Browsing by Author "Benli A."

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Basalt fiber reinforced foam concrete with marble waste and calcium aluminate cement
(2023-02-01) Bayraktar O.Y.; Yarar G.; Benli A.; Kaplan G.; Gencel O.; Sutcu M.; Kozłowski M.; Kadela M.
As a typical cellular lightweight material, foam concrete is produced by mixing cement, water, aggregate and a suitable foaming agent and has a density usually below 1600 kg/m3. The large number of air spaces present in foam concrete ensures that the concrete has advantages such as lightweight, high fluidity during pouring, excellent thermal and sound insulation, superior fire resistance, and outstanding energy absorption capacity. Its high porosity and the connectivity of the pores, which can allow the entry of negative substances into the concrete environment, cause foam concrete to have a very low physico-mechanical and durability performance. To eliminate or reduce these disadvantages, this study adopted the use of basalt fibers (BF) as eco-friendly fiber type and calcium aluminate cement (CAC) as aluminous cement with waste marble powder (WMP) as aggregates in foam concrete. In that respect, 9 mixes with varying content of foaming agent (FC) and basalt fiber have been prepared. Assessment of mechanical performance was based on compressive and flexural strength after 6 h, 1, 7, and 28 days. Dry bulk density, thermal conductivity, porosity, water absorption, and sorptivity of the concretes were determined. Durability characteristics of the concretes were examined by dry shrinkage, high temperature, magnesium sulfate, sulfuric, and hydrochloric acids. The obtained results showed that the content of BF affected the compressive strength of the mixtures slightly negatively or positively depending on the FC. The lowest value in thermal conductivity was gained as 0.645 (W/m K) for the mixture incorporating 1% BF and 50 kg/m3 foam quantity. In addition, the foam concrete incorporating foam of 30 kg/m3 and 1% BF showed the best resistance against MgSO4. The mixture with 2% BF and 30 kg/m3 FC exhibited the lowest mass loss after HCI exposure.
Basalt fiber-reinforced foam concrete containing silica fume: An experimental study
(2022-04-04) Gencel O.; Nodehi M.; Yavuz Bayraktar O.; Kaplan G.; Benli A.; Gholampour A.; Ozbakkaloglu T.
Foam concrete refers to a type of low-density concrete that is commonly known to have favorable insulation and thermal performance due to its intentionally increased porosity. However, foam concrete is known to generally have a very low physico-mechanical and durability performance mainly due to its high porosity and the connectivity of the pores that can allow the entrance of unfavorable substances into the concrete medium. As a result, most often, foam concrete is considered inapplicable to major load bearing structural elements. To counter this tendency, this study adopted the use of basalt fibers with silica fume to increase the structural integrity of foam concrete. In that respect, 18 mixes with varying content of foaming agent, basalt fiber and silica fume have been prepared. Apparent porosity, water absorption, compressive, flexural and splitting tensile strength, sorptivity, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), drying shrinkage, freeze–thaw, thermal conductivity, and thermal resistance tests were performed to evaluate the physico-mechanical, durability, and insulation properties of the produced foam concretes. Based on the results, a highly durable foam concrete with a maximum compressive, flexural and splitting tensile strength of ∼ 46, 6.9 and 3.07 MPa, respectively, has been developed. Furthermore, it is observed that the inclusion of silica fume can significantly influence the pore network and enhance fiber-paste matrix. The effect of basalt fiber, however, is found to be more dependent on the use of silica fume, potentially due to its low integration with cementitious paste. The results of this study are significant and point out to the great potential for producing a highly durable and lightweight insulating foam concrete through the use of basalt fiber and silica fume.
Characteristics of hemp fibre reinforced foam concretes with fly ash and Taguchi optimization
(2021-08-02) Gencel O.; Yavuz Bayraktar O.; Kaplan G.; Benli A.; Martínez-Barrera G.; Brostow W.; Tek M.; Bodur B.
