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Physics Procedia 22 (2011) 277 - 285
2011 International Conference on Phycicc Science and Technology (ICPST 227 7)
Experimental Study of the Possibility to Make a Mortar with Ternary Sand (Natural and Artificial Fine Aggregates)
L. Baali, A. Naceri*, Z. Rahmouni, M.W. Noui Mehidi
Civil Engineering & Hydraulic Department, Technology Faculty, M'sila University, Algeria
Abstract
This experimental study investigates the possibility to make a mortar with a ternary sand (natural and artificial fine aggregates). This method is utilized to correct the particle size distribution of various sands used in mortar. For this investigation, three sands have been used: a dune sand (DS), a slag sand (SS), and brick sand (BS) at different proportions in mortar. After crushing, the artificial fine aggregate (blast furnace slag and waste brick fine aggregate) was sifted in order to use it as fine aggregate. The effect of the quality and grain size distribution of natural fine aggregate (i.e., DS) and artificial fine aggregates (i.e., SS and BS) on the physical properties of ternary sand confected (density, porosity, fineness modulus, equivalent sand, particle size distribution, water absorption) and properties of fresh and hardened mortar were analysed. In the same way for this study, the physical properties and chemical compositions of DS, SS, BS and cement were investigated. The results obtained show that the mechanical strength on mortar depends of the nature and particle size distribution of sand studied. The reuse of this recycled material (slag blast furnace and waste brick) in the industry would contribute to the protection of the environment. This study shows the potential of this method to make mortar with ternary sand (natural and artificial fine aggreagates) in order to improve the physical properties of sand. Utilising natural and artificial fine aggregates to produce quality mortar should yield significant environmental benefits.
©2011Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Garry Lee.
PACS: Type pacs here, separated by semicolons ;
Keywords: Blast furnace slag; waste clay brick; Fine aggregates; Mortar; Mechanical strength.
1. Introduction
* Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +213 35 54 03 38 E-mail address: ab22lghani_nao2ri@yahoo.fr
1875-3892 © 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Garry Lee. doi:10.1016/j.phpro.2011.11.044
The use of industrial wastes (e.g., slag, glass, brick, tile) as a partial replacement of aggregate in mortar or concrete is very important because it presents many advantages such as reduced consumption of the natural resources, decreases environmental pollution [1-2-3]. The environmental impact of the production of the raw ingredients of mortar and concrete (such as cement and fine and coarse aggregates) is considerable. The scale of the problem makes it prudent to investigate other sources of raw materials in order to reduce the consumption of energy and available natural resources [4-5]. Concrete plays an important role in the beneficial use of these materials in construction.
The demand for aggregates shows, a considerable growth in connection with the development of construction in Algeria. To surmount the demand, it is be necessary to ensure a rational exploitation of the artificial aggregates available to the country by a valorization of mineral waste such as blast furnace slag, waste bricks, waste tiles, ceramics. Wastes and industrial by-products are until now rarely used in Algeria: it is thus necessary to use these materials in production of building materials. Fine aggregates are inert granular materials used for the manufacture of the mortar or concrete. For a good mortar mix, fine aggregates need to be clean, hard, strong and free of absorbed chemicals and other fine materials that could cause the deterioration of mortar. Unfortunately, the majority of the natural sands used (rolled sands : sand of river, dune sand or sand of sea and crushed fine aggregates) are selected for reasons of the price and the availability [6-7].
Aggregates quality strongly influences properties of fresh and hardened mortar and economy. Consequently, selection of aggregates is an important process. Although some variation in aggregate properties is expected, characteristics that are considered when selecting aggregate include: particle shape, surface texture, abrasion, unit weights, voids, absorption and surface moisture [8-9-10].
The Algerian mineral waste industry (e.g., slag, bricks, tiles and ceramics) produces high levels of waste which remains unused. Mineral waste (blast furnace slag and waste bricks) represents residue that could be used with minimal processing, largely as construction material, low value industrial mineral [1112].
