Properties of Concrete Containing Blended Cement and Lightweight Artificial Aggregate

The limitation of natural resources and the increase in industrial waste materials have been being the main concern in many developing countries. Therefore, many studies have been conducted to investigate the feasibility of industrial by-products to be used as artificial aggregate in concrete manufacturing. This study examined the influences of using artificial materials as aggregate replacement of natural aggregate and active pozzolana cement as a binder in concrete. Numbers of tests were performed to investigate the fresh and hardened concrete properties in terms of workability, density, expansion and shrinkage, ultrasonic pulse velocity, flexural strength, compressive strength and mode of failure. The specimens consist of cube and prism were prepared and tested after 3, 7 and 28 days of water curing and air curing. Results of concrete with artificial aggregates recorded lower workability due to the high water absorption, lower density of concrete, lower drying shrinkage due to the reduced free water content and lower pulse velocity in concrete. However, the compressive and flexural strengths were improved by 10% and 38% as of normal concrete, respectively. Therefore, the results obtained from this study indicated that the artificial aggregates and pozzolan cement used have positive effects on concrete properties.