This study presents investigation on microstructural, mechanical, durability and thermal characteristics of hemp fibers (HFs) reinforced foam concrete with fly ash (FA) and Taguchi optimization approach. Three series of foam concretes mixtures were produced with foam contents of 50, 75 and 100 kg/m3. There is a reference mixture without HFs and FA. Thus, mixtures contain FA as cement replacement at the concentrations of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%. HFs with varying fiber length were introduced into mixes at concentrations of 0.75%, 1.5% and 3% by weight of cement. Slump test was done to see workability. Compression and flexural properties were determined at 7, 28 and 91 days. Durability was investigated by high temperature, freeze–thaw and sulphate exposures. Thermal conductivity, drying shrinkage, porosity, water absorption and dry unit weight properties of foam concretes were also investigated. Experimental results were analyzed using Taguchi optimization approach. Addition of HFs provides very large compressive and flexural strength enhancements. FA addition reduces the drying shrinkage and thermal conductivity while it increases the high temperature resistance of foam concretes.
Effect of cement clinker type, curing regime and activator dosage on the performance of one-part alkali-activated hybrid slag/clinker composites
(2023-06-01) Turkoglu M.; Bayraktar O.Y.; Benli A.; Kaplan G.
One candidate for a novel binder is alkaline hybrid cement, which has more than 70% supplemental cementitious materials (SCMs) and a trace amount of an alkali activator but less than 30% Portland cement. This cementitious material offers high early strength, a more compact microstructure, and outstanding resistance to chloride penetration and sulphate attack, in addition to the benefits of alkali-activated materials (AAMs) and Portland cement. This study presents the findings of an experimental investigation that aims to clarify the effect of cement clinker type, curing regime, and activator dosage on the fresh, mechanical, durability, and microstructure properties of one-part alkali-activated hybrid slag/cement clinker composites (AAHC). Flow diameter, setting time, compressive strength, dry unit weight, flexural strength, drying shrinkage, sorptivity, and transport properties were evaluated. It was also aimed to investigate its effectiveness at high-temperatures, sulphate exposure, alkali-silica reaction (ASR), and freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles. A total of twelve AAHC mixtures were made with two GBFS/Clinker ratios of 70/30 and 90/10 and an external addition of 10% and 20% one-part alkali activator. Three cement clinker types and three curing regimes were adopted including oven, water, and steam. The results indicated that the water-cured mixture with GBFS/C3 ratio of 90/10 and activated by 20%MS had the greatest compressive strength of about 65 MPa. Steam and oven-cured mixtures with GBFS/C3 ratio of 90/10 and activated by 10%MS performed the best high-temperature resistance. The same mixtures cured in steam also had the best F-T resistance.
Effect of cement dosage and waste tire rubber on the mechanical, transport and abrasion characteristics of foam concretes subjected to H2SO4 and freeze–thaw
(2021-10-04) Bayraktar O.Y.; Soylemez H.; Kaplan G.; Benli A.; Gencel O.; Turkoglu M.
This paper presents an experimental study of the effects of cement dosage and waste tire rubber as aggregate on the mechanical, transport and abrasion characteristics of foam concretes subjected to H2SO4 and freeze–thaw cycles. Foam concrete mixtures were made with two percentages 0, and 20 of silica fume (SF) as partial substitution of Portland cement (PC) and with 100% of waste tire rubber (WRA) as substitution of fine aggregates. Two groups of mixtures were prepared with SF contents of 0% and 20%. At each group of mixtures, three cement contents of 300, 400 and 500 kg/m3 and three foam contents of 20, 40 and 60 kg/m3 were used to produce concretes mixtures having water/binder (w/b) ratio of 0.75. Workability of fresh concretes were assessed by performing slump test. Compressive and flexural strength of the mixtures were determined after 7 and 28 days and transport properties were measured by means of porosity and water absorption after 28 days. Tests for shrinkage, sorptivity, abrasion, acid attack and freeze–thaw cycles of 30 and 60 were also performed in addition to microstructure investigations. An optimization was also performed. The results exhibited that increase in cement dosage resulted in the compressive strength by 204.50% maximum increment at cement content of 500 kg/m3 as compared to the mixture with dosage of 300 kg/m3 at foam content of 20 kg/m3. Based on the results, it was concluded that the lowest and highest shrinkage values of 5032 × 10−6 and 7065 × 10-6 mm/mm were gained for the mixtures with cement dosages of 300 kg/m3 and 500 kg/m3 and foam content of 20 kg/m3 respectively. The results also indicated that SF blended mixture with cement content of 500 kg/m3 foam content of 20 kg/m3 showed the best resistance after abrasion, F-T cycles and acid attack exposure.
