Mechanical properties of no-fines bloated slate aggregate concrete for construction application, experimental study

The paper presents investigation on the mechanical characteristics of no-fines bloated slate aggregate concrete (BSAC) through laboratory testing. The BSAC concrete employ locally available coarser aggregates formed of slate (clay rock), with no fine aggregates, where aggregate-to-aggregate bond is achieved through water-cement paste resulting in significantly lightweight concrete. Laboratory tests were conducted on cubes and cylinders to estimate the basic mechanical properties i.e. compressive strength, density, stress-strain behavior, Young modulus, etc., of BSAC concrete required in the design and analysis of concrete construction works using engineering tools. The effect of water-cement ratio and aggregate-cement ratio is also investigated for essential optimization. It was found that the strength of no-fines BSAC is lower than that of normal weight concrete, but appears to be sufficiently enough for specialized construction works where compressive stress demand is not very high. Its application in the construction industry may include core work in concrete like sandwich panels, drainage layers under reservoir and basement floors, paving and lightweight screed for leveling of floors and roofs, as a damp-proofing material, etc.