Effect of reducing coarse aggregates on concrete strength

This paper reports the results of experimental investigation carried out on the effect of reducing coarse aggregate (CA) quantity in mix proportions on the compressive strength of concrete. It also presents empirical formulas aimed at optimizing a concrete mix design for desert regions. Intensive laboratory experiment of 1350 samples of 30 different concrete mixes using three curing methods was carried out. The influences of the water/cement (W/C) ratio, coarse and fine aggregates (FA), CA/total aggregate (CA/TA) ratio, TA/C ratio, and curing methods (air curing, oven curing, and water curing) on the compressive strength of concrete were characterized and analyzed. Mathematical formula was developed for concrete strength as a function of CA quantity that ranges from the standard quantity to null, and another formula was developed for the quantity of FA as a function of compressive strength.     

Strength reduction factors for structural rubbercrete

Many researches have been carried out to study the fresh and hardened properties of concrete containing crumb rubber as replacement to fine aggregate by volume, yet there is no specific guideline has been developed on the mix design of the rubbercrete. The experimental program, which has been developed and reported in this paper, is designed and executed to provide such mix design guidelines. A total of 45 concrete mixes with three different water to cement ratio (0.41, 0.57 and 0.68) were cast and tested for fresh and mechanical properties of rubbercrete such as slump, air content, unit weight, compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity. Influence of mix design parameters such as percentage of crumb rubber replacement, cement content, water content, fine aggregate content, and coarse aggregate content were investigated. Three levels of slump value (for conventional concrete mixes) has been selected; low, medium and high slump. In each slump level, water content was kept constant. Equations for the reduction factors (RFs) for compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity have been developed. These RFs can be used to design rubbercrete mixes based on the conventional mix (0% crumb rubber content)     

Sable-cendre volante: Influence de la nature du granulat

The evolution, at 20°C and 40°C, of unconfined compressive strength (R'_c) and of splitting tensile strength (S_t) has been studied for five “sand-lime-fly ash” mixtures. Those mixtures are very similar with respect to grading, volumic mix design (aggregate, binder, water) and state of compaction, but they differ in the nature of the 0/2 mm sand: natural or crushed silica, limestone, porphyry and LD-slag. According to the aggregate treated, strengths and cohesion at the same age vary in a ratio from one to about two, even at long term. This difference in behaviour has been assigned principally to three factors which are in decreasing weight:

- surface texture of particles: strengths increase with micro-roughness owing to better adhesion between sand and binder mixture (fly ash + lime),

- chemical nature of aggregate (“acid-base”, character): at 40°C and 20°C till about 50 days of age, its influence seems to be of minor importance in comparison with that of micro-roughness. Later on, at 20°C, its effects appear clearly by a much slower strength increase when the aggregate has a rather “acid” character (silica and porphyry),

- angularity of particle: the influence of crushing is rather of little weight.

The estimation of the angle of internal friction from the S_t/R'_c ratio must be regarded more as an evaluation of the particle-binder adhesion for bound granular material than as one of the angle itself.     

基于正交试验的再生骨料透水混凝土性能影响研究

利用再生骨料制备透水混凝土,分析多因素对再生骨料透水混凝土性能的影响,基于正交试验设计对再生骨料透水混凝土的基本物理性能进行试验和分析,研究了不同水平下目标孔隙率、水胶比、矿物掺合料掺量等因素对再生骨料透水混凝土有效孔隙率、28 d抗压强度和透水系数等性能的影响,并通过拟合28 d抗压强度与透水系数试验数据的相关关系,研究建立了两者的线性预测模型。结果表明:各因素对再生骨料透水混凝土的28 d抗压强度和透水系数影响的综合排序为:目标孔隙率>水胶比>矿物掺合料掺量;再生骨料透水混凝土的28 d抗压强度和透水系数呈反相关的线性关系,其线性回归模型可用于实际工程的预测。     

再生混凝土配合比设计及早期强度试验研究

对四川地区再生骨料的基本性质进行检测,采用自由水灰比方法进行再生混凝土配合比设计,讨论不同水灰比对抗压强度的影响,建议净水灰比取0.4。通过对90组再生混凝土不同龄期的抗压强度分析,回归不同取代率再生混凝土的强度换算公式,公式计算结果与试验结果符合良好,为该地区再生混凝土工程应用和结构早龄期强度推算提供强度指标。     

CDW recycled aggregate renderings: Part I – Analysis of the effect of materials finer than 75 μm on mortar properties