Effect of using wastewater from the ready-mixed concrete plant on the performance of one-part alkali-activated GBFS/FA composites: Fresh, mechanical and durability properties
(2023-10-01) Bodur B.; Bayraktar O.Y.; Benli A.; Kaplan G.; Tobbala D.E.; Tayeh B.
Water scarcity is the world's most pressing issue, as concrete batching facilities and concrete mixer trucks produce massive amounts of wash water every day. Recycling waste water from ready-mix concrete factories' concrete washing water is critical for conserving hundreds of millions of tons of water and preventing water and soil contamination. This study examined the impact of waste washing water on the microstructural, durability, fresh, and mechanical characteristics of one-part alkali-activated ground blast furnace slag (GBFS)/fly as (FA) composites (AAC) containing partial and complete replacement of tap water under ambient conditions. GBFS was used as the main binder in the production of AAC. FA was also used as a binder at 0%, 25%, and 50% instead of GBFS. Sodium metasilicate (MS) was used as a one-part activator at two dosages 7.5% and 15% of the total binder. The fresh properties (setting time and flowability), physical properties, compressive and flexural strength (3, 7, 28, 90, and 180 days) and durability (high-temperature resistance, freeze, and thaw resistance, drying shrinkage, sorptivity, HCl and MgSO4 resistances, NaCl effect and alkali-silica reaction) and microstructure analysis were investigated. The findings showed that the use of wastewater (WW) instead of tap water (TW) contributed positively or had no serious negative effect on the mechanical and durability properties of AAC. Compressive strength of 72.37 MPa and 81.67 MPa was gained with the inclusion of 50%WW at 7.5 and 15 %MS content respectively. The findings showed that WW improved the workability of fresh ACC containing FA, reduced dry shrinkage and sorptivity of ACC with 15%MS content, and refined the pores of hardened ACC. The results also supported that WW contributed to the decrease in expansion due to ASR and sulfate expansion. Using WW improved the high temperature and F-T resistance of ACC mixtures containing 15%MS content.
Effect of waste marble powder and rice husk ash on the microstructural, physico-mechanical and transport properties of foam concretes exposed to high temperatures and freeze–thaw cycles
(2021-07-12) Gencel O.; Benli A.; Bayraktar O.Y.; Kaplan G.; Sutcu M.; Elabade W.A.T.
An experimental program was performed to evaluate the impact of rice husk ash (RHA) as cement replacement and waste marble powder (WMP) as sand replacement on the microstructural, mechanical and transport properties of foamed concrete exposed to high temperature and freeze–thaw cycles. For this, Portland Cement (PC) was replaced by RHA at 10% and 20%wt of binder and silica sand was replaced by WMP at 25% and 50%wt of fine aggregates to cast foamed concrete mixtures. Two different foam contents of 40 kg/m3 and 80 kg/m3 were used in the production of foamed concretes with water/binder (w/b) ratio of 0.70. Two reference mixtures were produced from silica sand and without RHA at each foam content. Other foam concretes were fabricated from 25% and 50% WMP instead of silica sand and 10% and 20% RHA instead of cement. Fresh properties of mixtures were evaluated by performing slump test. Transport properties of foam concretes were investigated, including porosity, sorptivity and water absorption after 90 days curing. Mechanical properties of foam concretes were investigated, including compressive and flexural strength ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) after 7, 28 and 90 days. Drying shrinkage and thermal conductivity of concretes were also studied after 90 days. Durability of concretes were also investigated after exposure to the temperature of 200, 400, 600 and 800 °C and freeze–thaw (F-T) cycles of 100 and 200 in addition to microstructure investigations. Results show that 10% RHA as cement substitute and 50% WMP as sand substitute give optimum percentage especially at late-age of 90 days at foam content of 40 kg/m3. The lowest drying shrinkage and sorptivity were obtained by using 10%RHA and 25%WMP. The results also indicate that water cooled specimens showed more strength loss than air cooled specimens after 200 °C. The worst F-T performance was obtained for the mixture containing 10% RHA and without WMP by 43.8 and 59.8% strength reductions.
