USE OF ALUMINIUM POWDER IN THE PRODUCTION OF LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE

Technical Report for Masters Project

USE OF ALUMINIUM POWDER IN POWDER IN THE PRODUCTION OF LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE 1*

K.W.Tan and Redzuan Abdullah

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Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

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*

Corresponding author: [email protected] author: [email protected]

Abstract: Lightweight concrete is a concrete of in which it’s made with entrapped air and have lower density than normal concrete. Its gives the dry density value lower than 2000km/m3 which 3 is much higher than normal concrete (2000kg/m ). This study is to attempt to produce the structural lightweight concrete with mixing the stone chipping, sand and with the aluminium powder however, the experiment is focusing on determining the effect of optimum content of aluminium powder in the normal concrete. The concrete was test to determine the compressive strength, density and water absorption. Fifteen cube samples of lightweight concrete were prepared with different percentage of aluminium powder content which varies from 0.2% to 0.8% of the weight of cement content. The size of cube sample used was 150mm x 150mm x150mm with constant water cement ratio of 0.5 and the cement: sand ratio of 1:3.15. British Standard used as a reference for preparing the cube samples.

concrete, aluminium powder, stone Keywords: Lightweight concrete, Aerated lightweight concrete, chipping, compressive strength, water absorption and density

1.0

Introduction

Lightweight concrete can be defined as a type of concrete which includes an expanding agent in that it increases the volume of the mixture at the same time it also gives additional qualities such such as nailbility and lessened the dead weight of a building. building. Apart from it, it is also lighter than ordinary normal weight concrete. According to Short and Kinniburgh (1978), Teo, et al. (2006) and Ravindrarajah et al. (1993), there are four establish method that can be used to product lightweight concrete: (i) Using air bubble; (ii) Using hollow or porous aggregate; (iii) Using solid lightweight material such as coarse aggregates and (iv) Using coarse aggregates to product ‘no‘no-fine’ concrete. Topcu I.B. (1997) explained that many productions of lightweight concrete had been designed to successfully use in wide range of construction from conventional dwelling to complex highly specialised structure. Lightweight concrete is used as heat insulation, thermal acoustic application, void infilling, roof – deck deck insulation application, bridge approach for undulating prevention, bridge deck, soft ground base for roads, for housing All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

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raft foundation and many more on infrastructure applications either as unit or pre-cast and cast in-situ. However, only aerated concrete using aluminium powder was discussed in this study. 1.1 Problem Statement Construction industry is developing rapidly due to exponential growth of human population. It increases the demand for raw materials. However, the sources for materials such as granite and gravel are decreasing. The uses of gravel or granite in concrete works increase the weight of structure. So, it is needed to find an alternative way to reduce construction weight. Thus, the application of lightweight concrete in the construction industry is seen can overcome these problems. Lightweight concrete can produce light structures and it mostly does not use granite or gravel. However, the performance of lightweight concrete is depending on their permeability. If the concrete is highly permeable which means that the pores of the concrete are interconnecting due to excessive usage of aluminium powder, therefore water can easily enter and ingress into concrete which may reduce the durability of concrete. Thus, it can affect the strength as well as the density of the lightweight concrete. Furthermore, water absorption is an important factor due to the porous structure of aerated lightweight concrete. If the percentage of water absorption is too high, the lightweight concrete is able to absorb more water; therefore, the porosity of lightweight concrete will increase and produced more void. Thus, it will affect the strength, density as well as the durability of lightweight concrete. 1.2 Aim and Objectives The aim of this study is to determine the optimum content of aluminium powder used in concrete mixture. Several objectives need to be set out as follows in order to achieve the aim of the study: 



To product a new lightweight concrete in which contains aluminium powder and as the result the strength might be sufficient for structural element. To study the new developed lightweight concrete in terms of compressive strength, density and water absorption based on different portion of aluminium powder.

