In this research study, environmentally friendly unburnt coal ash (CA) bricks were investigated as an alternative to conventional burnt clay bricks. In this research study, various physical and mechanical properties of unburnt CA bricks were investigated. The unburnt CA bricks were prepared by using 60% CA and 10% lime by weight. In these unburnt CA bricks, varying cement contents (5%, 10%, and 15%), sand contents (10% and 15%), and quarry dust contents (5% and 10%) by weight were used. A forming pressure of 29 MPa was applied through an automatic pressure control system either for 3 s or 6 s. The prepared bricks were moist cured for 28 days. The experimental results exhibited that unburnt CA bricks with 10% cement, 10% sand, and 10% quarry dust subjected to forming pressure for 3 s exhibited the highest compressive strength of 19 MPa and flexural strength of 2.1 MPa. The unburnt CA bricks exhibited reduced water absorption, reduced efflorescence, and lower weight per unit area than the conventional clay bricks. A cost comparison of unburnt CA bricks and clay bricks exhibited that unburnt CA bricks are cost-effective compared to clay bricks.

This study investigates the shear behavior of slender steel-reinforced geopolymer concrete (GPC) beams with the shear span to effective depth ratio ($a/d$) of 4.5 and 5.0. To investigate the effect of shear reinforcement, two ordinary Portland cement concrete (OPC) beams and two GPC beams without shear reinforcement, and two OPC beams and two GPC beams reinforced with shear stirrups were cast. All beams were 150 mm wide and 225 mm deep with lengths of 1770 mm ($a/d=4.5$) and 1950 mm ($a/d=5$). The beams were tested under a three-point bending test. The experimental results showed that OPC and GPC beams without and with shear reinforcements exhibited similar crack propagation and failure mechanism. The midspan deflections of GPC beams were greater than OPC beams. The normalized shear resistance of OPC and GPC beams with $a/d$ ratio 4.5 was greater than 4% and 30%, respectively, than beams with $a/d$ ratio 5. OPC beams showed a greater decrease in shear resistance with an increasing $a/d$ ratio compared to GPC beams. The shear resistances computed using empirical relationships available in various OPC design codes including AC1-318-14, AC1-318-19, fib-10 and JSCE-07 underestimated the experimental shear resistance of both OPC and GPC beams. In addition, the environmental assessment of OPC and GPC beams exhibited that GPC beams emit about 34% lower embodied CO₂ emissions than OPC beams.

This study investigates the influences of three types of locally available low-cost Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) wraps and two concrete mix designs on the axial behavior of FRP confined concrete. The experimental program comprised four unconfined (control), four glass FRP Matt Strand (GFRP-MS) confined concrete, four glass FRP Rowing (GFRP-R) confined concrete and four carbon FRP (CFRP) confined concrete specimens with a diameter of 150 mm and a height of 300 mm tested under axial compression. The specimens were prepared using two normal strength concrete mix designs, i.e., Mix-A and Mix-B. The experimental results exhibited that an increase in the confined concrete strength per unit cost ratio of a single layer of GFRP-MS was about two times of a single layer of CFRP wrap, whereas the increase in confined concrete strength per unit cost ratio of single layer of GFRP-R was about four times of a single layer of CFRP wrap. GFRP-MS and GFRP-R wraps can exhibit similar confined strengths as CFRP wrap with six and twelve times lower costs, respectively, than CFRP wrap. Mix-B concrete specimens exhibited higher confined concrete strengths but lower confined concrete strain than Mix-A concrete specimens. A database of 140 FRP confined concrete specimens was developed based on a set of specific criteria to develop a design-oriented model to predict the FRP confined concrete strength. The predicted confined concrete strengths matched well with the experimental confined concrete strengths. The two layers of GFRP-R exhibited similar confined concrete strength as CFRP wrap. In addition, GFRP-R exhibited high cement strength index (CSI) and low embodied CO₂ index (CI).

Millions of tons of waste glass are produced globally. The use of waste glass in concrete is an environmentally friendly solution, contributing to sustainable construction practices. This study investigates the potential of using recycled waste glass powder (RWGP) in foamed concrete nonload bearing wall panels as acoustic barriers. This study investigates the axial and flexural behavior of wall panels constructed with foamed concrete incorporating RWGP. A total of ten 900 mm long and 700 mm wide wall panels of foamed concrete with RWGP reinforced with 7.6 mm diameter steel mesh were cast and tested. Five wall panels were 75 mm thick and reinforced with one layer of steel mesh and the other five wall panels were 120 mm thick and reinforced with two layers of steel mesh. The experimental results exhibited that 120 mm thick wall panels sustained significantly higher peak axial and flexural loads, bending moments, axial deformations at peak axial load and midspan deflections at peak flexural load than 75 mm thick wall panels. The available design codes of masonry structures underestimated the peak axial loads and the bending moments of wall panels by about 9% and 17%, respectively.

The rise in greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, in the atmosphere is one of the major causes of global warming and climate change. The production of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) emits harmful CO₂ gases, which contribute to sporadic heatwaves, rapid melting of glaciers, flash flooding, and food shortages. To address global warming and climate change challenges, this research study explores the use of a cement-less recycled aggregate concrete, a sustainable approach for future constructions. This study uses fly ash, an industrial waste of coal power plants, as a 100% substitute for OPC. Moreover, this research study also uses recycled coarse aggregates (RCAs) as a partial to complete replacement for natural coarse aggregates (NCAs) to preserve natural resources for future generations. In this research investigation, a total of 60 pull-out specimens were prepared to investigate the influence of steel bar diameter (9.5 mm, 12.7 mm, and 19.1 mm), bar embedment length, $d_b$ (4$d_b$ and 6$d_b$), and percentage replacements of NCA with RCA (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) on the bond stress behavior of cement-less RA concrete. The test results exhibited that the bond stress of cement-less RCA concrete decreased by 6% with increasing steel bar diameter. Moreover, the bond stress decreased by 5.5% with increasing bar embedment length. Furthermore, the bond stress decreased by 7.6%, 7%, 8.8%, and 20.4%, respectively, with increasing percentage replacements (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) of NCA with RCA. An empirical model was developed correlating the bond strength to the mean compressive strength of cement-less RCA concrete, which matched well with the experimental test results and predictions of the CEB-FIP model for OPC. The CRAC mixes exhibited higher costs but significantly lower embodied CO₂ emissions than OPC concrete.