Insulating and fire-resistant performance of slag and brick powder based one-part alkali-activated lightweight mortars
(2022-01-01) Koksal F.; Bayraktar O.Y.; Bodur B.; Benli A.; Kaplan G.
Waste brick powder (WBP) has enough pozzolanic characteristics to be employed as a supplemental cementing material in Portland cement-based concrete or as a precursor in the manufacture of alkali activated materials. This study was aimed to study the strength, thermal, microstructural and durability properties of ground blast furnace slag (GBFS) and WBP based one-part alkali-activated lightweight mortars (AAMs) produced with expanded vermiculite. One-part AAM mixtures were produced by using GBFS and WBP as binary precursors. Sodium metasilicate powder was used as the alkali activator. Two curing regimes namely heat curing at 75°C for 24 h and air curing at ambient conditions were adopted. GBFS was used as main binder and WBP was added at the rates of 0%, 10%, 25%, and 50% instead of GBFS. Four different mixtures were prepared by replacing GBFS at the rates of 0%, 10%, 25%, and 50% with WBP for each curing regime (totally eight mixtures). Expanded vermiculite powder were used as lightweight aggregates in all mixtures. The effects of WBP on AAM mixtures properties, including flowability, compressive strength, flexural strength, dry bulk density, thermal conductivity, porosity, and water absorption were studied. The effects of WBP and curing regime on drying shrinkage, sorptivity were also investigated. High temperature performance of the produced mixtures were determined. Results showed that air-cured WBP incorporated AAM mixtures exhibited better compressive strength, flexural strength, shrinkage, and sorptivity performance than the heat-cured WBP incorporated AAM mixtures. The air-cured AAM mixtures containing 25% WBP achieved the best results of 5.69 and 1.43 MPa for compressive strength and flexural strength at test age of 28 days. The heat-cured 50% WBP incorporated AAM mixture showed the best high temperature resistance and the lowest thermal conductivity.
Investigation of physico-mechanical, thermal properties and solar thermoregulation performance of shape-stable attapulgite based composite phase change material in foam concrete
(2022-04-01) Gencel O.; Ustaoglu A.; Benli A.; Hekimoğlu G.; Sarı A.; Erdogmus E.; Sutcu M.; Kaplan G.; Yavuz Bayraktar O.
Thermal energy storage (TES) by means of phase change materials (PCM) is of great concern to decrease heating and cooling loads. In building envelopes, one of the most efficient TES methods is integration of PCMs with construction materials for preventing temperature fluctuations by taking advantage of energy storage/release feature of PCMs. Aim of this research was to develop novel foam concretes containing shape-stable attapulgite (ATP) based composite PCM as TES material. Shape-stable ATP/Capric-Myristic acid eutectic mix composite (ATP/C-M) was incorporated into foam concrete at three different ratios (15, 30 and 45 wt%) and characterized. Impacts of ATP/C-M inclusion on physico-mechanic and TES characteristics of foam concretes including composite PCM (FCPCM) were worked systematically. DSC results showed that ATP/C-M composite melts at 22.12 °C with latent heat storage capacity of 74.97 J/g, whereas FCPCM-45 melts at 21.05 °C with latent heat storage ability of 10.98 J/g. Inclusion of ATP/C-M instead of silica sand decreased flow diameter of foam concretes. Compared to reference mixture FCPCM-0, compressive strengths of FCPCM-15, FCPCM-30 and FCPCM-45 samples were reduced in the range of 11–46% while reduction in flexural strength was found to be about 35–57% at 28th day. All FCPCM samples showed lower thermal conductivity values than the specified value and could be defined as better insulation materials. Solar thermoregulation performances of foam concretes containing ATP/C-M were comparatively tested in laboratory and also actual ambient conditions. Results showed that foam concretes with acceptable mechanical properties can be used for internal temperature controlling and energy saving in buildings.