The Use of the artificial resources (industrial solid wastes) such as the slag and waste brick (industrial solid wastes) makes it possible to increase the manufacture of building materials, to limit the use of natural aggregates and to value the waste products offering valuable solution of the protection of the environmental [13-14].
The crushed brick is among the waste materials. The raw materials used in the manufacture of bricks are mainly natural clay containing quartz and feldspar. Bricks are manufactured by the calcination of alumino-silicate clays. The waste brick is generated by the manufacture of bricks. Therefore, utilization of crushed brick in the production of new materials will help to protect environment. Recently the use of waste brick as replacement materials has been investigated [15]. The Algerian clay industry (bricks, tiles, ceramics, etc.) has many environmental problems (mineral wastes) as well as economic considerations. By using waste brick as a partial replacement of aggregate in mortar or concrete is very beneficially.
The blast furnace slag is an industrial by-product from iron and steel industry. The concrete made with the blast furnace slag has many advantages, including improved durability, workability and economic benefits [16].
The main goals of this experimental work were to investigate the followings:
* The possibility of reusing slag and waste brick in mortar mixes as a partial replacement of fine aggregates in order to reduce the environment impact resulting from industrial wate disposal.
* The impact of solid wastes (i.e., slag and clay brick) on the physical properties of ternary sand prepared (i.e., density, porosity, fineness modulus, equivalent sand, particle size distribution and water absorption) and mechanical response (i.e., flexural and compressive strengths) of the mortars made with ternary sand mixtures.
2. Materials and mechanical test
The natural and artificial fine aggregates used in this study were DS (dune sand), BS (brick sand) and SS (slag sand). The sand's equivalent measured by the French AFNOR standard NF EN 933-8 shows that the dune fine aggregate used in this experimental study was clean, siliceous and contains very few fine dust or clayey elements. The physical characteristics is summarized in Table 1.
In this study the artificial fine aggregate used is crushed brick generated by the manufacture of bricks. The waste brick before their use as artificial fine aggregates was crushed and sifted. It was separated according to size. The blast furnace slag used is an industrial by-product from iron and steel industry (Metallurgic unit of El-Hadjar-Annaba). It is used as a artificial fine aggregates for the mortar. Samples of the artificial fine aggregates (waste brick and blast furnace slag) utilized in this study are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A ternary sand mixture was made using 70% dune sand (DS) and 30% slag sand (SS) and brick sand (BS) combined.
The mineralogical composition (mineral phases) of the dune sand was investigated by the X-ray diffraction (XRD). Mineralogy was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis using a diffractometer. The crystalline mineral phases identified for the dune sand (Fig.3) is mainly composed of quartz (SiO2), calcite (CaCO3) and anorthite (CaSi2Al2O8). It has a small but evident band ranging from 20° and 30°, indicating the presence of amorphous materials. Silicate and lime are predominant in termes of chemical composition (Table 2) that also indicates the presence of alumina, iron and magnesia in small quantities.
Fig. 1: Sample of brick sand.
Fig.2: Sample of slag sand.
Table 1: Physical properties of natural aggregate (dune sand) and atificial aggregates (brick and slag sands)
Properties DS BS SS
Specific weight (g/cm3) 2,54 2,45 2,86
Water absorption (%) 2,02 2,36 1,90
Sand equivalent (sight/test) 70/72 81/83 91/94
Porosity (%) 34,64 47,08 62,35
Water content (%) 1,01 2,04 2,24
Fineness modulus 1,7 1,9 2,8
Color Clear yellow Red Clear gray
DS: dune sand, BS: brick sand and SS: slag sand.
: ... ■- {Caidtp)
CA&ZW203 №wBiite!
...............i............ t ... k, I 1, . A II '
Fig.3: XRD of dune sand.
The crystalline mineral phases identified for the brick sand (Fig. 4) is mainly composed of quartz (SiO2), calcite (CaCO3) and albite (NaAlSi3O8). It has a small but evident band ranging from 20° and 40°, indicating the presence of amorphous materials.
The grain size distribution of natural aggregate (dune sand) and artificial fine aggregates (crushed brick and slag) used is presented in Fig.5 and their physical properties and chemical compositions are summarized in Tables 1 and 2. The sieve analysis was obtained according to AFNOR standard NE EN 933-1.
