Using Cuttlebone Powder to Produce Green Concrete

Limestone has been commonly used in concrete for several decades. Moreover, calcium carbonate was used as a portion of cement content. Therefore cuttlebone powder, which is composed of a naturally occurring crystal form of calcium carbonate named aragonite, was used in concrete as a substitution of a portion of cement content in this research program for the first time. It led to the production of green concrete which is a type of concrete causes less harm to environment. 3, 5 and 7 percent of cement were substituted with cuttlebone powder. For this purpose, 4 concrete mix designs included 36 cubes, 4 cylinders and 4 prisms were casted. Results showed that weight of the specimens with cuttlebone powder was lower than control specimen. Moreover, by adding cuttlebone powder to concrete, slump increased. Although compressive and tensile strengths of the specimens with cuttlebone powder were lower than control specimen, but the specimen with 3% cuttlebone powder had adequate strength. Besides, three-point flexural strength of the concrete with 3% cuttlebone powder was higher than control specimen. It seems that by reducing water content of the specimen with cuttlebone powder to have similar slump to the control specimen, better performance of concrete can be achieved. So, this natural material can be used instead of a portion of cement to produce green concrete.