Lightweight foam concrete containing expanded perlite and glass sand: Physico-mechanical, durability, and insulation properties
(2022-02-21) Gencel O.; Yavuz Bayraktar O.; Kaplan G.; Arslan O.; Nodehi M.; Benli A.; Gholampour A.; Ozbakkaloglu T.
Foam concrete refers to a type of concrete with high porosity that can be produced with or without aggregate. Foam concrete has generally superior thermal insulation properties compared to conventional concrete. Despite its major thermal benefits, the high content of Portland cement, as well as its very high porosity, makes foam concrete prone to physico-durability concerns such as drying shrinkage by allowing the entrance of chemicals and free water to the concrete pores. To address this and reduce the pore network connectivity, in this study, expanded perlite and fine-sized waste glass sand were used as the main aggregates in concrete mixes. In that respect, 10 mixes of foam concrete were produced with two foam contents of 50 and 100 kg/m3, with a constant water-to-binder ratio (w/b) of 0.5. In each mix, the dominated expanded perlite aggregate was replaced by waste glass sand having a size of < 2.36 mm. Apparent porosity, water absorption, compressive and flexural strength, sorptivity, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), drying shrinkage, freeze–thaw, alkali-silica reaction, thermal conductivity, and thermal resistance tests were performed to investigate the physico-mechanical, durability and insulation properties of the foam concrete. Based on the results, it is found that the addition of glass sand improves physico-mechanical and durability properties of foam concrete. The addition of expanded perlite increases the insulating properties of foam concrete, potentially due to the high porosity of expanded perlite compared to that of glass sand. The findings of this study point to the suitability of producing sustainable insulating foam concrete through the use of waste glass sand.
Physico-mechanical, durability and thermal properties of basalt fiber reinforced foamed concrete containing waste marble powder and slag
(2021-06-21) Yavuz Bayraktar O.; Kaplan G.; Gencel O.; Benli A.; Sutcu M.
Recently, the usage of industrial wastes for concrete production has played an important role for developing environmentally friendly building materials. This work focused on investigating physico-mechanical, durability and thermal properties of basalt fibers (BF) reinforced foamed concrete containing waste marble powder (WMP) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). Foamed concretes were fabricated with 50 kg/m3 and 100 kg/m3 contents of a protein-based foaming agent at 0.75 water/binder (w/b) ratio. Two control mixtures in which silica sand used as fine aggregates and containing no BF were developed at each foam content. Other foamed mixtures were produced with WMP as fine aggregates and GGBFS as white Portland cement (WPC) replacement at the rates of 0%, 30% and 60%. BF were also added to the mixtures at the rates of 0%, 1% and 2% by weight of cement. Fresh properties of mixtures investigated were slump and fresh unit weight. Experiments were also fulfilled to evaluate 7, 28, 90 and 180-day water-cured mechanical strengths. Porosity, water absorption and sorptivity were studied after 28 aged cured specimens. Dry unit weight, thermal conductivity and drying shrinkage properties of foamed concrete specimens were assessed on 28 aged specimens. High temperature and freeze–thaw durability of foamed concrete specimens were also examined. Results indicated that very high compressive and flexural strength enhancements of 179.49%, 141.79% and 139.91%, 93.18%, at 7 and 28 days were obtained using WMP and BF addition respectively. Coupling use of 30% GGBFS and 1%BF revealed the highest compressive strength of 32.57 MPa and lowest porosity value of 14.8% at foam content of 50 kg/m3.
Slag/diatomite-based alkali-activated lightweight composites containing waste andesite sand: mechanical, insulating, microstructural and durability properties
(2023-11-01) Bayraktar O.Y.; Yakupoglu U.; Benli A.
Sustainable one-part alkali activated slag/fly ash Geo-SIFCOM containing recycled sands: Mechanical, flexural, durability and microstructural properties
(Elsevier B.V., 2023) Bayraktar O.Y.; Bozkurt T.H.; Benli A.; Koksal F.; Türkoğlu M.; Kaplan G.
