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Construction and Building Materials xxx (2007) xxxxxx


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Strength properties of volcanic slag aggregate lightweight concrete


for high performance masonry units
S. Demirdag *, L. Gunduz
Mining Engineering Department, Suleyman Demirel University, 32260 Isparta, Turkey

Received 13 October 2005; received in revised form 26 September 2006; accepted 14 October 2006

Abstract

The production of lightweight masonry block is in most countries a highly mechanised industry based on great automation and accu-
racy. This production has to match strict standards that describe properties specied for the products. These may include denotations on
sizes, strength, weather resistance, insulating properties and re resistance. Volcanic slag can be used as aggregates in lightweight con-
crete that meets all these requirements.
In order to produce the high performance masonry units in the civil engineering applications, lightweight concrete mixtures contain-
ing the ne volcanic slag aggregate (FVSA) in reddish colour and coarse volcanic slag aggregate (CVSA) from near Manisa City, Aegean
Region of Turkey were tested and the research ndings were discussed in this paper. To analyse the eects of FVSA and CVSA/cement
ratios on the lightweight concrete engineering properties for masonry block making, the range of dierent volcanic slag aggregate/cement
(A/C) ratios of 5/1 to 30/1 by weight and cement contents of 41, 68, 95, 108, 135 and 162 kg/m3 were used to make volcanic slag aggre-
gate lightweight concrete (VSALC) mixture testing samples with a slump of from 3 mm to 5 mm.
Volcanic slag lightweight blocks (VSLB) are made of volcanic slag, cement and water, which are used in construction of non-load
bearing inll walls and slabs. One of the most eective ways to reduce the dead load in a multi storey building is to lighten the weight
of the structure. VSLB can be manufactured from a density range of 6001300 kg/m3 with an average reduction in weight of 3040% as
compared to conventional slabs. They are by enabling reduction in structural cost.
The experimental research ndings showed that VSALC has strengths comparable to other natural lightweight aggregate concrete, yet
is typically 1020% slightly heavier. The properties, which increase in value and indicate the increasing quality with lower A/C ratios
(high cement contents), are compressive strength, density and thermal conductivity. Property, which decreases in value and indicate
the increasing quality, with lower A/C ratios is water absorption. In all cases, lowering the A/C ratio (higher cement content) increases
quality. The research showed that high performance masonry units can be produced by the use of ne and coarse volcanic slag aggre-
gated lightweight concrete.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Volcanic slag; Concrete; Aggregate; Compressive strength; Mixture proportioning

1. Introduction ing elements such as panels, partitions as well as load bear-


ing structural elements [1]. Volcanic slag is a well known
Lightweight concrete is of utmost importance to the lightweight aggregate, although its use had mainly been
construction industry and is used in civil engineering eld, restricted to dry mixes such as for block making and
as a ller or for the manufacture of heat and sound insulat- masonry use. Terminologically, volcanic slag is a natural
vesicular glassy lava rock transformed with open pit min-
*
ing for an industrial material. For nearly three centuries
Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 246 2111308x529; fax: +90 246 237
volcanic slag has been used successfully around the world
08 59.
E-mail address: demirdag@mmf.sdu.edu.tr (S. Demirdag). in more than 70 dierent types of applications [2,3].