Experience shows that renderings produced with natural sands or construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycled aggregates could have a tendency to poor performance, due primarily to the variable quality of the sands, the absence of a well established mix design method for mortars, and other factors such as façade design, substrate quality and the placement technique. This paper focuses some of those factors, particularly the effectiveness of a mix design method for the control and analysis of the influence of the recycled aggregate composition on the properties of mortars and renderings performance. The leveling time of renderings was also studied. The mix ratio of Portland cement, natural fine sand and laboratory recycled sands – from ceramic blocks, concrete bricks and milled mortar – was defined by a mix design method previously studied. The method takes into account two parameters for the mix design of mortars: the “aggregates and plasticizing materials to cement ratio” and “the total materials finer than 75 μm” in the dry mortar. This study analyzes the effectiveness of the second parameter for the control of the performance of mortars and renderings. In Part I, results show how the geology of the river and CDW recycled sands and the “total material finer than 75 μm” parameter can be correlated in order to explain the properties of mortars, as the cement content is kept constant. The variations in water requirement and physical and mechanical properties of mortars were analyzed, namely drying shrinkage, compressive strength, tensile strength and compressive elastic modulus. The performance of the renderings will be discussed in Part II of this paper.     

CDW recycled aggregate renderings: Part II – Analysis of the effect of materials finer than 75 μm under accelerated aging performance

Quality control of the performance of renderings made up of construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycled aggregates needs to be improved as CDW recycling can prove to be an alternative to waste disposal in developing countries. This experimental work focuses the effectiveness of a mix design method to control and analyze the recycled aggregate composition influence on the performance of mortars and renderings. Leveling time in the placement of renderings was also studied. The mix design method of mortars takes into account two parameters: the “aggregates and plasticizing materials to cement ratio” and “the total materials finer than 75 μm” in the dry mortar. In Part I of this study [Construction and Building Materials, submitted to publishing] the basic properties of mortars of several mixes were analyzed for a constant cement content around 155 ± 10 kg/m³. The performance of renderings is the scope of Part II of this paper. The initial bond strength and visible drying cracks under laboratory conditions were first analyzed for renderings applied on masonry panels with two times of leveling during placement. After five months, accelerated aging of renderings was carried out. Ten wetting–drying cycles upon thermal shock, from 80 °C to laboratory room temperature, were applied to the masonry panels, and cracks were assessed for each cycle. Bond tensile strength was not affected by the thermal shock, but additional cracks were seen on the renderings. The mix design parameters of the mortars and their hardened state properties were related to the cracking of the renderings. The results show that the parameters “total materials finer than 75 μm” and “aggregate to cement ratio” can be used for the mix design of mortars with recycled CDW aggregates. The increase in tensile strength and the reduction in the content of total fines smaller than 75 μm have proved efficient parameters to control cracking of renderings under thermal shock. Leveling time during rendering placement was a secondary parameter for cracking behavior.     

Virtual modeling of asphalt mixture beam using density and distributional controls of aggregate contact

The characteristic indicators of aggregate contacts in asphalt mixtures, including the number, orientation, and area of contact regions, significantly affect skeleton morphology and mixture stability. To investigate the influence of indicators on mixture stability, structures with diverse characteristics of aggregate contacts are required. This study proposes an algorithm for the virtual modeling of asphalt mixture beams, which supports the density and distributional controls of aggregate contacts in the microstructure. The methodology comprises three main steps: (1) three-dimensional models of coarse aggregates conforming to the predefined gradation and volumetric content are randomly selected from a digital library of realistic aggregates, (2) contact relations of aggregates are established during the adaptive arrangement of aggregates in samples with prescribed control parameters of aggregate contact using self-developed codes, and (3) air voids are randomly scattered in the sample without overlapping aggregates according to the volumetric content of the air voids, and an asphalt mortar model is then constructed using Boolean operations. Four beam samples with different contact characteristics were obtained using the proposed method to conduct simulations of three-point bending tests. The number and spatial distribution of aggregate contacts in beam models are consistent with the prescribed parameters, showing the reliability of the proposed method for the control of aggregate contact in asphalt mixtures. A comprehensive comparison of the results of the laboratory test and simulations validates the ability of the digital beam to capture the macroscale response of asphalt mixtures. Furthermore, simulation results indicate that the sample with the greatest number and distribution uniformity of aggregate contacts has the largest peak strength and fracture energy, which is beneficial for the understanding of the relationship between the indicators of aggregate contacts and the rutting and fatigue resistance of mixtures.     

Optimization of early flexural strength of pavement concrete with silica fume and fly ash by the Taguchi method

In this study, an attempt has been made to optimize the early flexural strength of concrete pavement (CP) by using the Taguchi Method. The experiments were designed using an orthogonal array technique in L₁₆ array with four factors, namely, the water/cementitious ratio of 0.30, 0.35, 0.40 and 0.45, four different types of gradations with maximum aggregate size of 32?mm, fly ash (FA) 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and silica fume (SF) 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% by weight of cement. The response data were analyzed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique by the Taguchi method. According to the ANOVA table, water/cementitious ratio and SF content play significant roles for early flexural strength of CP. Moreover, the optimum conditions were found to be 0.35 water/cementitious ratio, gradation with minimum content of fine aggregates, 5% FA content and 0% SF content at 7 days curing. Maximum flexural strength of 5.31?MPa was achieved at the optimum conditions.     