2.0 Research Methodology

2.1 Material Used and Preparation A total 15 cube samples were prepared in this study. Codes of Practice such as BS 4551:1998 Part 1 specify the methods of testing mortars which includes testing for compressive strength, density and water absorption. Based on these testing, the o ptimum strength, density and water absorption of aerated concrete can be defined thus concludes


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the optimum content of aluminium powder used in the mix design. Materials used in this study were Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), fine sand, stone chipping, water, and aluminium powder. The concrete specimens of 150 x 150 x 150 mm were produced by hand mixing. The constituents of each sample were weighed according to their proportions. After it is weighed, fine aggregate and cement were mixed together by hand until all the constituents mixed uniformly. Next, water was added to the mixture gradually while mixing was carried out to ensure the mixture mixed uniformly. At final stage of mixing, aluminium powder was added to the concrete mixture to allow the reaction with the calcium hydroxide present in cement thus producing hydrogen gas or air bubbles in concrete mix. All the mixtures were mixed by following the same procedure but using fix proportion of materials except varying the amount of aluminium powder content and the cube samples then need to be cured for 28 days. 2.2

Aggregate Gradation

Sieve analysis of sand is done in according with BS 882: Part 2: 1992. Natural sand is prepared separating the sample in many sizes by using the standard sieves in which used in fine aggregates and then remix these individual sizes using the calculated satisfying percentages retained on each sieve to prepare the tested specimens used in concrete. According BS 882: Part 2: 1992 that sand mainly passing a 5.0 mm BS 410 test sieve and containing no more coarser material than is permitted. However, the grading requirements and properties for all types of fine aggregates are tabulated in Table 1. Table 1 shown a wide range of grading of fine aggregate is acceptable for concrete. When determined in accordance with BS 812-103.1, using test sieves of the sizes given in Table 1 complying with BS 410, full tolerance, the grading of the sand shall comply with the overall limits given in Table 1. Additionally, not more than one in ten consecutive samples shall have a grading outside the limits for any one of the grading C, M or F, given in Table 1. Table 1: Sand

With Reference from BS 882-1992 Table 4: Sand


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2.3

Mix Proportion

The mix proportions for every sample were shown in Table 2. The mix proportion of the preparing the aerated concrete admixture was estimated based on BS 1881: Part 125: 2013. The cement and sand ratio of 1:3.15 was used in the mortar mix design and the water cement ratio provided was 0.5. Stone chipping as coarse aggregate was used in mortar mix design was 0.35. Different percentage of aluminium powder was used from range 0.2% to 0.8% of cement content in mix design. Table 2: Mix Proportions

No.

SAMPLE NO.

ORDINARY ALUMINIUM PORTLAND POWDER CEMENT 3

3

SAND

WATER

3

3

(kg/m )

(gram)

(kg/m )

(kg/m )

(kg/m )

1

AL00

400.0

0.20%

140

1260

200

2

AL02

400.0

0.40%

140

1260

200

3

AL04

400.0

0.60%

140

1260

200

4

AL06

400.0

0.80%

140

1260

200

5

AL08

400.0

0%

140

1260

200

1

0.2% - 0.8%

0.35

3.15

0.50

Ratio by Unit Volume

2.4

STONE CHIPPING

Trial Mix

The raw materials required for this project are Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) with class strength of 42.5, natural fine aggregate (4.75 mm), aluminium powder and stone chipping, 5 mm. After all the raw materials are prepared, batching process is commenced. The method is according to BS EN 206-2013. There are 5 series of batching required for this project. A total numbers of 15 concrete cube specimens (150 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm steel mould) will be prepared as shown on Figure 1, with 5 nos. of cube specimens for each series of aerated aggregate concrete. For this research purpose, we only test for 28 days as we only concern on the actual strength that can be achieved for the aerated aggregate concrete. 2.4.1

Density Test

In this study, the density of the concrete specimens was measure in accordance with BS 12390 – 7:2009. Moreover that concrete density was determined based on normal dry density method. Soon after the concrete being cured, the samples were weighed and dried in an ambient temperature for 24 hours. Short & Kinniburgh (1978) mentioned that the samples were weighed again to calculate its density in kg/m 3. The density is


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usually referred to oven-dry specimen or in some case to material in which has reached equilibrium with normal air condition. The various content of aluminium powder in the lightweight aggregate concrete can be obtained by comparing it with control specimens. The concrete dry density can be calculated by using equation (1). Concrete Dry Density =

Cube Mass (kg) Cube Volume (m3 )



( )

