.8% globally with the largest contributors to the construction market being Europe, America, Asia and Japan as they control more than 70% of the industry [22]. Concrete is the world most utilized construction material and due to this, statistics have shown that worldwide cement production, by major producing countries from 2011 to 2016 has drastically increased and so has its cost [23]. Additionally, the growing concern of depletion of resources necessitates the search for alternatives sources [1]. For these reasons, there is need for increased initiatives to modify ordinary concrete to make it more sustainable and affordable so as to cater for the increasing construction boom [18]. Different studies have been done with interest driven much towards wastes and recycled materials as they are economical and more environmental friendly. Such studies reported include replacing cement with animal blood, partial replacement with waste glass powder, replacing cement with rice husks, replacement with saw dust, replacement by steel shot dust, using kiln saw dust and many others [21]. Particularly, ceramic materials which include brick walls, ceramic tiles and all the ceramic products contribute the highest proportion of wastes in the construction and demolition waste [17]. Ceramic tile is a product that stands out for its low water absorption and high mechanical strength. The properties of the product result from its low porosity due to the processing conditions (high degree milling of raw materials, high force compaction and sintering temperature), and the potential of the raw materials to form liquid phases during sintering (high desiccation). Porcelain tile on the other hand has high vitreous characteristics [20]. This study, therefore, seeks to assess the suitability of utilizing old waste tiles from demolished structures in order to reduce waste around cities such as Kampala. The properties of crushed ceramic and porcelain clay tile powder were determined. Cement was partially replaced 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30% of crushed ceramic and porcelain clay tile powder in M25 concrete. International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) ISSN: 2278-0181 http://www.ijert.org IJERTV7IS090044 (This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.) Published by : www.ijert.org Vol. 7 Issue 09, September-2018 126