Slurry Infiltrated Fiber Concrete or Composite (SIFCOM) is a unique form of steel-fiber-reinforced cement composite that possesses exceptional toughness and superior mechanical properties like compressive, shear, tensile, and flexural strengths. New supplies of fine aggregate are required since the construction industry is experiencing natural sand shortage. By thoroughly evaluating workability, mechanical properties, flexural toughness, durability and microstructure, this study demonstrates the potential of various recycled sands from different sources in the manufacture of sustainable slag/fly ash one-part alkali activated SIFCOM (Geo-SIFCOM). Recycled concrete, brick and ceramic sands were used as a substitute of 10, 25 and 50% by volume of silica sand. Steel fiber ratios of 5%, 10%, and 15% were used and exposed to heat curing for 6, 24 and 48 h at 80 °C. Taguchi method was used to investigate the optimum mixture. The results showed that 24 h heat-cured mixture containing 25% recycled concrete sand and 15% fiber (C25F15) had the largest compressive strengths of 68.49 MPa, 74.53 MPa and 80 MPa at 7, 28, and 91 days, respectively. All 6 h – cured mixtures containing 100% slag exhibited the best resistance to freeze-thaw and the mixtures heat cured for 6 h demonstrated the best compressive strength resistance to elevated temperature and F-T cycles regardless of FA content. The largest flexural toughness was also assessed for the mixture with 50% brick sand and 15% fiber (B50F15) heat-cured for 6 h. The mixture with 50% FA and 50%slag (50% ceramic sand and 15% fiber) exhibited the best high temperature resistance.
The effect of limestone and bottom ash sand with recycled fine aggregate in foam concrete
(2022-08-15) Gencel O.; Balci B.; Bayraktar O.Y.; Nodehi M.; Sarı A.; Kaplan G.; Hekimoğlu G.; Gholampour A.; Benli A.; Ozbakkaloglu T.
To follow resource conservation, the production of optimized and sustainable structures through the use of insulating materials, such as foam concrete, has become a trend in construction industry. Although foam concrete has numerous benefits, the larger use of Portland cement in its mixture and its relatively low thermo-durability properties because of the low quantity of solid materials are of major concerns, challenging its large-scale applications. In that respect, this research evaluates the use of recycled fine concrete aggregate, limestone and bottom ash sand as the main aggregate materials to evaluate the physico-mechanical and thermo-durability properties of foam concrete. To that end, 25 mixes have been produced and a comprehensive series of tests including flowability, compressive and flexural strengths, water absorption, apparent porosity, drying shrinkage, sorptivity, abrasion resistance, thermal conductivity, along with the effect of elevated temperature and its respective cooling regime on foam concretes have been conducted in this study. The results show that foam concretes manufactured with bottom ash and recycled fine aggregates develop a considerably lower thermal conductivity values despite being outperformed in physico-mechanical properties by those mixes produced with limestone sand. Nonetheless, the inclusion of bottom ash sand is found to produce foam concretes with a comparable physico-mechanical and thermo-durability properties to mixes with limestone. The results of this study point to the suitability of utilizing alternative fine-sized aggregates, such as recycled fine aggregates along with bottom ash sand, in the production of foam concrete without compromising the insulating properties of the produced concrete.
The effect of recycled fine aggregates treated as washed, less washed and unwashed on the mechanical and durability characteristics of concrete under MgSO4 and freeze-thaw cycles
(2022-05-01) Bayraktar O.Y.; Kaplan G.; Benli A.
