Feasibility study for the production of non-structural light weight concrete using characterized cinder and GGBS

Abstract

<span style="mso-ansi-language:EN" lang="EN">Large quantities of waste materials and by-products are generated from manufacturing processes, service industries and municipal solid wastes. As a result, solid waste management has become one of the major environmental concerns in the world. This paper presents a laboratory study to advance a step-wise procedure to proportion plain and slag concrete mixes with burnt coal cinder waste as coarse aggregate. When coarse aggregate characteristic strength is lower than the concrete strength required, conventional methods such as British Method, ACI or any standard code cannot be used directly. From the observation of failed samples, it is evident that failure of the sample is predominantly by aggregate crushing than usual bond failure observed in the case of conventional crushed aggregate. To analyze the data, concrete is regarded as composite of cement mortar matrix and coarse aggregate. With the concrete and matrix strengths and their respective volume fractions as input parameters, the characteristic strength is determined from linear law of mixtures. Using again the same law, the matrix strength required to realize higher or at par strength to that of the characteristic aggregate strength is calculated. To arrive at water-cement ratio for matrix strength the generalized Abrams’ law is employed.

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