Published By : 25 May 2016 | Published By : QYRESEARCH
Silica fume is used across various end-use industries such as construction of building, chemical production facilities, marine structure, nuclear power plants, oil and gas well grouting, and others. In the construction sector, high-strength concrete is an economical material for building high-rise structures. A couple of years ago, 6,000 psi concrete was termed as high strength. Adding silica fume to concrete can increase the comprehensive strength of concrete by 15,000 psi. Concrete is usually deteriorated due to corrosion caused by marine salts or deicing. Concrete containing silica fume has low water content and hence, resists penetration of chloride ions. As a result, a number of transportation agencies prefer concrete containing silica fume to build new bridges or rehabilitate existing structures.
Rapid expansion of the construction sector has propelled the growth of the global silica fume market. Silica fume offers greater resistance to chloride penetration for applications such as construction of bridges, parking structures, and bridge decks. A number of countries such as Australia, France, Japan, Brazil, China, and the U.S. have outlined standards for local usage of silica fume. These standards have mandated chemical and physical requirements in silica fume such as moisture content, pozzolanic activity, bulk density, percentage of SiO2, and others. All these factors have contributed to the growth of the global silica fume market.
Recycled Rubber Might Contribute in Development of Lightweight and Semi-Lightweight Concrete
Rapid growth in the automobile industry has led to the dumping of millions of scrap tires each year. These scrap tires are usually dumped in landfills or are burnt, leading to environmental pollution. Using recycled rubber obtained from scrap tires for concrete production can help to curb environmental pollution. According to the American Concrete Institute, these scrap tires can be used to develop semi-lightweight and lightweight concrete. However, adding waste rubber can lead to reduction in mechanical properties of concrete. To address this issue, research studies have suggested that using supplementing cementing materials including metakaolin and silica fume will compensate for the reduced mechanical strength of concrete.