This study examines the impact of mix design parameters on the environmental effects of producing concrete and reinforced concrete buildings by conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprint analysis (CFA). The study is limited to the cradle-to-gate phase, including the extraction and production of raw materials for concrete production, as well as concrete and rebar production, material transportation, and delivery to the construction site for reinforced concrete structures. Three concrete mix designs based on the American Concrete Institute (ACI) 211-09 standard, with compressive strengths of 20, 30, and 40 MPa, were analyzed. The results indicate that cement was the primary contributor to environmental impacts, accounting for approximately 90% of the carbon footprint. Sand, gravel, and admixtures followed cement in their impact on LCA results. Water usage in concrete production had a negligible effect on LCA indicators. Moreover, to determine how mix design parameters impact the carbon footprint of reinforced concrete buildings, three four-story structures were designed. The results show that in reinforced concrete buildings, concrete was a significant contributor to environmental impacts, accounting for over 50% of all indicators in the IMPACT 2002+ and CML baseline 2000 methods, except for resources and acidification. The study underscores the importance of considering mix design parameters in reducing the carbon footprint of reinforced concrete buildings and provides valuable insights into their environmental impacts. The findings indicate that cement is the main driver of environmental impacts in both assessment methods, accounting for around 90% of the carbon footprint. Additionally, concrete plays a substantial role in environmental effects, contributing to over 50% of all indicators measured in the methods used for evaluating environmental impacts.

The primary objective of this research was to study the transmission of gamma radiation from heavyweight concrete containing barite aggregates. For this purpose, cylindrical and cubic specimens were produced for 10 mix designs. The mix designs containing different percentages of barite aggregates were calculated; five mix designs were also calculated for the compressive strength of 25 MPa, while five of them were designed for the compressive strength of 35 MPa to study the influence of the compressive strength rate on the reduction in gamma radiation transmission. The results indicated that both compressive and tensile strength was decreased by increasing the ratio of barite aggregates. The rate in reduction of compressive strength and especially tensile strength in concrete C35 was less than in concrete C25. The use of barite aggregates increased the attenuation coefficient of concrete. The attenuation coefficient in C35 concrete increased more than that in C25 upon increasing the amount of barite aggregate. By increasing the thickness of concrete with different percentages of barite, the rate of radiation loss in different samples was closer. The difference in the rate of radiation loss at a thickness of 150 mm was not much different from that at a thickness of 100 mm, whereas it was considerably decreased at a thickness of 300 mm. The test results indicated that the reduction in the gamma transmission rate is significantly dependent on the density of concrete.

Electrical resistivity is an important physical property of concrete, directly related to the chloride-induced corrosion process. This paper analyses the surface resistivity (SR) and bulk resistivity (BR) of structural lightweight waste aggregate concrete (SLWAC). The studied concrete mixture contained waste material—red ceramics fine aggregate and artificial expanded clay coarse aggregate. Red ceramic is a frequent waste material remaining after the demolition of buildings or unsatisfactory building material production and is among the least used construction waste. Therefore, its use is desirable in terms of sustainability; in some cases, it can reliably replace the conventional aggregate in a concrete mixture. The relationship between SR and BR was determined in the case of standard specimens and mechanically damaged specimens (to 50% and 100% of ultimate strength capacity—USC). Two different instruments were utilised for the investigation—a 4-point Wenner probe meter and an RCON tester. The results of standard specimens support the theoretically derived correction ratio, but in the case of mechanically damaged specimens, the ratio is more scattered, which is related to the mechanical damage and the amount of fibre.