Based on the analysis of the results obtained concerning the physical properties of natural and artificial sands (Table 1):
^DS has a low porosity and a significant water absorption compared to two other sands (slag sand and brick sand), this is primarily with its fine particles (low fineness modulus).
S SS has a high porosity and a low significant water absorption compared to two other sands (dune sand and brick sand), this may be attributed to its coarse particles (coarse fineness modulus).
S According to particle size distribution and fineness modulus, the sands used in the study can be categorized as follows:
* The dune sand presents a fine particle size distribution,
* The brick sand presents an intermediate particle size distribution,
* The slag sand presents a coarse particle size distribution.
Table 2: Chemical composition of fine aggregates (dune sand, brick sand and slag sand) used
% (by weight)
DS BS SS
Compounds
Lime 06,22 13,44 36,82
Silica 88,64 58,45 40,42
Alumina 0,98 11,52 8,12
Iron oxide 0,69 6,32 2,85
Sulfite 0,04 2,34 1,35
Magnesia 0,19 2,21 4,37
Loss of ignition 2,62 2,64 1,65
Si 02 {Quartz) Ca C 03 CCaiate) Na AI Si3 OS {Albite)
15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00 40.00 45.00 50.00 55.00 60.00
2thet3
Fig.4: XRD of brick sand.
Fig.5: Grading of natural and artificial fine aggregates.
Five series of ternary aggregate mixtures and one reference controle mixture (100% DS) were prepared. The characteristics of ternary sand mixtures are designated as: M0(100%DS + 0%SS + 0%BS), M1 (70%DS + 5%SS + 25%BS), M2(70%DS + 10%SS + 20%BS), M3 (70%DS + 15%SS + 15%BS), M4 (70%DS + 20%SS + 10%BS) and M5 (70%DS + 25%SS + 5%BS). The sieve analysis of ternary sand mixtures is shown in Fig.6 and their physical properties are summarized in Table 3.
Table 3: Physical properties of ternary sand mixtures
Properties M0 M1 M2 M3 M4 M5
Specific weight (g/cm3) 2,54 2,51 245 248 242 240
Water absorption (%) 2,02 2,52 3,06 3,56 3,58 3,58
Sand equivalent (sight/test) 70/72 82/83 83/85 84/86 79/80 80/82
Porosity (%) 34,64 32,27 30,12 28,57 30,67 32,75
Water content (%) 1,01 1,06 1,12 1,24 1,26 1,32
Fineness modulus 1,7 1,7 1,7 1,8 1,8 1,9
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
Sieve size (mm)
Fig.6: Particle size distribution of ternary sand mixture.
The method to blend natural and artificial sands (dune sand, slag sand and brick sand) improves the physical properties of prepared fine aggregate mix (Table 3):
* An improvement of porosity and sand equivalent of the ternary mixture with the variation of the percentages of artificial sands (slag sand and brick sand) incorporated in the dune sand.
* An improvement of the grading (grain size distribution) of the ternary sand prepared, this in order to correct the variation of the granulometric composition (particle sizes) of various sands used.
Mechanical strength was determined at 7, 14 and 28 days on 4 x 4 x 16 cm3 prisms specimens with 60% water-cement ratio and 1:3 cement/sand by mass. The water used in this study was a potable drinking water. After production of mortars, the moulded specimens were covered with a plastic sheets at 20 ± 2 °C for 24 ± 1 h. After 24 h the specimens were demolded and cured in water at 20 ± 2 °C until testing. Flexural and compressive strength testings were performed according to AFNOR standard NF EN 196-1. The results reported in this paper are the mean values obtained.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Slump test
The slump test is a method of testing the workability of the fresh mortar. A standard metal slump cone is to be filled with 4 layers of mortar, each layer is to be thoroughly compacted with a steel rod. The last layer which fills the cone to the top is to be trowelled flat. The cone is then removed and the height reduction (slump) of the mortar is measured.