0950-0618/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2006.10.002

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Crushed and screened to specied sizes, the open structure units produced by volcanic slag lightweight aggregates. No
and excellent drainage properties of this material creates a admixtures or additions apart from volcanic slag ne and
truly versatile product for both landscaping purposes and coarse aggregates, cement and water were used in the
as a bedding material for under soil drainage applications. mixtures.
The most notable usage areas are lightweight masonry
blocks, high-rise buildings, precast and prestressed con- 2.2. Materials used in the research
crete elements, ground cover, pathways, hydroponic grow-
ing medium, dry or desert garden material, bedding Normal Portland cement (PC) which is comparable to
material for drainage pipes asphalt road surfaces, soil con- ASTM Type I (32.5 N/mm2) was used throughout this
ditioner and geotechnical lls [4]. research. The chemical composition and physical proper-
Volcanic slag is a lightweight aggregate and is the basal- ties of the cement used in this research are given in Tables
tic equivalent of volcanic materials, therefore it is also 1 and 2.
called as basalt lava. It is sometimes called cinders or vol- Volcanic slag aggregate (VSA) used in this experimental
canic cinder [3,5]. It is rich in highly vesicles volcanic glass research was supplied from two dierent quarries in near
which gives it high porosity and low density [6]. Its forms Manisa City, Aegean Region of Turkey. Each quarry con-
when blobs of gas-charged lava are thrown into the air dur- tains the dierent coloured volcanic slag aggregate in red-
ing an eruption and cool in ight, falling as dark volcanic dish colour and in black colour. All aggregates obtained
rock containing cavities crated by trapped gas bubbles from the quarries were rst crushed by a primer crusher.
[7]. Volcanic slag materials are typically reddish to black Reddish coloured volcanic slag was screened into 04 mm
in colour, mostly due to its high iron content. The surface as ne volcanic slag aggregate (FVSA) (Fig. 1) and black
of some volcanic slag may have a dark green iridescent col- coloured volcanic slag was also screened into 48 mm size
our; oxidation may lead to a deep reddish-brown colour. fractions as coarse volcanic slag aggregate (CVSA)
The masonry block process is perceived to be one of the (Fig. 2) in order to analyse the eects of dierent ne
most labour intensive aspects of construction today [8]. and coarse volcanic slag aggregate/cement (A/C) ratios
Since masonry units (blocks) must be handled and placed on the lightweight concrete properties for high perfor-
one-by-one, increased mason productivity is the key to mance masonry making without using any admixtures.
eective management of masonry construction [9]. In tests The chemical composition of the VSA is given in Table
conducted both in the eld and at the research laboratory, 1. The VSA is rich in highly vesicles volcanic glass, which
it has been dramatically shown that the size and weight of gives it high porosity, and low density rock characterised
masonry units are primary factors inuencing the speed at by its dark colouring. Engineering properties of volcanic
which blocks can be laid. slag aggregates screened are given in Table 3.
Volcanic slag lightweight and high performance Due to silica amount, VSA shows the basaltic character-
masonry units are up to 45% lighter than traditional isation. Although the aggregates are mainly formed by
masonry units. This lighter weight results in increased
mason productivity, lower construction costs and reduced
Table 1
injuries. Volcanic slag masonry provides superior insula- Chemical composition of cement and volcanic slag aggregate
tion by combining high R-values with thermal mass and
Major element Cement (%) FVSA (%) CVSA (%)
low thermal bridging. In addition, it oers superior re
SiO2 25.02 45.8 43.9
resistance, eective sound absorption, good seismic perfor-
Al2O3 5.97 16.3 15.7
mance, low shrinkage and high strain capacity [10]. Fe2O3 3.26 8.7 13.8
The aim of this study is to examine the eects of ne and CaO 48.99 9.2 8.8
coarse volcanic slag aggregates on engineering properties Na2O 2.45 3.4 3.6
of the dierent concrete mixtures for manufacturing the K2O 4.16 0.5 0.6
MgO 1.60 4.5 6.8
high performance masonry units.
LOI 5.79 1.43 1.88

2. Experimental scope

2.1. Purpose of assessment Table 2


Mechanical and physical properties of cement
The experimental study was carried out in order to Specic gravity (g/cm3) 2.91
determine the properties of volcanic slag ne and coarse Blaine specic surface (cm2/g) 3825
Initial setting time (min) 177
aggregates to produce high performance lightweight con-
Final setting time (min) 285
crete for masonry units and workability ranges in masonry Volume expansion (mm) 1
moulding. The research basically comprises the volcanic Compressive strength (MPa)
slag characterisation, and the properties such as water 2 days 14.05
absorption, density, compressive strength, thermal conduc- 7 days 26
28 days 38.8
tivity, drying shrinkage and wetting expansion of masonry

