Mechanical Behavior, Microstructure, and Chloride-Penetration Resistance of Glass Waste Nanopowder Magnetic Concrete

This paper is the first attempt to investigate the effect of magnetized water (MW) on the mechanical properties, microstructure, and chloride penetration resistance of concrete containing glass waste nanopowder (GWNP). Various replacement levels of GWNP (0%–5%) were adopted. MW of 1.2 T was used in magnetic mixtures. The considered properties of GWNP concrete were tested using compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength, desorption, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and chloride profile and penetration approaches. Results showed that using MW instead of regular tap water (TW) improved the mechanical behavior, microstructure, and chloride diffusivity of GWNP concrete. Magnetized concrete with 5% GWNP had the highest decrease in calcium hydroxide content, capillary porosity, and chloride penetration depth (24%, 24%, and 18%, respectively) and the highest increase in compressive strength and calcium silicate hydrate (22% and 35%, respectively) compared with 0% GWNP nonmagnetized concrete. SEM results supported the mechanical and chloride diffusivity observations, in which magnetically treated concrete exhibited a better morphology. This leads the author to assume that using MW instead of TW could be an effective solution for extending the service life of GWNP concrete structures.