Figure 1: All Cube Mould Had Been Set 2.4.2

Water Absorption

Water absorption is an important factor due to the porous structure of aerated lightweight concrete. The water absorption test is done using the samples prepared at the ages of 28 days. If the percentage of water absorption is too high, the lightweight concrete is able to absorb more water therefore; the porosity of lightweight concrete will increase and produced more void. Thus, it will affect the strength, density as well as the durability of lightweight concrete. Water absorption is expressed as the percentage absorbed water by concrete relative to the normal air dry mass. The testing procedure of water absorption of concrete specimen is as follow: (1) specimen was immersed in water in room temperature (20 ± 5oC); the weight of specimen was recorded every day until no significant weight change. (2) The specimen was dried in an ambient temperature for 24 hours and the weight of specimen was recorded. The purpose of water absorption test is to identify the capability of concrete to absorb water into its pores. The test procedures are as explained in chapter three of this thesis. Fifteen specimens were prepared and tested for water absorption after 1 day immersed into water. Measuring absorption for each cube specimen can be derived from equation (2):

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WA,(%) =

− Mi, (kg)  × 100% Mo, (kg) Mo, (kg)



( )

Where, WA = Water absorption of test specimen, (%) Mi = Mass or Weight of wet specimen, (kg) Mo = Normal dry mass or weight of test specimen at room temperature for 24 hours, (kg) 2.4 Compressive Strength Test The cubes were tested at 28 day to determine compressive strength. The cubes were tested on the suitable capacity of the concrete. The approximate rate of loading was 0.2 to 0.4 kN/sec (reading from the machine) for cube of 150 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm and loading was gradually increase until it achieved the expected maximum compressive strength. Each sample was placed at the centre in the compressive testing machine with the cast face in contact with the platens. The compressive strength it can be derived from equation (3) that outlined in BS EN 12390-3: 2009. Compressive Strength,

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Compression Axial Load Applied (N) σ = Maximum Cube Cross − Sectional Area (mm ) 2



( )

Result & Analysis

3.1 Grading Analysis The standard grain size analysis or sieve analysis test determines the relative proportions of different grain size as they are distributed among certain size range. The sieve analysis was done in the compliance with BS 882:1992. The grain size distribution is shown in Table 2. Furthermore, the sieve test result expressed as a plot of the BS grading requirement relative to the grading determine from the test aggregate. However, the grading envelope for BS 882 is shown as Figure 2. 3.2 Dry Density of Aerated Concrete For this study, cube samples were used to obtain the density of aerated concrete. The dry density of aerated aggregate concrete will be taken and recorded in Table 3. The density of concrete was measured in accordance with BS 4551-1-1998. Density was determined after curing in room temperature for 28 days. Figure 3 shows the average normal dry density graphs and it also shown the linear relationship between average density and aluminium powder content, the maximum density obtained is 1950kg/m 3 while the minimum density obtained is 1874kg/m3. The graph shows the linear relationship of


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average density and aluminium powder content. Thus it can be concluded that the density of aerated concrete with 0.8% of aluminium powder had achieved the required density of lightweight concrete which is 1874kg/m3.However, it is theoretically possible to reduce the densities of the concrete if an air dry density method was applied for the density test.

Table 2: Sieve Analysis Test Result Mass of Mass of Sieve Size e mpty sieve Sieve + FA

2.360 1.180 0.600 0.300 0.150 0.075 0.000

436.7 526.6 346.2 318.3 389.0 288.4 268.9

451.5 534.2 360.2 805.7 811.4 321.6 288.0 Total Weight

Weight Retained (g)

14.8 7.6 14.0 487.4 422.4 33.2 19.1 998.5

Percentage Percentage Retained Pass ing (%) (%)

1.5 0.8 1.4 48.8 42.3 3.3 1.9

0.1 0.1 0.1 4.9 4.2 0.3 0.2

Grading Envelope for Sieve Analysis 120.00

100.00

) % ( g n 80.00 i s s a P f 60.00 o e g a t n 40.00 e c r e P 20.00

0.00 0.010

0.100

1.000

BS Sieve Size (mm)

Figure 2: Grading Envelope for Sieve Analysis

10.000

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Table 3: Dry Density for Aerated Aggregate Concrete 3

Age (Days)

