Properties Of Concrete And Masonry Blocks Made Of Locally Available Scoria And Pumice Aggregates

Abstract

Scoria and pumice are obtained from rocks of volcanic origin and huge deposits of these rocks are available in Ethiopia, especially in the Rift
Valley area. Due to the fact that they are light in weight and the associated reduction in the overall dead weight of the structure on the foundation. they are used for structural concrete production world wide, mainly in the developed world. In this work, the potential use of these natural and local materials to produce structural and masonry lightweight aggregate concrete and blocks, respectively, is studied. The compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting-tensile strength, static modulus of elasticity, water absorption, and density of test specimens produced from various mix proportions were investigated. The porosity and depth :Jf carbonation were also determined. The test results indicated that it is possible to produce all-light weight scoria aggregate concrete with a compressive strength as high as 28 MPa within the normal range of cement content and using ordinary Portland cement. Positive results were obtained when pumice aggregate is used to produce masonry pumice blocks.

Keywords: Concrete, Carbonation, Compressive strength, Light weight aggregate, Porosity, Pumice, Scoria, Splitting-tensile strength