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2.3. Mixture design and sample preparation

The object of this research work was to produce con-


crete which in nished masonry units would yield satisfac-
tory strength and thermal characteristics, whilst at the
same time having plastic properties suitable for the block
manufacturing process. In order to maximise on thermal
properties it was desirable to reduce the nes content of
the aggregate blend to a minimum thus reducing the den-
sity of the concrete. In conict with this was the manufac-
turing requirement for concrete with sucient nes to bind
under pressure during initially focused on selection of what
Fig. 1. Fine volcanic slug aggregate used in the research. was felt to be the most suitable nes content for the aggre-
gate blend to be used in the mix design trials.
Several mixture batches were produced using various
nes contents for the purpose of selecting the optimum
coarse/ne blend. Details of these trials are not given as
the selection was subjective, being based on a visual assess-
ment of the material and the feel of the concrete in the
mixer. As concrete of the type used in block manufacture
is open textured, no volume displacement of the aggregate
takes place with increase in cement content, as would be
the case with normal dense concretes. The nes value
selected (percentages of 100, 92, 84, 76, 67, 57) was thus
used in all mixture batches (B1B6) of laboratory trials
at various A/C ratios.
Having selected for each nes contents, mixture batches
were carried out at ve dierent volcanic slag A/C ratios
Fig. 2. Coarse volcanic slug aggregate used in the research.
and cement contents of 41, 68, 95, 108, 135 and 162 kg/
m3 by weight, respectively. Information and results derived
from these mixture batches were used to produce main
Table 3
Physical properties of volcanic slag aggregates
relationship; linking various parameters to both A/C ratio
and unit cement content. All trials were conducted using
Property FVSA CVSA
Colour Reddish Black
normal PC of local manufacture, complying with the
Hardness (MOHS Scale) 55.5 55.5 requirements of ASTM Type I (32.5 N/mm2). ASTM
Specic gravity (g/cm3) 2.68 2.74 C192 was used for mixing and sampling the fresh concrete
Bulk density (Damp and Loose) (kg/m3) 1107 572 in laboratory and ASTM C567 was used for measuring the
Bulk density (Compressed) (kg/m3) 1255 629 density of hardened concrete. According to the preliminary
Water absorption (%) 5.05 22.16
Open pores (%) 11.14 21.44
trial batch results, the nes content for optimum plastic
Closed pores (%) 47.09 57.21 properties in the concrete was determined. After complet-
Fullness ratio (%) 41.77 21.35 ing the trial experiments, the nal mixture compositions
Real porosity (%) 58.23 78.65 for the concrete work were determined. Thirty six dierent
Waste material (%) 3.29 4.10 mixture compositions (MA1 to MF6 in order of B1 to B6)
Saturation degree (%) 8.61 28.18
Sulphur analysis (%) 0.35 0.41
were examined in this study and their mixture proportions
Structural spoiling (C) 840 855 and concrete densities were given in Table 4.
Melting point (C) 980 1010 Cube samples of 10 10 10 cm were used for the pre-
Sound transmission loss (dB) 4352 4556 liminary trial batches in testing the mixture strengths and
the eectiveness of nes content. Only 15 15 15 cm cube
samples were used in testing the concrete strengths and
elastic properties of the mixtures. For each mixture, three
hard minerals such as silica and alumina, the Mohs hard- samples were cast and air cured in laboratory conditions
ness of the material is about to 55.5. The aggregate grains up to 28 days until the time of testing. After curing, the
were formed in the volcano prior to eruption. The round samples were tested in air dry condition for water absorp-
pseudo-polyhedral shape of the material grains oer tion, density, compressive strength, thermal conductivity,
advantage under pressure to elongated form of the same drying shrinkage and wetting expansion in accordance with
silicate. The rough surfaces of grains also contribute to the standards of EN 772-11, EN 772-13, EN 771-1, EN
plaster adherence. 1745, EN ISO 8990 and EN 772-14, respectively [1116].

