Abstract
Sulfur concrete is a material that was introduced to the civil engineering industry as a substitute of a typical concrete in which cement is a binder. Sulfur concrete properties are provided by a sulfur polymer produced in the process of synthesis of the ordinary sulfur with modifiers that prevent a process of crystallization of sulfur what results in stabilizing sulfur polymer structure. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate characteristics of sulfur concrete, which was designed with combustion products. It was established that mechanical parameters of sulfur concrete should correspond with properties of a cement concrete used in production processes of prefabricated elements of road and construction industry. Accurateness of parameters of a designed mixture was confirmed and rated by a series of tests of hardened concrete – physical, mechanical (compression strength), durability in harsh environment. The test results confirmed low water absorption, high resistance to wear abrasion, high freeze-thaw scaling resistance (surface weathering) in a salty environment and high compressive and tensile strength of individual compositions. However, due to the internal structural damage, the freeze-thaw-attack cube tests did not prove the freeze-thaw resistance of the sulfur concrete specimens. The reason was low freeze-thaw-attack resistance of sulfur binders.
Highlights
The advantage of using the modified sulfur polymer as a binder in manufacturing sulfur concrete is the ability of fast compressive strength gaining
A beneficial feature of a sulfur concrete is a possibility of applying all kind of wastes regardless to their quality – those types of additives do not come into reaction with a binder and might be used as fillers
Using wastes, which without additional refinement do not comply with requirements of additives used in civil engineering and despite this might be used as fillers of sulfur concrete products of small architecture without any risk, resulting in economic and ecological benefits
Summary
Sulfur polymers are materials produced from natural sulfur modified by chemical substances that are added at strictly defined conditions and proportions. The following modifiers: dicyclopentadiene (DCPD), styrene, turpentine and furfural are added to the liquefied sulfur to transform properties of this material by inhibiting its crystallization - that stabilizes the structure enabling preservation of consistent physical properties irrespectively the time. All of them are high-boiling liquids or low setting solids imparting the binder with plasticity. They undergo co-polymerization with particles of a sulfur in a temperature of 140°C, creating linear (styrene) or cross-linked (DCPD) structures – depending on a type of modifier [8].
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