The objective of this work was to study the impact of recycled fine aggregates (RFA) treated as washed (W-RFA), less washed (L-RFA) and unwashed (U-RFA) on the transport, mechanical and durability characteristics of concrete under freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles and MgSO4 attack. Totally three groups of concrete mixtures were produced by replacing natural fine aggregates (NFA) with W-RFA, L-RFA and U-RFA at the percentages of 10, 20, 40 and 80% by weight of NFA. 12 mixtures incorporating RFA and reference mixture containing only NFA were fabricated. Compressive strength and splitting tensile strength were determined after curing age of 7 and 28 days. Nondestructive test of Schmidt rebound hammer after 28 days was also performed to assess the mechanical performance of the concretes. Physical and transport properties including dry density, porosity, water absorption and sorptivity of 28-day concrete specimens were explored too. Evaluation of the durability characteristics was determined under different F-T cycles and sulfate attack. Assessment of abrasion resistance of the concretes was done by abrasion test. Microstructural analysis, mass loss, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and relative dynamic elasticity modulus of the concretes were measured after conducting durability tests. The results indicated that 80%W-RFA incorporated concrete showed the compressive strength improvement considerably and achieved compressive strength of 51 MPa. 10% L-RFA and 10% U-RFA incorporated concretes exhibited compressive strength of above 52 MPa after 28 days curing. 40% W-RFA incorporated concrete with presented the best abrasion resistance after 7 and 28 days. 20%W-RFA incorporated concrete exhibited the best resistance under after 150 F-T cycles considering compressive strength.
The effect of steel fiber aspect-ratio and content on the fresh, flexural, and mechanical performance of concrete made with recycled fine aggregate
(2023-03-03) Yavuz Bayraktar O.; Kaplan G.; Shi J.; Benli A.; Bodur B.; Turkoglu M.
In order to solve the problem of low toughness and easy cracking of recycled aggregate concrete, steel fibers were incorporated to recycled fine aggregate concrete (RAC) to prepare a sustainable fiber-reinforced concrete. Steel fibers of various contents (20, 35, 50 and 65 kg/m3) and aspect ratios (l/d = 40 and 55) were incorporated to the RAC, and their fresh properties, mechanical properties and microstructure were investigated. The results show that the slump of RAC decreases with increasing fiber aspect ratio and content. Meanwhile, incorporating a small amount of steel fibers (l/d = 40, 20 kg/m3) improves the 28-d compressive strength of RAC, but with further increase in fiber aspect ratio and content, the compressive strength of RAC decreases. The incorporation of steel fibers greatly improves the splitting tensile strength and flexural strength of RAC, and the steel fibers with high aspect ratio have a higher gain in strength. The 28-d flexural strength of concrete with 65 kg/m3 steel fibers (l/d = 40) increases by 148.11 % relative to plain RAC, while the 65 kg/m3 steel fibers with an aspect ratio of 55 makes RAC with increases by 243.78 %. The mass loss of fiber-reinforced RAC under abrasion is also lower than that of plain RAC, and the steel fiber with high aspect ratio performs better. For the load–deflection response, the incorporation of fibers increases the peak load, and also increases the flexural toughness and post-cracking toughness, with the greatest gain for high aspect ratio fibers.
The impact of natural and calcined zeolites on the mechanical and durability characteristics of glass fiber reinforced cement composites
(2021-12-13) Kaplan G.; Coskan U.; Benli A.; Bayraktar O.Y.; Kucukbaltacı A.B.
In this paper, an experimental study of the effects of natural and calcined zeolites and glass fibers on the mechanical, transport and accelerated ageing characteristics of cementitious composites exposed to wetting–drying and freeze–thaw cycles was presented. Three reference mixtures were fabricated with the inclusion of glass fibers (GF) at the rates of 0, 1.5 and 3% by weight of cement and without zeolites as cement substitute.18 mixtures were produced with two percentages 15 and 30 of natural zeolites (NZ) and two different zeolites calcined at 600 °C and 800 °C (CZ6, CZ8) as partial substitution of white Portland cement (WPC) and 0, 1.5 and 3% addition of GF by weight of cement. Workability of fresh cement composites were assessed by performing slump test. Mechanical performance were evaluated by compressive and flexural strength at 7, 28 and 91 days. Dry unit weight, transport properties, drying shrinkage and sorptivity of the mixtures were also evaluated. Durability performance is evaluated by performing accelerated ageing, 60 and 120 freeze–thaw and 25, 50 and 75 wetting–drying cycles. The results exhibited that calcination increased the amorphous content and BET surface area and pozzolanic reactivity of natural zeolites. The mixtures with calcined zeolites performed better than the mixtures with natural zeolites when considering compressive and flexural strength at all curing ages. Based on the results, it was found that at later age of 91 days, replacing cement with 15% zeolites calcined at 600 °C and without glass fibers exhibited the compressive strength very close to the corresponding reference mixture R1. Similarly, the mixture with 15% zeolites calcined at 800 °C and 1.5% glass fibers revealed higher compressive strength than the corresponding reference mixture R2.