基于正交试验的再生骨料混凝土强度研究

研究不同影响因素对再生骨料混凝土强度的影响是再生骨料混凝土研究领域的主要方面之一,对实际工程应用有着重要的意义。采用三因素、三水平的正交试验设计方法对再生骨料混凝土的配合比进行了试验设计,分析了每个因素水平对再生骨料混凝土配合比的作用及各个水平之间的差异,探讨了水胶比、再生骨料掺量、超细粉煤灰掺量等试验因素对再生骨料混凝土强度的影响规律和机理,并与基准混凝土对比。试验结果表明:无论早期与后期,水胶比是影响再生骨料混凝土强度的最主要因素,也是最显著因素;掺粉煤灰再生骨料混凝土的拉压比与同强度等级的高强混凝土相比有所提高,抗裂性能有所改善。采用多元回归分析的方法,建立了再生骨料混凝土强度与水胶比、再生骨料掺量、超细粉煤灰掺量的经验公式。     

石灰-粉煤灰稳定煤矸石混合料抗压强度试验研究

通过室内试验,研完了邢台某矿区煤矸石混合料的物理、化学性能.采用均匀设计方法,设计了6组煤矸石混合料的试验配比方案,并分别对不同配合比的混合料进行饱水无侧限抗压强度试验,利用回归分析模型对试验结果进行分析,研究讨论掺合料(生石灰、粉煤灰)掺量对煤矸石混合料强度的影响.     

干湿循环下复合固废填料配比对强度的影响

通过对不同配比的9组复合固废轻质填料(简称轻质填料)试样在不同干湿循环次数下的单轴抗压强度试验,分析了干湿循环下各组分掺入比对轻质填料抗压强度的影响.结果表明:轻质填料经历8次干湿循环后仍有较好的力学性能,达到或超过水泥土的强度要求.随着水泥掺量的增加,轻质填料在早期干湿循环过程中强度提高,有助于后期抗干湿循环.适量掺...     

Prediction of density and compressive strength for rubberized concrete blocks

The influence of rubber content within the range of 5–50% as the replacement for sand volume and water/cement (w/c) ratio (0.45–0.55) on the density and compressive strength of concrete blocks was investigated. All the mixtures were proportioned with a fixed aggregate/cement ratio of 5.6. A total of 50% of the total aggregate was fine aggregate. Based on the experimental results, the density and strength reduction factors for rubberized concrete blocks were calculated by considering the dependent factors of rubber content and w/c ratio. Linear and logarithm equations derived, based on the results from experimental work are proposed to predict the density and compressive strength of rubberized concrete blocks.     

浅析冷铺沥青混合料的配合比设计方法

通过对冷铺沥青混合料的强度形成机理的分析，提出冷铺沥青混合料配合比的设计思路，介绍了矿料级配、溶剂的使用类型和最佳用量、沥青最佳用量的确定方法，以确保冷铺沥青混合料的路用性能。     

Influence of method and duration of curing and of mix proportions on strength of concrete containing laterite fine aggregate

In this paper, the influence of six curing methods (water, air, moist soil, jute bag, air/water and water/air) on the compressive strength of concrete cube specimens that contain laterite fine aggregate is investigated. Three different mixes of cement, laterite and gravel were used: ; 1:2:4 and 1:3:6 with water/cement ratios of 0.62, 0.75 and 1.02 by weight respectively. Four curing ages of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days were adopted. The results showed that the strength that a particular mix can attain is affected by the curing method used. The water/air curing technique gave the highest strength values of 28.2 Nmm⁻² for Nmm⁻² and 17.4 Nmm⁻² for 1:2:4 and 1:3:6 mixes respectively, while the air-cured specimens gave the lowest strength values of 17.2 Nmm⁻² for Nmm⁻² and 8.0 Nmm⁻² for 1:2:4 and 1:3:6 mixes. The higher the cement/aggregate ratio the higher the strength. Generally, there was increase in strength with age irrespective of the mix and the curing technique.     

