An experimental investigation on light-weight concrete blocks using vermiculite

Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

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An experimental investigation on light-weight concrete blocks using vermiculite K. Naveen Kumar ⇑, D.S. Vijayan, R. Divahar, R. Abirami, C. Nivetha Department of Civil Engineering, Aarupadai Veedu Institute of Technology, Chennai, India

a r t i c l e

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Article history: Received 25 October 2019 Received in revised form 17 November 2019 Accepted 19 November 2019 Available online xxxx Keywords: No fine concrete block Vermiculate Concrete Light weight Compression Construction

a b s t r a c t Lightweight concrete block finds a wide range of application within the construction industry. Concrete block having a dry density of approximately 300 kg/m3 to a most of 2000 kg/m3 are deliberate to be lightweight concrete. By using the lightweight concrete can reduce the self-weight of the structure. Thereby it reduces the price of construction. During this study No fine concrete is employed it’s a combination of cement, water, and coarse aggregate with fines (sand) omitted. The concrete mix has cement, coarse aggregate and vermiculite. Fine aggregate is completely neglected. Three trail mix is followed as 1:1:2, 1:1.5:1.5 and 1:2:1. The cubes are casted and tested within the compression testing machine. The take a look at results are compared with IS 2185-1 (2005) observe whether those concrete blocks will be utilized in the construction method. Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Materials Engineering and Characterization 2019.

1. Introduction Lightweight solid blocks shall be created from using lightweight concrete using light-weight aggregates. Light-weight concrete will be defined as a type of concrete which has an increasing agent in this, it will increase the volume of the mixture while giving additional qualities such like reduced self-weight. Concrete block having an over-dry density range of approximately 300 to a most of 2000 kg/m3 thought of as lightweight concrete. It’s a mixture of cement, water, vermiculate and course aggregate with fines (sand) omitted. When previous wetting with water the aggregates are mixed properly with the cement and blend water [3]. These results in each particle of coarse aggregate being coated with a layer (up to about1.3 mm) of cement paste that bonds it to adjacent particles in point-to-pint contact to depart interstitial voids. In non-fines aggregate concrete the voids are interconnected to supply a porous opens smooth concrete with reduced strength, density and shrinkage of the concrete [5]. The lowest densities are achieved with single-sized coarse aggregate. Most aggregate size will vary from 7 to 75 mm but is typically from 10 to 20 mm. light-weight aggregate will be wont to more decrease concrete density. For traditional weight aggregates, aggregate/cement ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (K. Naveen Kumar).

ratios from 6 to 10 manufacture densities of between 1200 and 1900 kg/m3. 2. Materials Materials that are utilized in concrete should be tested as per relevant standards in order to attain better performance, quality, and durability [4]. Various test has been conducted as per Indian standards on Cement, coarse aggregate, and fine aggregate, and their physical and chemical properties were analyzed [8]. 2.1. Cement Ordinary Portland cement, 53 Grade conforming to IS: 12,269 – 2013 [1] and their properties were given in the Table 1. 2.2. Coarse aggregate Locally available river sand from Chennai zone conforming to Grading zone II of IS: 383 –1970 [3] in Table 2. 2.3. Vermiculite coarse aggregate The vermiculite collected from Andhra mines, India was used in as modified form by physical, chemical and thermal activation Fig. 1. The composition of Portland Pozzolona cement (PPC) and

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.11.237 2214-7853/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Materials Engineering and Characterization 2019.

Please cite this article as: K. Naveen Kumar, D. S. Vijayan, R. Divahar et al., An experimental investigation on light-weight concrete blocks using vermiculite, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.11.237

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Table 1 Properties of cement.

Table 4 Properties of vermiculate course aggregate.

S. No

Name of test

Value

Standard value

S. No

Name of test

Value

Standard value

1

Specific gravity of cement Standard consistency of cement Initial setting time of cement Final setting time of cement Initial setting time of cement Final setting time of cement

3.19

3.15

1 2

1.785 72%

FOR C.A 2.7 <5%

32%

33%

Specific gravity test for vermiculite C.A Water absorption test for vermiculite C. A Sieve analysis of vermiculite C.A

FM = 5.58

6.6–8.0

30 min

IS 12269-1987 clause 5.3 IS 12269-1987 clause 5.3 IS 12269-1987 clause 5.3 IS 12269-1987 clause 5.3

2 3 4 3 4

3

600 min 30 min 600 min

not < 30 min not > 600 min not < 30 min not > 600 min

Table 2 Properties of course aggregate. S. No

Name of test

Value

Standard value

1 2 3

Specific gravity test for vermiculite C.A Water absorption test for vermiculite C.A Sieve analysis of vermiculite C.A

1.785 72% FM = 5.58

FOR C.A 2.7 < 5% 6.6–8.0

Fig. 2. Casting of light weight concrete block.

Fig. 1. A 50 kg bag of vermiculite.