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Table 4
Mixture proportions and concrete densities
Batch Mixture A/C C (kg/ FVSA (kg/ CVSA (kg/ Water (kg/ Fines W/C Water Fresh density Air dry density Composite strength
Number m3) m3) m3) m3) (%) absorption (%) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (N/mm2)
B1 MA1 26.51 41 1074 0 390 100 9.63 21.10 1426 45 1319 37 0.913
MA2 15.58 68 1052 0 392 100 5.80 20.62 1440 40 1348 33 1.948
MA3 10.89 95 1030 0 393 100 4.16 19.77 1464 38 1362 26 2.368

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MA4 9.43 108 1018 0 394 100 3.65 19.51 1474 35 1402 30 2.906
MA5 7.38 135 996 0 396 100 2.93 18.53 1486 31 1461 24 3.809
MA6 6.01 162 974 0 398 100 2.45 17.40 1505 25 1472 18 4.412
B2 MB1 25.85 41 966 81 381 92 9.40 21.50 1392 45 1325 37 0.835
MB2 15.19 68 946 79 382 92 5.67 20.68 1406 40 1335 33 1.812
MB3 10.62 95 927 77 384 92 4.07 20.55 1431 38 1348 26 2.675
MB4 9.19 108 917 76 385 92 3.57 20.40 1440 35 1362 30 3.011
MB5 7.20 135 897 75 387 92 2.87 18.04 1453 31 1387 24 4.662

