A study was undertaken to produce lightweight aggregate concrete using artificial lightweight aggregate (Lytag) made from sintered fly ash. Cement or fly ash-based geopolymer was utilized as binder material, and its effect on the properties (compressive strength, water absorption, and thermal conductivity) of lightweight aggregate concrete was investigated. Two mixes were designed (using the absolute volumes method) and produced at a density of around 1350 kg/m3 as cement lightweight aggregate concrete and geopolymer lightweight aggregate concrete. Fly ash and an alkaline solution (sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate) were used to produce the geopolymer paste. The results indicated that the compressive strength, water absorption, and thermal conductivity of lightweight aggregate concrete made with geopolymer paste were better than those made with cement paste. An increase in compressive strength by about 49% and a decrease in water absorption and thermal conductivity by about 36% and 25%, respectively, were noticed in fly ash-based geopolymer lightweight mix compared to cement lightweight concrete mix.
This paper presents and discuses some properties of self-compacting concrete SCC containing optimum contents of different types of cement replacement materials CRMs like fly ah, silica fume and limestone powder. The purpose is to evaluate the performance of SCC mixtures to choose the best one for strengthening purposes of corroded reinforcement concrete beams. In a preliminary work, the theoretical optimum contents of the above materials were specified using statistical program (Minitab) and they were verified experimentally. This verification based on checking fresh properties such as slump flow, T500, L-box and segregation resistance as well as compressive strength. The optimum contents of CRMs: 14% fly ash, 19% limestone, 18% silica fume plus fly ash and 11% silica fume were selected and studied. Compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths were examined, as well as the modulus of elasticity, water absorption and porosity (which reflect the related durability properties) were examined. Test results show that the optimum verified theoretical percentage of a combination of fly ash and silica fume, at 18% by weight of cement with a fixed water-binder ratio of 0.33 showed the best overall performance. It was deduced that this SCC mix gave the highest mechanical properties and the lowest porosity and water absorption. For example, the compressive strength increased by 36.25% as compared to SCC mix containing limestone powder. Further, the porosity and water absorption decreased by 120.8% and 164% respectively as compared to the above same SCC mix. Thus, it could be used for strengthening purpose of corroded RC beams.
Adding fibers to the shotcrete concrete mixes is very important to increase the load carrying capacity, toughness, and reducing crack propagations by bridging the cracks. On the other hand, this fiber has an effect on the fresh and hardened properties of shotcrete. In this study, fresh properties evaluated by using slump flow, , and segregation resistance tests. Hardened properties included testing of air voids, dry density, water absorption, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), compressive strength, and flexural strength. This works including two types of fibers in three forms (waste plastic (PET)fibers only, polypropylene fibers (PP) only, and hybrid fiber (PET and PP)), each form added by three percentages (0.35%, 0.7%, and 1%) by volume.The results showed that the addition of 1% of all types of fiber has a negative impact on fresh properties. Especially in shotcrete containing waste plastic fiber. Also, all specimens containing fibers showed a decrease in the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and an increase in air voids and water absorption compared to the reference specimens. Also, the results clarify that the addition of waste plastic fiber to shotcrete led to a slight decrease in dry density. The highest increasing in compressive strength of shotcrete recorded by about 8.2% with using 0.35% PP fiber and highest decreasing was 20.9% with using 1% waste plastic fiber. the highest increasing in flexural strength was 62 with using 1% PP fibers.
Geopolymer concrete is a material manufactured by polymerizing sources of aluminates and silicates like fly ash, metakaolin, slag, zeolite, etc. with an alkaline solution. A study has been undertaken to produce lightweight geopolymer concrete by using waste zeolite particles (zeolite molecular sieve) as aluminates and silicates source and at the same time as lightweight medium. In addition, others three geopolymer lightweight concrete mixes were produced by partially replacing the waste zeolite particles (25% of volume) with sources materials (fly ash type F, fly ash type C and waste zeolite powder. Moreover, the impact of this partially replacement on dry density, compressive strength and permeation characteristics of produced geopolymer lightweight mixes was studied. An alkaline solution of sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide was used in all the investigated mixes as an activator. From the findings, a geopolymer lightweight mix suitable for insulation purposes (density of 1610 kg/m3 and 28 days compressive strength of 5.1 MPa) was successfully produced using waste zeolite molecular sieve. It was found also that the lightweight zeolite particles were uniformly distributed through the produced mixes. Finally, it was found that replacement of 25% of volume of zeolite particles by fly ash (type C) helped in not only enhancing the compressive strength by about 13% but also reducing the water absorption by about 33%.
Concrete is produced from millions of tons of Cement, which emits a significant amount of carbon dioxide from cement mills and contributes to global warming. Therefore, it is important to seek out less expensive and more environmentally friendly substitutes for OPC. While various substitutes are available, such as recycled glass, marble, silica fume fly ash, or agricultural waste like rice husks or wheat straw, the performance of concrete is significantly affected when bentonite is used as a replacement for Cement. This study aims to evaluate Jhelum bentonite, which is located at 32°56′ north and 73°44′ east longitude, as a replacement for Cement in different ratios (0:100, 10:90, 20:80, 30:70, and 40:60) to improve the durability of the system as more bentonite is used to replace conventional Portland cement, the workability, density, and water absorption of the new concrete all decrease. Compressive Strength, Tensile Strength, and flexural Strength of blocks and cylinders were tested after being cured for 7 and 28 days. Analysis of these strength tests revealed that the mixes containing bentonite were weaker after 7 days compared to 28 days, and the Strength of blocks was reasonable compared to cylinders.Keywords: Bentonite, Concrete, Compressive Strength, Tensile Strength.
The current research’s purpose is to examine how Ultra-High Performance Fiber Concrete (UHPFC) holds up in terms of strength and durability for strengthening purposes. For this reason, the experimental and the theoretical studies in this research attempted to assess different fresh and hardened properties of a variety of ultra-high performance combinations. Steel fibers were utilized to differentiate all of the program's combinations at percentages of 0.25 %, 0.5 %, 0.75 %, 1%, and 1.25 % by volume. Mini flow slump, compressive and flexural strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, water absorption, and porosity tests were all used to examine the performance of the strength and durability of the material. The findings of this study's trials showed that steel fibers increased the strength of UHPFC. The steel fiber ratio of 1% gave the maximum compressive strength, whereas 1.25 percent yielded the highest flexural strength. Because the fibers function as a bridge, preventing internal breaking, the tensile test results were improved as the proportion of steel fiber rises. Through the use of the multi-objective optimization approach, the optimal ratio of fibers was chosen at the end of the laboratory work since it has the best durability and strength characteristics. Statistical software (Minitab 2018) was used to find the optimal combination of UHPFC that meets all of the requirements. The theoretical selected optimum ratio of 0.77% of fibers obtained from the optimization was evaluated and validated experimentally. The optimized mix provided 90.28 MPa, 14.6 MPa, and 20.2 MPa for compressive, splitting tensile and flexural tests respectively with better durability performance compared to other mixes prepared in this investigation.