Effect of Recycled Floor Tile Waste on Rheological and Physico-Mechanical Performances of Sustainable Self-Compacting Sand Concrete

The global construction industry today faces a major dual challenge: meeting the growing demand for building materials while reducing its environmental footprint. This work aims to study the feasibility of recycling granite floor tile waste (GFTW) and sidewalk floor tile waste (SFTW) instead of natural sand in self-compacting sand concrete (SCSC) manufacturing. For this purpose, thirteen SCSC mixes were produced in which 10% to 60% of the sand was replaced in volume by GFTW or SFTW. The rheological and physico-mechanical characteristics of different SCSC were examined and compared with the control SCSC (mini-slump flow diameter, V-funnel flow time, yield stress, plastic viscosity, air content, dry density, compressive and flexural strength, elastic modulus, ultrasonic pulse velocity, water absorption, porosity, and residual performance after elevated temperature exposure). The obtained results indicate that using up to 60% FTW as sand in SCSC reduces the workability of SCSC and increases its entrapped air content. However, the mechanical strengths, modulus of elasticity, and resistance to elevated temperatures were improved with the replacement of sand by FTW, with an optimum of 40% and 50% for GFTW and SFTW, respectively. Finally, reusing FTW as an alternative to natural sand in SCSC is highly recommended in construction for various structural components from an environmental and technological perspective.