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MB6 5.86 162 877 73 389 92 2.40 16.98 1472 25 1394 18 6.802
B3 MC1 25.19 41 859 161 371 84 9.17 20.17 1357 45 1241 37 0.960
MC2 14.80 68 841 158 373 84 5.53 19.41 1372 40 1294 33 2.205
MC3 10.35 95 824 154 375 84 3.97 17.80 1397 38 1312 26 2.663
MC4 8.96 108 815 153 376 84 3.49 16.22 1407 35 1330 30 4.037
MC5 7.01 135 797 149 379 84 2.80 16.15 1421 31 1354 24 5.220
MC6 5.71 162 779 146 381 84 2.35 15.70 1440 25 1362 18 5.400
B4 MD1 24.52 41 752 242 362 76 8.93 19.20 1323 45 1263 37 1.086
MD2 14.41 68 736 237 364 76 5.39 17.13 1338 40 1292 33 2.044
MD3 10.08 95 721 232 366 76 3.88 16.26 1364 38 1305 26 3.644
MD4 8.72 108 713 229 367 76 3.40 15.71 1374 35 1319 30 4.080
MD5 6.83 135 697 224 370 76 2.74 15.10 1388 31 1323 24 5.704
MD6 5.56 162 682 219 372 76 2.30 15.04 1408 25 1346 18 6.384
B5 ME1 23.86 41 644 322 352 67 8.70 18.20 1289 45 1189 37 0.972
ME2 14.02 68 631 315 355 67 5.26 17.98 1304 40 1230 33 1.798
ME3 9.80 95 618 309 357 67 3.78 17.45 1330 38 1264 26 3.246
ME4 8.49 108 611 305 359 67 3.32 17.38 1340 35 1294 30 3.494
ME5 6.64 135 598 299 361 67 2.67 17.22 1355 31 1306 24 3.674
ME6 5.41 162 584 292 364 67 2.24 13.39 1376 25 1315 18 8.476
B6 MF1 23.20 41 537 403 343 57 8.47 17.97 1254 45 1185 37 0.487
MF2 13.63 68 526 394 346 57 5.12 16.47 1271 40 1234 33 0.913
MF3 9.53 95 515 386 348 57 3.69 16.27 1297 38 1267 26 1.744
MF4 8.25 108 509 382 350 57 3.24 16.09 1307 35 1274 30 1.775
MF5 6.46 135 498 374 352 57 2.61 15.53 1322 31 1286 24 2.689
MF6 5.26 162 487 365 355 57 2.19 14.59 1343 25 1298 18 3.826
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3. Results and discussion For presenting the actual strength characteristics from
compressive strength test results, axial stress versus cement
Whilst these initial trials attempted to produce precise contents were plotted for mixture compositions for each
mix design information it must be accepted that much of batch groups at 28 days of curing. The average cube com-
the data derived from them was based on test results pressive strengths of the concrete samples are presented in
recorded not from blocks manufactured by mechanical Fig. 3. The standard deviation of the compressive strength
plant, but from 150 mm concrete cubes compacted by a varied from 3% to 8%. Generally, increasing cement con-
laboratory type sample casting machine operated manu- tent increases the strength of the concrete composition.
ally. It was not known at this time how closely the hand Fig. 4 also shows the role of volcanic slag aggregate/cement
compaction would reect the compactive eort given by (A/C) ratio in terms of strength characteristics for dierent
mechanical plant to be used in later production trials, pos- compositions. Experimental research work showed that
sibly aecting densities, nor was it known whether reducing the A/C ratios (higher cement content) increases
strengths recorded from such blocks would yield similar the strength of the concrete without using any admixtures,
values to the cubes due to the dierences in their geometry, the concrete quality and the density. The relationship
notably height/width ratio [9]. The mix designs were car- between A/C ratio and the air dry density of the concrete
ried out in this manner of necessity, the derived data being samples at 28 days curing time is given in Fig. 5.
used as the basis for full scale production trials which will The research ndings showed that density varies as
follow. expected with A/C ratio and nes content of the each trial
The nal selection of nes content in the aggregate blend mixes. Density increases with nes content and cement con-
at 57%, was inuenced by the fact that it was known later tent (i.e. decreasing A/C ratio). This fact was given in Fig. 6
production trials would manufacture solid blocks. How- and such characterisation is usually achieved in laboratory
ever in order to maximise on thermal properties, hollow conditions. Considering the block making processes as a
or cavities blocks would be produced, possibly having thin real case in plants, the relationship between density and
walls and as such nes contents must be subject to varia- A/C ratios is not clear-cut as it is very much dependant
tion, in line with production requirements for the moulds on production parameters such as loading pressures and
in use [9]. dwell times when compacting and producing the blocks.
VSA has an ability of high water absorption, therefore Therefore, the need arises to make uniform mixtures and
potentially large variations in moisture content, control to follow regular compacting process for the mixture in
of water addition to the concrete is dicult. The situation plants. On the other hand, free water/cement ratio (W/C)
is worsened by the fact that with the concrete being semi-
dry, there is no practical method or test for quantifying
the level of workability. It is therefore very important, in
order to minimise variations in completed blocks, that
extreme care be exercised in the area of water addition. It
is felt that in production, unless very sensitive moisture
monitoring equipment and procedures are in use, the cor-
rect water addition would be best judged by an operative
experienced in producing concrete for block manufacture.
Visually the correct water addition is reached when free
water just glistens on the cement coated aggregate particles,
without signs of cement being washed o the aggregate
[1,4,9,10].
To achieve the high performance lightweight aggregate Fig. 3. Compressive strength of concrete.
masonry units, the concrete should meet the necessary min-
imum requirements of BS 6073: part 1 which requires a
mean minimum strength of 2.8 N/mm2 with no individual
block lower than 80% of that value. Therefore, to optimise
the use of cement content for the mixtures, axial stress ver-
sus cement contents were plotted for mixture compositions
at 7, 14, 28 days of curing from compressive strength test
results. The mixture of 100% nes at 10/1 of A/C ratio just
complies with the required strength value. Similarly, the
research also showed that several mixture batches complies
the minimum strength of 2.8 N/mm2, such as the mixtures
of 92% nes at 9/1 of A/C ratio, 84% nes at 8.5/1 of A/C
ratio, 76% nes at 9.3/1 of A/C ratio, 67% nes at 9.7/1 of
A/C ratio and 57% nes at 6/1 of A/C ratio, respectively. Fig. 4. A/C versus compressive strength of concrete.