The impact of RCA and fly ash on the mechanical and durability properties of polypropylene fibre-reinforced concrete exposed to freeze-thaw cycles and MgSO4 with ANN modeling
(2021-12-27) Yavuz Bayraktar O.; Salem Taher Eshtewı S.; Benli A.; Kaplan G.; Toklu K.; Gunek F.
An experimental study has been conducted to investigate the impact of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) and fly ash (FA) on the transport, mechanical and durability properties of polypropylene fiber reinforced concretes. In this context, nine concrete mixtures with 25% FA as cement replacement (by wt.) and nine mixtures without FA were produced. RCA was used to replace natural coarse aggregates (NCA) at 0, 25 and 50% by wt. in all concrete mixtures. In addition, polypropylene fiber (PPF) was added to concrete mixtures at 0, 3 and 6% by volume. Mechanical performance was evaluated by compressive, splitting tensile strength at 7, 28 and 90 days and Schmidt rebound hammer at 90 days. Dry bulk density, water absorption, apparent porosity and sorptivity of concrete were also evaluated. Durability performance of concretes was evaluated by exposing to 50,100 and 150 freeze-thaw cycles and MgSO4 attack. Abrasion test on the concretes was also performed. After performing durability tests, compressive, splitting tensile strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, microstructural observations and mass loss of the concretes were assessed. An artificial neural network (ANN) was also modeled for predicting experimental data. The results indicated that combined use of RCA, FA and PPF improved the compressive strength considerably and approximately 60 MPa was obtained in concretes with 25 and 50% RCA. The use of RCA in concretes with 25% FA has improved the mechanical properties. The mixture with 25% RCA, 6%PPF and without FA and the mixture with 50% RCA, 3%PPF and FA showed the best abrasion resistance. Reference and the mixture with 0% RCA, 25% FA and 6% PPF exhibited the lowest strength loss after the MgSO4 attack. Reference and the mixture with 25% RCA, 25% FA and 3% PPF performed the best after 100F-T cycles in terms of compressive strength. With the Bayesian regularized algorithm, material quantities for the target concrete properties can be obtained. The main outcome of this study is that using RCA, FA and PPF in concrete can give better performance in terms of mechanical and durability performance than normal concrete.
The use of waste marble for cleaner production of structural concrete: A comprehensive experimental study
(2022-12-26) Gencel O.; Nodehi M.; Yavuz Bayraktar O.; Kaplan G.; Benli A.; Koksal F.; Bilir T.; Siddique R.; Ozbakkaloglu T.
Waste marble is a byproduct that is produced as a result of cutting and reshaping marble stone that is commonly used in the construction sector. From a sustainability perspective, waste marble can be a potential alternative to limestone sand with slightly reduced ecological footprint which is aligned with novel concepts, such as circularity of construction industry. To provide a comprehensive outline of marble's use as coarse aggregate in concrete production, this study adopted utilizing waste coarse marble aggregate (WCMA) at a quantity of 50% and 100% to substitute coarse limestone aggregates (also natural coarse aggregate (NCA)). Likewise, since marble stone is considered as a metamorphic rock with slightly different microspores, compared to limestone, three different water-to-cement ratios (w/c) of 0.35, 0.42 and 0.49 have also been used. Results show that concretes incorporating WMCA exhibit a slightly better mechanical performance than concretes incorporating NCA, given that the w/c ratio is enough to lubricate WMCA's surface but not to the point of increasing free water in concrete's microstructure. In other words, it is found that WMCA is relatively sensitive to the mixture's w/c ratio which can have a large impact on the resulting physico-mechanical and thermo-durability properties of the specimens. In this regard, despite the WMCA's slightly enhanced performance in certain thermo-durability tests, the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) areas are found to be more susceptible to deteriorating factors. Nonetheless, the result of this study is found to be significant and point to the suitability of utilizing WMCA as an alternative to NCA.