Cengiz Duran Atiş

Accelerated carbonation and testing of concrete made with fly ash

Abstract An accelerated carbonation test was carried out in order to assess the carbonation of fly ash (FA) concrete. The process of carbonation was accelerated using a controlled environment. The concrete mixtures made with 0, 50 and 70% replacement of normal Portland cement (NPC) with fly ash were prepared. Water–cementitious material ratios were ranged from 0.28 to 0.55. Some concrete mixture was also made with a superplasticizer. Comparisons were made to evaluate the influence of FA on the carbonation of concrete. The laboratory test results showed that FA concrete made with 70% replacement ratio was carbonated more than that of 50% FA replacement concrete and normal Portland cement (NPC) concrete. In contrast, 50% FA replacement concrete showed lower or similar carbonation to NPC concrete. Before exposing the concrete to the accelerated carbonation testing, the longer initial curing period resulted in lower carbonation depth. The effect is more marked with moist curing. The statistical analyses results showed a strong correlation between the carbonation depth and the strength of the concrete. The influence of the superplasticizer on the carbonation was found to be insignificant.

An investigation on the use of shredded waste PET bottles as aggregate in lightweight concrete

In this work, the utilization of shredded waste Poly-ethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottle granules as a lightweight aggregate in mortar was investigated. Investigation was carried out on two groups of mortar samples, one made with only PET aggregates and, second made with PET and sand aggregates together. Additionally, blast-furnace slag was also used as the replacement of cement on mass basis at the replacement ratio of 50% to reduce the amount of cement used and provide savings. The water-binder (w/b) ratio and PET-binder (PET/b) ratio used in the mixtures were 0.45 and 0.50, respectively. The size of shredded PET granules used in the preparation of mortar mixtures were between 0 and 4 mm. The results of the laboratory study and testing carried out showed that mortar containing only PET aggregate, mortar containing PET and sand aggregate, and mortars modified with slag as cement replacement can be drop into structural lightweight concrete category in terms of unit weight and strength properties. Therefore, it was concluded that there is a potential for the use of shredded waste PET granules as aggregate in the production of structural lightweight concrete. The use of shredded waste PET granules due to its low unit weight reduces the unit weight of concrete which results in a reduction in the death weight of a structural concrete member of a building. Reduction in the death weight of a building will help to reduce the seismic risk of the building since the earthquake forces linearly dependent on the dead-weight. Furthermore, it was also concluded that the use of industrial wastes such as PET granules and blast-furnace slag in concrete provides some advantages, i.e., reduction in the use of natural resources, disposal of wastes, prevention of environmental pollution, and energy saving.

Strength properties of lightweight concrete made with basaltic pumice and fly ash

This paper presents a part of the results of an ongoing laboratory work carried out to design a structural lightweight concrete (SLWC) made with basaltic pumice (scoria) as aggregate and fly ash as mineral admixtures. A control lightweight concrete mixture made with lightweight basaltic pumice (scoria) containing only normal Portland cement (NPC), and with fly ash lightweight concrete mixture containing 20% of fly ash as a replacement of the cement in weight basis was prepared. Fly ash is used for economical and environmental concern. The concrete samples were cured at 65% relative humidity at 20 °C temperature. The compressive and flexural tensile strengths of hardened concrete, the properties of fresh concrete including density, and slump workability were measured. Laboratory compressive and tensile strength tests results showed that SLWC can be produced by the use of scoria. However, the use of fly ash seems to be necessary for the production of cheaper and environment-friendly SLWC with the compressive and tensile strengths similar to control SLWC containing only NPC.

High-strength lightweight concrete made with scoria aggregate containing mineral admixtures

Abstract This paper presents a part of the results of an ongoing laboratory work carried out to design a structural lightweight high strength concrete (SLWHSC) made with and without mineral admixtures. In the mixtures, basaltic-pumice (scoria) was used as lightweight aggregate. A control lightweight concrete mixture made with lightweight basaltic-pumice (scoria) containing normal Portland cement as the binder was prepared. The control lightweight concrete mixture was modified by replacing 20% of the cement with fly ash. The control lightweight concrete mixture was also modified by replacing 10% of the cement with silica fume. A ternary lightweight concrete mixture was also prepared modifying the control lightweight concrete by replacing 20% of cement with fly ash and 10% of cement with silica fume. Two normal weight concrete (NWC) were also prepared for comparison purpose. Fly ash and silica fume are used for economical and environmental concerns. Cylinder specimens with 150 mm diameter and 300 mm height and prismatic specimens with dimension 100×100×500 mm were cast from the fresh mixtures to measure compressive and flexural tensile strength. The concrete samples were cured at 65% relative humidity with 20 °C temperature. The density and slump workability of fresh concrete mixtures were also measured. Laboratory test results showed that structural lightweight concrete (SLWC) can be produced by the use of scoria. However, the use of mineral additives seems to be mandatory for production of SLWHSC. The use of ternary mixture was recommended due to its satisfactory strength development and environmental friendliness.