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gate products had already been carried out. Since, mea-


surements of the insulating quality of volcanic slag
lightweight concrete products have been carried out from
time to time [17,18]. From many research ndings, the ther-
mal conductivity may be approximated as a function of the
volcanic slag lightweight concrete density. A series of test
results were reported from the literature and a bulk density
of the concrete versus thermal conductivity coecient was
plotted in Fig. 8. The average relation is therefore shown as
a practical guide rule for estimating conductivity of such
lightweight concrete.
As can be seen from Fig. 6, increasing the bulk density
Fig. 5. A/C versus air dry density of concrete.
of the lightweight concrete reduces its thermal insulation
capacity. Therefore, the most important inuencing factor
on thermal insulation capacity is the apparent specic grav-
ity of the dry material. This is because the lighter material
provides better heat insulating characteristics for concrete.
The apparent specic gravity of the concrete is inuenced
by the apparent specic gravity of the aggregate and its
particle size distribution. The bulk density of the aggregate
to be used in lightweight concrete describes both the inu-
encing variables by a single parameter. The cement content
has also an inuence on apparent specic gravity of the
concrete and on its thermal conductivity. Increasing
cement content in the mixtures rises the thermal conductiv-
ity [19]. The porous structure of volcanic slag and the com-
Fig. 6. Cement versus air dry density of concrete. plete absence of crystalline substances give the aggregate
good thermal insulating and phono absorbing qualities.
of each trial mixes is also reduces with increasing cement Therefore, it is possible to achieve very good thermal insu-
content, too. This relation is also given in Fig. 7. As can lation properties of masonry blocks produced by volcanic
be seen from Fig. 7 that W/C ratio changes between 2 slag aggregates.
and 10 depends on the cement content of the mixture. The material in the construction is not as favourable as
The values of W/C ratios were very close to each other in the case of the oven-dried samples used for measure-
on behalf of all trials. ments. Wet concrete does not insulate well because air is
The thermal conductivity of lightweight concrete partially excluded from the pores and is replaced by water.
depends on its apparent density, its permanent moisture Therefore, the moisture is naturally present in the structure
content and mineralogical composition of the aggregate. and it lowers the thermal insulation properties (higher the
At a bulk density between 800 and 1600 kg/m3, lightweight thermal conductivity values) of the lightweight concrete.
concrete has a thermal conductivity of 0.350.85 W/mK The inuence of this on the thermal conductivity is taken
according to EN 1745-2002 (E) standard. When regular into account by a moisture factor as Z. Thermal conductiv-
building research was started in mid quarters of the ity measurements are performed to this end on moist sam-
1900s, some tests on volcanic slag and volcanic slag aggre- ples and a relationship thereby established between the

Fig. 7. Free water/cement ratios of concrete. Fig. 8. Oven dry density versus thermal conductivity of VSALC.

