Investigation of mechanical and insulation properties of Sorel cement binding light concrete

Abstract

In this study, some mechanical and insulation properties of light concrete with Sorel cement were investigated by using Sorel cement, which is an alternative to cements used in the market. In addition, samples were produced by substituting some additives separately into the Sorel cement mixtures in order to evaluate the waste materials in the inactive state and to improve some of the mechanical and insulation properties of the Sorel cemented samples. In this study the flexural and compressive strengths, thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, ultrasound transition velocity, unit weight, water absorption and apparent porosity, bulk expansion, alkali silica reaction (ASR), surface area analysis (BET) and microstructures of samples were investigated. The reference samples were Sorel cement (SC), the other samples were made of mixtures of SC, pumice (P), air-entraining additive (AEA), Afşin Elbistan fly ash (AEFA), wood and corncob shavings (WS, CS). According to the findings, it can be said that while the flexural and compressive strength of the lightweight aggregate samples decreased compared to the reference sample, there were improvements in heat and sound insulation properties. The determined values differed according to the type and ratio of lightweight aggregates. It was observed that the increase in the ambient temperature of the SC samples had a positive effect on the flexural and compressive strength values up to 100 °C, while it caused a decrease in the strength values after a certain temperature. It was seen that the strength values of SC samples kept in water decreased due to the cracks formed. The results showed that the samples produced with Sorel cement had high strength. Sample strengths produced with pumice used as aggregate are higher than those with wood chips and corncob sawdust. It was determined that Sorel cement could not be used together with AEFA because the samples were shattered. No incompatibility was observed with AEA and WS additives either; however, the strength value was low in those with CS added.