Heat evolution of high-volume fly ash concrete

In this paper, the results of a laboratory investigation conducted with heat evolution of high-volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete are presented. Heat evolution of concrete was studied by measuring the temperature increase in concrete under adiabatic curing condition. Characteristic of heat evolution of fly ash concrete was found to be strongly dependent on the replacement level of fly ash and dosage of superplasticizer used to maintain workability. It was also found that using fly ash as cement replacement resulted in a reduction on the maximum temperature rise. Increasing the replacement level of fly ash caused lower temperature rise in concrete. Superplasticizer caused a delay in peak temperature rise time; this is taken as an indicator that high-dosage superplasticizer used in concrete caused retardation in hydration of cement. Concretes having similar ingredients showed similar peak temperature rise whether they are superplasticized or not.

Comparison of artificial neural network and fuzzy logic models for prediction of long-term compressive strength of silica fume concrete

In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) and fuzzy logic (FL) study were developed to predict the compressive strength of silica fume concrete. A data set of a laboratory work, in which a total of 48 concretes were produced, was utilized in the ANNs and FL study. The concrete mixture parameters were four different water-cement ratios, three different cement dosages and three partial silica fume replacement ratios. Compressive strength of moist cured specimens was measured at five different ages. The obtained results with the experimental methods were compared with ANN and FL results. The results showed that ANN and FL can be alternative approaches for the predicting of compressive strength of silica fume concrete.

Predicting the compressive strength of ground granulated blast furnace slag concrete using artificial neural network

In this study, an artificial neural networks study was carried out to predict the compressive strength of ground granulated blast furnace slag concrete. A data set of a laboratory work, in which a total of 45 concretes were produced, was utilized in the ANNs study. The concrete mixture parameters were three different water-cement ratios (0.3, 0.4, and 0.5), three different cement dosages (350, 400, and 450kg/m^3) and four partial slag replacement ratios (20%, 40%, 60%, and 80%). Compressive strengths of moist cured specimens (22+/-2^oC) were measured at 3, 7, 28, 90, and 360 days. ANN model is constructed, trained and tested using these data. The data used in the ANN model are arranged in a format of six input parameters that cover the cement, ground granulated blast furnace slag, water, hyperplasticizer, aggregate and age of samples and, an output parameter which is compressive strength of concrete. The results showed that ANN can be an alternative approach for the predicting the compressive strength of ground granulated blast furnace slag concrete using concrete ingredients as input parameters.

Measurement and monitoring of microwave reflection and transmission properties of cement-based specimens

The results of measurement and monitoring of reflection and transmission properties of cement-based specimens (blocks of mortar, concrete) during long time of their service lives, including hydration process, and different curing conditions at microwave frequencies (X-band) are presented. A simple and inexpensive measurement system that utilizes the nondestructive and contactless free space method is used. Dependencies of the reflection and transmission coefficients on water-to-cement ratio, preparing and curing conditions of the specimens are demonstrated. It is shown that the reflection coefficient is approximately stable after hydration process while the transmission coefficient changes during long time of the specimens service life. The complex dielectric permittivity of the cement-based materials is calculated by a new method using only the amplitudes of the reflection and transmission coefficients. The expected applications of the results are discussed.

Effect of bar shape on the pull-out capacity of fully-grouted rockbolts

Abstract This paper presents experimental results obtained from the direct pull-out test using different types of rockbolts having different shape of lugs. These are smooth surface bars, ribbed bars, single conical lugged bars, double conical lugged bars and triple conical lugged bars. It is found that the failure mechanism of the conical lugged rock bolt is different from that of conventional rockbolts, in which the adhesion or the shear strength at the bolt–grout interface provides the load bearing capacity. From the results of experimental study, the use of the conical lugged rock bolts is suggested, because it provides a greater anchorage strength due to wedging effect that is a combination of the shear and compressive strength of the grouting material.

Strength and shrinkage properties of mortar containing a nonstandard high-calcium fly ash

Abstract A laboratory study was undertaken to assess the compressive and flexural tensile strength and drying shrinkage properties of mortar mixtures containing high-calcium nonstandard Afsin-Elbistan fly ash (FA). Possibility of using Afsin-Elbistan FA in cement-based materials as shrinkage-reducing or compensation agent was also discussed. Five mortar mixtures including control Portland cement (PC) and FA mortar mixtures were prepared. FA replaced the cement on mass basis at the replacement ratios of 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%. Water–cementitious materials ratio was 0.4 for all mixtures. The mixtures were cured at 65% relative humidity and 20±2 °C. The compressive and flexural tensile strength and drying shrinkage values of the mortar mixtures were measured. The results show that Afsin-Elbistan FA reduced drying shrinkage of the mortar by 40%. Therefore, it was concluded that Afsin-Elbistan FA can be used as a shrinkage-reducing agent. The mortar containing 40% FA expanded. This indicates that Afsin-Elbistan FA may be utilized to compensate drying shrinkage of cement-based materials.