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moisture content and the thermal conductivity of a partic- ing shrinkage and wetting expansion increases with the
ular masonry material. The research showed that measured increase of A/C ratios. The ratio of wetting expansion to
thermal conductivities of 1, 3, 4 and 6 Number mixture drying shrinkage ranges from 88% at the mixture of 6/
batches at 5/1, 10/1 and 25/1 A/C ratios varied between 1 A/C ratios down to 39% at the mixtures of 15/1 and
0.440 and 0.645 W/mK dependant on oven dry conditions. 25/1 ratios. The reason was that full moisture saturation
The research results on the thermal conductivity measure- is never re-achieved on soaking after oven drying. Because,
ment at 3% moisture content by volume were given in inherent moisture within the volcanic slag aggregate is lost
Table 5. Oven dry densities varied between 1180 and during oven drying process. It is never re-absorbed on sub-
1480 kg/m3 dependant on A/C ratio, production factors sequent soaking due to the protective coating of the cemen-
and nes content. Thermal conductivity values of between titious matrix. Thus more amount of aggregate present in
0.44 and 0.65 W/mK can thus be predicted with the the mixture increases the amount of moisture lost and is
requirements of EN 1745-2002 standard. It is preferable not subsequent replaced on re-wetting. A simplied statis-
for optimum thermal properties that a low as possible ther- tical analysis was carried out to develop a relationship
mal conductivity value be adopted for a particular mix pro- between drying shrinkage and wetting expansion. This
vided that minimum strength and durability parameters are analysis displayed that there is linear relationship between
met. these parameters. The developed relationship was repre-
Water absorption was found to vary between 13.4 and sented by the following expression:
21.5% varying with A/C ratios and nes percentage. The Y = 0.73X + 0.025 (%)
100% nes content mixtures had higher, and the 57% nes
content mixtures lower water absorption than the blend where; Y is drying shrinkage;
mixtures. Increasing the A/C ratios increases the water X is wetting expansion.
absorption of the concrete samples. The water absorption
also increases with decreasing strength as shown in Table 4.
The technical properties of drying shrinkage and wetting 4. Conclusions
expansion of lightweight concrete are also other important
factors aecting the crack developments of concrete struc- According to research ndings, it can be assumed that
ture. This is basically well analysed for lightweight concrete the high performance of masonry blocks can be produced
mixtures for the use of masonry block making purposes in by using ne and coarse volcanic slag aggregates to comply
accordance with EN 771-14. BS 6073: Part 1 species for with the requirements of related EN standards. The
masonry units to have an average drying shrinkage of research ndings show that increasing the amount of volca-
0.06% or less. Generally, these parameters are variable val- nic slag aggregates in the mixture reduces the thermal con-
ues decreasing with increase of A/C ratios (i.e. decreasing ductivity of the VSALC. It was also observed that, the
cement content). The research showed that wetting expan- measured thermal conductivity of the mixtures for dierent
sion results were always lower than the drying shrinkage A/C ratios mainly depends on the dry density, cement con-
results as expected. All the mixtures comply with the spec- tent and nes content. Within the 5/1 to 25/1 range of A/C
ication excepting the mixtures of 5/1 and 6/1 ratios which ratios, oven dry densities between 1180 and 1480 kg/m3
had average values of 0.08 and 0.083% (to the nearest and thermal conductivity values between 0.44 and
0.005%) respectively. However, the dierence between dry- 0.65 W/mK can be achieved dependant on mixture propor-
tions. By adopting mixtures lower nes content, densities
Table 5
and hence lower thermal conductivities within the above
Thermal conductivity values of concrete properties for dierent A/C ratios range can be achieved. Water absorption of VSALC sam-
Batch A/C Fines Oven dry Predicted Measured
ples, in the present investigation was obtained to be
number Ratio (%) density thermal thermal between 13.39 and 21.50%. The weights of various desig-
(kg/m3) conductivity conductivity nated VSALC samples are found to be 3555% lesser com-
(W/mK) (W/mK) pared to normal weight concrete samples. The research
1 25/1 100 1330 0.53 0.535 7% emphasized that drying shrinkage of 0.007% can be
10/1 100 1380 0.56 0.567 7% achieved by utilising the VSA and ordinary Portland
5/1 100 1490 0.64 0.645 7% cement together at all the mixtures for various A/C ratios.
3 25/1 84 1250 0.48 0.488 7% Further, mean strength of 2.8 N/mm2 of VSALC samples
10/1 84 1320 0.52 0.526 7% were achieved with less than 12/1 A/C ratio in the mix-
5/1 84 1385 0.56 0.569 7%
tures. The only mixtures comprising less than 6/1 A/C
4 25/1 76 1240 0.47 0.478 7% ratios were satised to ensure strength of 5 N/mm2. There-
10/1 76 1310 0.52 0.527 7% fore, high performance of masonry blocks by VSALC was
5/1 76 1370 0.55 0.559 7%
able to produce with the mixtures of MB6, MD6 and ME6.
6 25/1 57 1170 0.43 0.439 7% Their mixture proportions were for A/C ratios of 5.86, 5.56
10/1 57 1255 0.48 0.486 7% and 5.41, respectively, and for nes contents of 92, 76 and
5/1 57 1335 0.53 0.538 7%
67, respectively.

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ARTICLE IN PRESS

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