利用正交试验法研制结构用陶粒轻骨料混凝土

为满足建筑结构对轻质构件的需求,进行正交配合比试验设计,研制LC35结构用陶粒轻骨料混凝土（LACC）。依据标准进行配合比计算,通过试制试验、多变量数据分析,得出影响LACC强度的影响因子水平,包括净水胶比、粉煤灰掺量、陶粒掺量和砂率。采用极差和方差分析,确定影响LACC 28d抗压强度因素的主次顺序为陶粒掺量>净水胶比>砂率>粉煤灰掺量,陶粒掺量480kg、净水胶比0.36、粉煤灰掺量20%、砂率42%为最优方案,且各因素不对28d抗压强度产生差异关系。最佳配合比净水胶比0.36、水泥360kg、粉煤灰90kg、陶粒480kg、砂775kg、减水剂4.5kg,LACC 28d抗压强度达到45MPa以上,满足轻骨料混凝土结构用强度要求。     

Performance comparison of laboratory and field produced pervious concrete mixtures

Portland cement pervious concrete (PCPC) is an environmentally friendly paving material that has been increasingly used in parking lots as well as low volume and low speed pavements. Although specifications are available for the mix design and construction of pervious concrete, there still remains a need for laboratory tests to ensure the anticipated performance of laboratory designed pervious concrete. In this study, the performance of laboratory and field produced pervious concrete mixtures as well as field cores were evaluated and compared through laboratory performance tests, including air voids, permeability, compressive and split tensile strengths, as well as Cantabro and freeze–thaw durability tests. Two types of coarse aggregate, limestone and granite, with two gradings, No. 8 and No. 89 specified in ASTM C33, were used to produce the mixtures. Latex, air-entraining admixture (AEA), and high range water reducer (HRWR) were also added to improve the overall performance of pervious concrete. The results indicated that the mixtures made with limestone and latex had lower porosity and permeability, as well as higher strength and abrasion resistance than other mixtures. Even for pervious concrete, the addition of AEA could still help to improve the freeze–thaw resistance. The comparison between laboratory and field mixtures showed that a properly designed and laboratory verified pervious concrete mixture could meet the requirements of permeability, strength, and durability performance in the field.     

Effect of copper slag as a fine aggregate on the properties of cement mortars and concrete

An experimental investigation was conducted to study the effect of using copper slag as a fine aggregate on the properties of cement mortars and concrete. Various mortar and concrete mixtures were prepared with different proportions of copper slag ranging from 0% (for the control mixture) to 100% as fine aggregates replacement. Cement mortar mixtures were evaluated for compressive strength, whereas concrete mixtures were evaluated for workability, density, compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength and durability. The results obtained for cement mortars revealed that all mixtures with different copper slag proportions yielded comparable or higher compressive strength than that of the control mixture. Also, there was more than 70% improvement in the compressive strength of mortars with 50% copper slag substitution in comparison with the control mixture. The results obtained for concrete indicated that there is a slight increase in density of nearly 5% as copper slag content increases, whereas the workability increased significantly as copper slag percentage increased compared with the control mixture. A substitution of up to 40–50% copper slag as a sand replacement yielded comparable strength to that of the control mixture. However, addition of more copper slag resulted in strength reduction due to the increase in the free water content in the mix. Also, the results demonstrated that surface water absorption decreased as copper slag content increases up to 50% replacement. Beyond that, the absorption rate increased rapidly and the percentage volume of the permeable voids was comparable to the control mixture. Therefore, it is recommended that up to 40–50% (by weight of sand) of copper slag can be used as a replacement for fine aggregates in order to obtain a concrete with good strength and durability requirements.     

Effect of water/cement ratio on the fresh and hardened properties of self-compacting concrete

The use of self-compacting concrete (SCC) with its improving production techniques is increasing every day in concrete production. However, mix design methods and testing procedures are still developing. Mix design criterions are mostly focused on the type and mixture proportions of the constituents. Adjustment of the water/cement ratio and superplasticizer dosage is one of the main key properties in proportioning of SCC mixtures. In this study, five mixtures with different combinations of water/cement ratio and superplasticizer dosage levels were investigated. Several tests such as slump flow, V-funnel, L-box were carried out to determine optimum parameters for the self-compactibility of mixtures. Compressive strength development, modulus of elasticity and splitting tensile strength of mixtures were also studied.     

再生混凝土单位体积用水量的实验研究

将废弃混凝土进行循环再利用已越来越引起各国的高度重视,再生混凝土能否用于结构承重,主要是看其强度能否满足要求,而配合比是决定其强度的一个重要因素,水灰比又是配合比中的一个关键参数,再生混凝土单位体积用水量怎样取值就成为一个重要的研究课题,本文对混合粗骨料 天然砂这一组合情况进行了实验研究,发现再生混凝土单位体积的用水量应在普通混凝土用水量的基础上增加,提出了额外增加用水量的计算公式,通过实验验证本文提出的额外增加用水量的计算公式与实验吻合较好,可供再生混凝土配合比设计作参考。