The Influence of Natural Additives on Mechanical Properties of Concrete Specimens: A Review

Concrete can be assumed as the most regular constructional material in the world, which has a lot of advantages as well as disadvantages that attracted the attention of researchers. Adding natural materials including silica fume, fly ash, rice husk ash, metakaolin, and natural fibers and animal waste to concrete can improve the fresh and hardened properties of concrete such as slump, strength, water absorption, and durability, and at the same time reduce the environmental effects. On the other hand, adding too many natural additives can cause adverse effects on concrete, such as reducing efficiency and increasing curing time, which can be compensated by adding different kinds of fibers to the concrete mixture. In order to add natural additives to concrete, several experimental and field tests were performed, in which the effects of natural additives on the properties of concrete and their long-term performance were evaluated. Reducing the carbon footprint, and increasing resistance to cracking and corrosion are among the advantages of natural additives. In this paper, a review was conducted to evaluate the influence of natural additives on the mechanical properties of concrete specimens including compressive strength, flexural strength, and water absorption. The overall effects of utilizing natural additives on concrete properties were reviewed and listed accordingly.