The use of the volcanic powders as supplementary cementitious materials for environmental-friendly durable concrete

Abstract

This study is part of a sustainable development policy that is dictated by the growing needs of material resources and the requirements of environmental protection. It addresses an investigation on the possibility of using volcanic powders as supplementary cementitious materials for environmental-friendly durable concrete. For this purpose, an experimental investigation was carried out to evaluate the mechanical resistances and the durability of mortars containing an amount of volcanic powders. Firstly, the work attempts to characterize several volcanic rocks (basalt, olivine andesite, amphibole-biotite andesite, amphibole andesite, hyodacite and scoria) from the mineral and chemical viewpoint and evaluate their pozzolanic activity. Relationships between chemical components of volcanic rocks and strength activity index were established. Secondly, it considers the mechanical strengths of the Portland cement mortars containing a variable percentage of volcanic powders (10, 15, 20, 25, and 30%). Performance energy for the production of volcanic powder cements was evaluated. At the end, the effects of aggressive chemical environments were investigated in terms of miscellaneous acidic attacks (H2SO4, HCl, HNO3 and CH3COOH). Furthermore, a supplementary cementitious material, used by many cement plants in Algeria, has been included in order to establish a comparative study.