Table 3 Composition of PPC and vermiculite. Constituents

PPC (%)

Vermiculite (%)

SiO2 Fe2O3 Al2O3 CaO MgO Loss on Ignition

22.14 3.35 11.85 58.76 1.3 2.6

46 13 16 3 16 0

Fig. 3. Compressive strength of light weight concrete block.

Table 5 Test result for compressive strength for vermiculite solid blocks.

Vermiculite (VER) used are reported Table 3. Vermiculite is used as a coarse aggregate which is obtained from Tamilnadu Minerals Grade iii vermiculite (3 mm–6 mm) in Table 4. 3. Methodology

Ratio of vermiculate

1:1:2 1:1.5:1.5 1: 2: 1

Compressive strength for vermiculite solid blocks (N/mm2) 7 days

14 days

28 days

2.20 2.22 1.87

2.47 4.44 2.54

2.99 5.33 4.36

3.1. Casting of blocks Cubes moulds of size 150  150  150 mm, to be used are cleaned properly with dry cloth before applying oil on the cubes and then the concrete cubes are casted. For proportioning the mix weigh batching is employed based on result of mix design [2]. Hand mixing is done on water tight platform under standard condition. All the materials cement, fine aggregate, vermiculate

and required water in W/C ratio. Water was added gradually till all the materials has been adequately mixed together to form a uniform mix Fig. 2. Concrete was then placed in moulds and compacted using tamping rod [6,7].

Please cite this article as: K. Naveen Kumar, D. S. Vijayan, R. Divahar et al., An experimental investigation on light-weight concrete blocks using vermiculite, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.11.237

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compressive strength 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1:01:02

1:1.5:1.5

1:02:01

compressive strength for vermiculite solid blocks (N/mm2) 7 days compressive strength for vermiculite solid blocks (N/mm2) 14 days compressive strength for vermiculite solid blocks (N/mm2) 28 days Fig. 4. Compressive strength result comparison of 7, 14 and 28 days.

Fig. 5. Final crack Patten of the solid vermiculate block.

3.2. Positioning of Specimens Specimens shall be tested which is place in the center of mass of their bearing surfaces aligned vertically with the center of thrust of the spherically seated block of the compressive testing machine. Except for special units meant to be used with their cores during a horizontal direction, all hollow concrete masonry units shall be tested with their cores during a vertical direction [8]. Masonry units that are 100% solid and special hollow units supposed to be used with their hollow cores during a horizontal direction could also be tested within the same direction as in service. 3.3. Speed of testing The load to common fraction of the expected most load may be applied at any convenient rate in to the concrete blocks, once that the control of the machine shall be adjusted as needed to allow a standardized rate of load should be traveled to be moving head

Fig. 6. Splitting Tensile test on cylinder.

Table 6 Splitting tensile test on cylinder. Ratio of vermiculate

1:1:2 1:1.5:1.5 1:2:1

Splitting Tensile test on cylinder (N/mm2) 7 days

14 days

28 days

2.34 2.45 2.32

2.71 2.78 2.47

3.05 3.35 2.87

Please cite this article as: K. Naveen Kumar, D. S. Vijayan, R. Divahar et al., An experimental investigation on light-weight concrete blocks using vermiculite, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.11.237

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Fig. 7. Split Tensile result comparison of 7, 14 and 28 days.

perpendicular to the direction of the load, as well as areas at intervals cells and among re-entrant spaces unless these areas are to be occupied within the light weight concrete block by portions of adjacent masonry Fig. 3. Report be results to the closest 0.10 N/mm2 individually for every unit and is that the average for the 8 units. The mentioned value of compressive strength of a light weight concrete block is show in the Table 5. which is given for the trial mix Ratio 1:1:2, 1:1.5:1.5 and 1: 2: 1 it shows the strength of all the tree stages has mention in that 28 days of curing has achieved the compressive strength of 3.11 KN/mm2, 5.33 KN/mm2 and 4.54 KN/mm2 mention in the bar chart Fig. 4. In this we can find that the compressive strength result is good in mix ratio 1:1.5:1.5. The initial and final crack has shown in Fig. 5.

4.2. Split tensile test Fig. 8. Final crack pattern of the solid vermiculate cylinder.

specified the remaining load is applied in not less than one nor over five minutes [11]. 4. Results and discussion 4.1. Compressive strength test The compressive strength of a concrete light weight concrete block unit shall be taken because the maximum load, which is measured as N, divided by the gross cross-sectional area of the light weight concrete block unit, in mm2 [9]. The gross area of a unit is that the total area of light weight concrete block is district

The tensile strength of concrete is one of the fundamental and necessary properties that greatly have an effect on the extent and size of cracking in structures. Moreover, the concrete is incredibly weak in tension because of its brittle nature. The procedure supported the ASTM C496 (Standard take a look at the technique of Cylindrical Concrete Specimen) that almost like alternative codes like IS 5816 1999 shown in Fig. 6. The Table 6 shows the experimental result of split tensile test with comparison the trial mix Ratio 1:1:2, 1:1.5:1.5 and 1: 2: 1 which is given for the trial mix Ratio 1:1:2, 1:1.5:1.5 and 1: 2: 1 it shows the strength of all the tree stages has mention in that 28 days of curing has achieved the split tensile test of 3.05 KN/mm2, 3.35 KN/mm2 and 2.87 KN/ mm2 mention in the bar chart Fig. 7. In this we can find that the tensile test result is good in mix ratio 1:1.5:1.5. The final crack Patten has shown in Fig. 8.