The results of the slump test of fresh mortar are presented in Fig.7. The mortar mixture has a high workability (slump between 19 and 42 mm). The mortar made with ternary sand (natural and artificial fine aggregates) presents a high slump in comparison with the control mortar (M0). The difference observed between the workability of various mortars tested, depends of the content of the artificial fine aggregates (slag sand and brick sand) incorporated in the natural fine aggregate (difference of the density and the porosity between the different fine aggregates studied). The slump increase can be attributed to the great fluidity. The Substituted artificial fine aggregates presents a high porosity compared to the natural fine aggregate (dune fine aggregate), this is mainly due at the variation of the physical properties for each type of fine aggregate.
M0 M1 M2 M3 M4 M5
Mortar mix
Fig.7: Slump of fresh mortar.
3.2. Testing of dry density (Hardened mortar)
The dry density tests for ternary sand mortar mixture are shown in Fig.8. The dry densities at each curing age tend to decrease with increasing the artificial fine aggregates (slag sand and brick sand) in each mortar mixture.The use of artificial fine aggregates (slag sand and brick sand) for each curing age reduced the dry densities of all mixtures with increasing the artificial waste fine aggregates, because the variation of density and water absorption of waste fine aggregates (SS and BS) is higher than that of natural sand (DS).
Curing ages of specimens (days)
Fig.8: Density of hardened mortar.
3.3. Testing of compressive and flexural strengths (Hardened mortar)
The variatin of compressive and flexural strengths of mortars as a function of the quantity of artificial fine aggregate substituted for 7, 14 and 28 days of age are plotted in Figs. 9 and 10. Each value is averaged from the results of four speimens. The compressive and flexural strengths increased with age in all the mortar specimens.
The partial replacement of natural sand (70% of DS) by artificial sand (30% of SS and BS combined) results in a increase in compressive strength of the mortars (M1, M2 and M3) and flexural strength of the mortars (M1 and M2) compared to the control mortar. The increase in the strength of the mortars may be attributed to the pozzolanic activity and structure of the artificial waste materials.
The results obtained specify in a clear way that the incorporation of artificial sand 30% (30% of SS and BS) in the dune sand (70% DS) improves the mechanical strengths (compressive and flexural strenghts) of the mortars tested to base of the ternary mixtures. This, can be to explain by the fact why nature (chemical composition) and the grain-size distribution are the principal parameters which influence the increase in the mechanical behavior of the mortar tested.
The strength gain of the mortar tested was superior for the mortar containing ternary sand (M1, M2 and M3 for the compressive strength and M1 and M2 for the flexural strength) to that of the control mixture (M0) without SS and BS.
This, can be to explain by the fact why nature (chemical composition) and the grain-size distribution are the principal parameters which influence the increase in the mechanical behavior of the mortar tested.
Indeed, the improvement of the mechanical strength is due to the correction of the physical properties (improved grading, low porosity, high compactness, etc....) of the mortar containing ternary sand.
4. Conclusion
The results obtained specify in a clear way that the incorporation of artificial sand 30% (30% of slag sand and brick sand) in the dune sand (70% DS) improves the mechanical strengths (flexural and
compressive strenghts) of the mortars tested to base of the ternary mixtures (Mi, M2 and M3 for the compressive strength and Mi and M2 for the flexural strength).
The improvement of the mechanical strength is due to the correction of the physical properties (improved grading, low porosity, high compactness, etc....) of the mortar containing ternary sand for the mixtures (Mi, M2 and M3 for the compressive strength and Mi and M2 for the flexural strength).
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5 10 15 20 25 30
Curing time (days)
Fig.9: Variation of compressive strength of mortars as a function of the quantity of artificial fine aggregate substituted.
6.5 6.0
M0 DS100/SS0/BS0
DS70/SS5/BS25
M2 DS70/SS10/BS20
DS70/SS15/BS15
M4 DS70/SS20/BS10
M5 DS70/SS25/BS5
15 20 25
Curing time (days)
Fig.10: Variation of flexural strength of mortars as a function of the quantity of artificial fine aggregate substituted.