Concrete Series

Concrete Dry Density, (Kg/m ) 1

Cubes 2

Average 3

AL00 - 0.0% Al. P ow der

28

1949.706

1955.294

1946.176 1950.392


28

1923.235

1932.941

1912.059 1922.745


28

1895.000

1927.353

1900.000 1907.451


28

1946.471

1963.529

1782.059 1897.353


28

1861.471

1867.059

1893.824 1874.118

Average Density Versus Aluminium Powder Content 2000.0

1950.0 3

m /1900.0 g k ( , y t i s1850.0 n e D e g a r1800.0 e v A

Aluminium Powder (%) y = -8897.1x + 1946

1750.0

1700.0 0.00%

0.20%

0.40%

0.60%

0.80%

1.00%

( /  )×

Figure 3: Average Density versus Aluminium Powder Content

3.3 Water Absorption The purpose of water absorption test is to identify the capability of concrete to absorb water into its pores. Figure 4 shows the average percentage value of normal water absorption. From Figure 4 it can be seen that the range of average water absorption of aerated concretes as compared to normal concrete was 0.15% to 0.58%. Therefore, it can be concluded that the higher content of aluminium powder used in aerated concrete, the higher the percentage of water absorption in concrete, thus it may reduce the density as well as strength of concrete. The mass of water absorption of the cube specimen series is shown in Table 4 while the average percentage of water absorption is shown in Table 5. 3.4 Compressive Strength For compressive strength test, the load was applied to the cube gradually until failure occurs. The results will be tabulated in Table 6. Figure 5 shows a graph of average compressive strength for all specimens. The linearity relationship of graph shown in Figure 5 can be concluded that the more percentage content of aluminium powder used


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in the mortar mix design, the lower the compressive strength of aerated concrete produced. Table 4: Mass of Water Absorption Weight of Wet Cube, (Kg)

Weight of Normal Dry Cube - 24HR, (Kg)

CUBE

CUBE

SAMPLE 1

2

3

1

2

3

AL00 6 .973

6.768

6.942

6.935

6.721

6.898

AL02 6 .910

6.949

6.966

6.866

6.883

6.914

AL04 6 .845

6.938

6.892

6.787

6.867

6.838

AL06 6 .848

6.957

6.735

6.793

6.884

6.675

AL08 6 .771

6.771

6.957

6.685

6.691

6.878

Table 5: Average Percentage of Water Absorption Aluminiu m Powder SAMPLE Content (%)

Water Absorption, (Kg)

Percentage of Water Absorption, ( %)

CUBE

CUBE

1

2

3

1

2

3

Average Percentage of Water Absorption (%)

AL00

0.00

0.038

0.047

0.044

0.55%

0.70%

0.64%

0.63%

AL02

0.20

0.044

0.066

0.052

0.64%

0.96%

0.75%

0.78%

AL04

0.40

0.058

0.071

0.054

0.85%

1.03%

0.79%

0.89%

AL06

0.60

0.055

0.073

0.060

0.81%

1.06%

0.90%

0.92%

AL08

0.80

0.086

0.080

0.079

1.29%

1.20%

1.15%

1.21%

Table 6: Compressive Strength of Aerated Aggregate Concrete Compressive Strength, (N/mm3, MPa) Concrete Series

Age (Days)

Alumini um Powder Content (%)

Cubes 1

2

3

Averag e

AL00

28

0.00

12.889

12.889

12.889

12.889

AL02

28

0.20

12.333

11.889

11.556

11.926

AL04

28

0.40

10.778

10.000

11.222

10.667

AL06

28

0.60

10.000

10.000

10.778

10.259

28

0.80

9.556

10.000

9.556

9.704

AL08

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Average Water Absorption versus Aluminium Powder Content n 1.40 o i t p r 1.20 o s b A r 1.00 e t a W f )0.80 o % e ( g 0.60 a t n e c r 0.40 e P e 0.20 g a r e v 0.00 A

y = 0.65x + 0.626

Aluminium Powder…

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

Aluminium Powder Content (%)

Figure 4: Average Percentage of Water Absorption Average Compressive Strength Versus Aluminium Powder Content 14.000

) 13.000 a P M ( h t 12.000 g n e r t S11.000 e v i s s e r10.000 p m o C e 9.000 g a r e v A 8.000

Aluminium Powder (%)

y = -4.0185x + 12.696

7.000

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70

0.80

0.90

Aluminium Powder Content (%)

Figure 5: Graph of average compressive strength for samples at 28 days 4.0 Conclusions

The result can be summarized as follow: 1. In this study the higher the content of aluminium in the concrete and the higher the water absorption rate.