Table 7 Summary of experimental results. Trial Mix

1: 2: 1 1:1.5:1.5 1:1:2

7 Days

14 Days

28 Days

Compression Strength (N/mm2)

Density (kg/m3)

Compression Strength (N/mm2)

Density (kg/m3)

Compression Strength (N/mm2)

Density (kg/m3)

2.20 2.22 1.87

1950 1810 1660

2.47 4.44 2.54

1956 1850 1800

2.99 5.33 4.36

2010 1943 1866

Please cite this article as: K. Naveen Kumar, D. S. Vijayan, R. Divahar et al., An experimental investigation on light-weight concrete blocks using vermiculite, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.11.237

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4.3. Determination of block density Three light weight concrete blocks are randomly selected and shall be dried to a constant mass in a suitable oven heated to approximately 100 °C [10]. After cooling the blocks to room temperature, the dimensions of each block shall be measured in centimetres (to the nearest millimetre). The block shall be weighed in kilograms, and the block density for the cube is calculated in Table 7. 5. Conclusion Lightweight Vermiculite concrete blocks casted and tested leads to following conclusion.  Experimental test results on compressive strength at 7, 14, 28 days gives reliable results (Average compressive strength = 5 N/mm2) as per IS 2185 – 1 (2005) [1].  The block density test conducted under laboratory condition found out to be average dry block density as 1866 kg/m3, 1943 kg/m3 and 2010 kg/m3  The above two results such as compressive strength and block density tests compared with c indicates that the vermiculite lightweight blocks trial mix 1:1.5:15 casted and tested laboratory condition can be classified as TYPE: Solid load bearing unit and its GRADE: C (5.0) since density of blocks is not less than 1800 kg/m3 and minimum average compressive strength is not less than 5 N/mm2 and minimum compressive strength of individual units not less than 4 N/mm2.  The trial mix Ratio 1:1:2, 1:1.5:1.5 and 1: 2: 1 it shows the strength of all the tree stages has mention in that 28 days of curing has achieved the split tensile test of 3.05 KN/mm2, 3.35 KN/mm2 and 2.87 KN/mm2. Which mention a good result in 1:1.5:1.5 ratio mix proposition.

5

 The above results which are reliable, comparable and acceptable with Indian standards indicates that vermiculite lightweight concrete blocks can be effectively implemented in construction industry for reducing its self-weight of masonry practice.  Compressive strength results indicates that it can be implemented for load bearing wall structures. The utilization of naturally locally available lightweight material is a good source of construction material which can be used effectively for replacement of aggregates and it will be ecofriendly. References [1] IS 2185-1 (2005): Concrete masonry units, Part 1: Hollow and solid concrete blocks. [2] IS 2572 (2005): Construction of hollow and solid concrete. [3] IS: 383-1970, Indian standard specification for coarse and fine aggregate from natural sources for concrete (second revision), Bureau of Indian standards, New Delhi. [4] J. Davidovits, Chemistry of vermiculite systems, terminology, Proceeding of Vermiculite ’99 International Conference, 1999, France. [5] P. Prathebha, S. Aswini, Revathy, Effect of nano particles on strength and durability properties of cement mortar, Appl. Mech. Mater. 857 (2016) 65–70. [6] Adilson Schackow, Mechanical and thermal property of light weight concrete with vermiculite and EPS using air entraining agent, Constr. Build. Mater. 57 (4) (2014) 190–197. [7] Paul Wilson, P. Hardy, Advances in the study of light weight concrete development, Ind. J. Sci. Technol. 4 (5) (2002) 24–31. [8] Venkatesh, B. Vamsi Krishna, Advances in light weight concrete materials, Int. J. Eng. Res. Technol. 4 (8) (2015) 25–44. [9] J. Revathy, P. Gajalakshmi, Sanju, Investigation on the performance characteristics of concrete incorporating nanoparticles, Jordan J. Civ. Eng. 3 (2019) 351–360. [10] J.M. Whatib, H.S. Sohl, H.S. Sohl, N. Chileshe, Vermiculite powder utilisation in concrete production, Eur. J. Appl. Sci. 4 (4) (2012) 173–176. [11] Revathy Jayaseelan, Gajalakshmi Pandulu, Ashwini, G neural networks for the prediction of fresh properties and compressive strength of flowable concrete, J. Urban Environ. Eng. 13 (1) (2019) 183–197.

Please cite this article as: K. Naveen Kumar, D. S. Vijayan, R. Divahar et al., An experimental investigation on light-weight concrete blocks using vermiculite, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.11.237