A Study on Mechanical Properties of Concrete Incorporating Aluminum Dross, Fly Ash, and Quarry Dust

The Effect of Secondary Aluminum Ash on the Properties of Reactive Powder Concrete

Secondary aluminum ash is a kind of common solid waste which will pollute the environment without any treatment. In this study, the influence of secondary aluminum ash on the rheological properties and the initial setting time of fresh reactive powder concrete (RPC) are researched. Meanwhile, the mechanical properties and the drying shrinkage rates of RPC with the secondary aluminum ash are determined. The electrical parameters of RPC with the secondary aluminum ash are measured. Scanning electron microscopy is obtained to reflect the internal structure of RPC. Results show that the addition of secondary aluminum ash can lead to decreasing the fluidity and increase the yield shear stress of fresh RPC paste by varying rates of 16.1% and 58.3%, respectively. The addition of secondary aluminum ash can decrease the flexural and compressive strengths of RPC cured for 1 day by the decreasing rates of 0~18.7% and 0~19.3%. When the curing age is 28 days, the flexural and compressive strengths of RPC are increased by 0~9.1% and 0~19.1% with adding the secondary aluminum ash. The secondary aluminum ash can promote the condensation of RPC. The addition of the secondary aluminum ash can decrease the electrical resistance of RPC by an order of magnitude. The relationship between the electrical resistance and the electrical reactance fits the quadratic function equation. The electrical resistance of the pore solution increases in the form of a quadratic function with the mass ratio of the secondary aluminum ash. The dry shrinkage rates of RPC cured for 1 day and 28 days are decreased by 0~36.4% and 0~41.3% with the increasing dosages of secondary aluminum ash. As obtained from the microscopic testing results, the secondary aluminum ash can improve the compactness of hydration products.

Prediction and optimization of properties of concrete containing crushed stone dust and nylon fiber using response surface methodology

Over-extraction of aggregates from natural sources with rapid urbanization as well as massive waste generation in construction industry have imposed the need to utilize waste material as concrete constituent. Crushed Stone Dust (CSD) is such a supplementary material that can be utilized for the production of sustainable concrete. This study attempts to predict and optimize fresh and hardened properties of concrete utilizing CSD as a partial replacement of natural fine aggregate and Nylon Fiber (NF) as fiber reinforcement using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). A three-level factorial design of Box-Behnken was incorporated to investigate the effect of CSD, NF and W/C as three independent variables on compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, fresh density and workability of concrete as desired responses. All the developed probabilistic models were found to be significant in predicting the responses at 95% confidence level. Regression analysis in terms of correlation coefficient, coefficient of determination, coefficient of variation, adequate precision, chi-square, mean square error, root mean square error, and mean absolute error also indicated the accuracy and functionality of the developed models. The results reveal that both compressive and splitting tensile strength increase with increased NF content, but the rise in CSD percentages beyond a certain level has negative impact on strength of concrete. However, fresh density and workability of concrete show a declining trend with rise in both CSD and NF levels. From multi-objective optimization, 20% CSD, 0.75% NF and W/C of 0.49 have been found to be the optimum proportions for concrete mixture with a desirability of 0.915. Finally, an experimental validation was carried out with optimum mixture contents and relative error between the experimental and predicted optimized values was observed to be less than 5%.

Effects of Hydrolysis Parameters on AlN Content in Aluminum Dross and Multivariate Nonlinear Regression Analysis

Aluminum dross, as a hazardous waste product, causes harm to the environment and humans, since the AlN it contains chemically reacts with water to produce ammonia. In the present study, a formula for modifying the AlN content in aluminum dross is proposed for the first time, by investigating the components of aluminum dross and changes in their respective contents during the hydrolysis process. Meanwhile, the effects of such hydrolysis parameters as time, temperature, and rotational speed on the hydrolysis rate of aluminum dross are explored. Furthermore, regression analysis is performed on the hydrolysis parameters and objective functions. The results show that as the reaction time increases, the variation in AlN content in aluminum dross decelerates gradually after modification. The hydrolysis rate is the fastest in the initial 4 h, which essentially stagnates after 20 h. The rise in temperature can significantly accelerate the AlN hydrolysis in aluminum dross, while the rotational speed has a non-obvious effect on the hydrolysis rate of AlN in aluminum dross. Regression analysis and secondary simplification are performed on the hydrolysis parameters and the modified AlN content, revealing that the relative error between the theoretical and experimental values is ≤ ±9.34%. The findings of this study have certain guiding significance for predicting and controlling modified AlN content in aluminum dross during hydrolysis.

Study on the Effect of Amorphous Silica from Waste Granite Powder on the Strength Development of Cement-Treated Clay for Soft Ground Improvement

Granite powder (stone powder), a waste product generated from stone quarries, is increasingly being reused in cement-treated clays. The particle size of stone powders affects the cement-clay reaction by either increasing or reducing the unconfined compressive strength (UCS). This study investigated this phenomenon by separating stone powder from the same batch at the quarry into five particle sizes (A, B, C, D and E: 106–75 µm, 40–75 µm, 20–40 µm, <20 µm and 106–<1 µm, respectively). Flow value, fall cone, UCS and thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray fluorescence, electrical conductivity and NaOH digestion tests were conducted. It was discovered that stone powder had an amorphization rate of up to 1.45 % (14.5 mg/g of amorphous silica); hence, it was pozzolanic. However, the amorphousness varied with the particle size of the material in the order of D > E > C > B > A, which translated into UCS variation in the same order. Stone powders D and E played two roles in UCS development, i.e., nucleation of cementitious products and reaction with Ca(OH)2 to increase the UCS higher than the control sample. Linear regression equations determined the minimum concentration of amorphous silica for a UCS increment as 9.4 mg/g.

Preparation of Sintered Brick with Aluminum Dross and Optimization of Process Parameters

Aluminum dross is produced in the process of industrial production and regeneration of aluminum. Currently, the main way to deal with aluminum dross is stacking and landfilling, which aggravates environmental pollution and resource waste. In order to find a green and environmental protection method for the comprehensive utilization, the aluminum dross was used as raw materials to prepare sintered brick. Firstly, the raw material ratio, molding pressure and sintering process were determined by single factor test and orthogonal test, and the mechanism of obvious change of mechanical strength of sintered brick was studied by XRD and SEM. The experimental results show that, the optimal formula of sintered brick is 50% aluminum dross, 37.50% engineering soil and 12.50% coal gangue. The optimum process parameters are molding pressure 10 MPa, heating rate 8 °C/ min, sintering temperature 800 °C, holding time 60 min. The samples prepared under the above formula and process parameters present outstanding performance, and the compressive strength, flexural strength and water absorption rate are 16.21 MPa, 3.42 MPa and 17.12% respectively.