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2. For this study, no bubbles appear or spot. 3. The optimum content of aluminium powder which was in the range of 0.6% to 0.8% is satisfied the lightweight requirement in accordance with BS 206-1:2000 because the density is lower than 1900kN/m3. 4. The compressive strength of aerated concrete was decrease linearly as the percentage of aluminium powder increase. 5. The normal dry density of aerated concrete was decreases linearly as the percentage of aluminium powder increases. However, it is theoretically possible to reduce the densities if an air dry density method was applied for the density test. 6. The average percentage of water absorption increases linearly as the amount of aluminium powder increases. The highest average of water absorption will directly reduce the density as well as affecting the strength of aerated concrete. 7. Linearity relationship can be determined from compressive strength, density and water absorption graphs. These linearity relationships indicates that the aluminium powder content directly influence the strength, density and water absorption of aerated concrete.

References

ACI 213R-03, (2003), Guide for Structural Lightweight Aggregate Concrete, Farmington Hills: American Concrete Institute. Bremner, T.W., and Ries, J., (2009), Stephen J. Hayde: Father of the Lightweight Concrete Industry, Concrete International, Vol. 31, No. 8, pp. 35 -38. British Standards Institution, (2013), BS EN 206 – 1:2013 Concrete: Specification, performance, production and conformity, London: British Standards Institution. Chandra, S. and Berntsson, L., (2002), Lightweight Aggregate Concrete: Science, Technology, and Applications, New York: William Andrew Publishing. Kan, A. & Demirbog, R. (2009), a Novel Material for Lightweight Concrete Production, Cement & Concrete Composites, Vol. 31, No. 7, pp. 489 – 495. Mannan, M.A., and Ganapathy, C., (2001), Long-term Strengths of Concrete with Oil Palm Shell as Coarse Aggregate, Cement and Concrete Research, Vol. 31, No. 9, pp. 1319 – 1321. National Ready Mix Concrete Association (NRMCA), (2003), CIP-36 Structural Lightweight Concrete - Concrete in Practice, United State of America.

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Ravindrarajah, R. S., and Tuck, A. J., (1993), Properties of hardened Concrete Containing Treated Expended Polystyrene Beads, Cement and Concrete Composite, Vol. 16, pp. 273 – 277. Sari, D., and Pasamehmetoglu, A.G., (2005), The Effects of Gradation and Admixture on the Pumice Lightweight Aggregate Concrete, Cement & Concrete Research, Vol. 35, No. 5, pp. 936 – 942. Shafigh, P., Jumaat, M.Z. & Mahmud, H., (2011), Oil palm shell as a lightweight aggregate for production high strength lightweight concrete, Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 25, pp. 1848 – 1853 Shafigh, P., Jumaat, M.Z., Mahmud, H. & Abd Hamid, N.A., (2011), Lightweight concrete made from crushed oil palm shell: Tensile strength and effect of initial curing on compressive strength, Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 27, pp. 252 – 258 Short, A. and Kinniburgh, W., (1978), Lightweight Concrete, 3rd. Ed., London: Applied Science Publisher LTD. Shamsuddoha, M., Islam, M.M. and Noor, M.A., Feasibility of Producing Lightweight Concrete Using Indigenous Materials Without Autoclaving, MIST Journal: GALAXY (DHAKA), Vol. 3, 2011. Teo, D.C. L., Mannan, M.A., and Kurian, V.J., (2006), Structural Concrete Using Oil Palm Shell (OPS) as Lightweight Aggregate, Turkish Journal of Engineering, Environment and Science, Vol. 30, pp. 251-257. Topcu, IB. (1997), Semi-lightweight Concretes by Volcanic Slags, Cement & Concrete Research, Elsevier, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 15-21. Yulius Rief Alkhaly (2009), Development Of Lightweight Concrete Using Hollow Spheres, Degree of Master Thesis, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Haminudin, S.R. (2013), Structural Aerated Concrete with Optimum Content of Aluminum Powder, Degree of Master Thesis, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Johari, A. (2011), Lightweight Concrete Using Densiphalt Cement, Aluminum Powder and Fine Aggregates, Degree of Master Thesis, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

USE OF ALUMINIUM POWDER IN THE PRODUCTION OF LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE

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