Eindhoven University of Technology MASTER Application of alternative materials in autoclaved aerated concrete Segers, S. Award date: 2016 Link to publication Disclaimer This document contains a student thesis (bachelor's or master's), as authored by a student at Eindhoven University of Technology. Student theses are made available in the TU/e repository upon obtaining the required degree. The grade received is not published on the document as presented in the repository. The required complexity or quality of research of student theses may vary by program, and the required minimum study period may vary in duration. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain Application of alternative materials in autoclaved aerated concrete 7SS37 Graduation project Student: S. Segers (Sven) Supervisors: ID no. 0927813 Dipl.-Min C. Straub (Chris) Academic year: 2015-2016 Dr. Dipl. Ing. M.V.A. Florea (Miruna) 7SS37 Graduation project Prof. Dr. Ir. H.J.H. Brouwers (Jos) Abstract The research project focused on the application of several alternative materials in autoclaved aerated concrete or AAC. AAC is an inorganic, porous and lightweight building material. Within this research, it is produced from quartz powder, Portland cement, lime, anhydrite, portlandite, aluminium powder (as aerating agent) and water. Autoclaving (hydrothermal curing) is then applied in order to greatly improve the strength. The main binding phase of the AAC matrix is tobermorite which is formed during the autoclaving. The final AAC material is a low-energy material which provides excellent lightweight, structural, insulating and durability properties. The investigated alternative materials are tuff ash, trass, basalt, copper slag and granite. Tuff ash is non-solidified volcanic ash and often contains other materials such as pumice and clay. On the other hand, trass is a solidified volcanic tuff rock which is finely milled and used for the production of trass- cement. Basalt is a commonly available volcanic rock material (consolidated basaltic lava). It is a very fine-grained silicate rock rich in magnesium and iron. Copper slag or Cu slag is a by-product of the pyro-metallurgical production of copper from copper ores. Finally, granite is a hard, coarse-grained, crystalline, volcanic rock essentially composed of quartz, feldspar and mica, which is commonly available all over the world. The utilisation of alternative materials has four major advantages. Firstly, production costs can be reduced because alternative materials are less expensive. Secondly, the environmental impact of the alternative material itself (e.g. no landfilling) and/or AAC material (e.g. replacing cement) can be reduced. Thirdly, the range of selection of raw materials can be expanded, and as last, the performance of AAC can be improved by the incorporation of alternative materials. As first, a characterisation of all the raw materials was conducted. Before the actual study of the alternative material, a small preliminary study was performed first during which mainly the influence on the workability was investigated. Next, reference samples and AAC samples incorporating the alternative material with various replacement levels were produced and autoclaved following an extensive production process. Tuff ash, basalt, copper slag and granite are applied as substitution material for quartz powder, whereas trass is applied as replacement material for Portland cement. During the production process, the green body properties (before autoclaving) are determined: the slump flow, the rising and setting development, the temperature development and the green body strength. After autoclaving, the final AAC samples are tested on several final properties: strength, density, porosity, thermal conductivity and drying shrinkage. The experimental results indicated that the water content plays a crucial role in the properties of AAC. The performance and the engineering applications of the AAC samples were assessed, and the application of the alternative material in AAC was evaluated. Ground tuff ash (mining residue, unused material) is successfully applied in AAC replacing quartz which makes up two thirds of the total amount of raw materials. Moreover, the complete replacement of quartz by GTA is achieved with the material still exhibiting relatively good properties. Substitution levels up to 40% are even beneficial for the performance of AAC. In conclusion, a possible useful application is provided for the tuff ash. Furthermore, the partial replacement of cement by trass is successfully achieved for substitution levels up to 75%. The optimum level is 50% which is beneficial for the AAC performance. Thus, the cement content can be lowered which leads to a reduced environmental impact and costs of the final AAC product. 2 The basalt has a lower water demand compared to the quartz powder and therefore influences the workability. The quartz in AAC can be completely replaced by basalt, although the resulting AAC material performs poorly. A certain amount of quartz is required because basalt is supposed to be an inert filler material. Substitution levels up to 80% are successful, while 60% is the optimal level as this provides the most enhanced performance, especially greatly improved strength and drying shrinkage. Only two samples with copper slag (industrial by-product) at substitution levels 20 and 40% were produced due to the limited availability of the material. The Cu slag partially replaces the quartz and serves both partially as an inert filler and partially reacts within the AAC matrix. The material affects the workability because it has a lower water demand. The copper slag samples exhibited great strength while the other properties are less affected. In addition, the drying shrinkage also improves. Although this study was limited, the conclusion is that the slag is a very promising alternative material to be applied in AAC. The commonly available granite is applied as substitution material for quartz. The granite has a lower water demand which required reductions in the water content of the mix designs. Within the AAC matrix, the granite grains (same as basalt and copper slag) partially act as strong inert fillers, while the quartz present in the granite reacts. Moreover, the behaviour of the granite, basalt and Cu slag in AAC is relatively similar. The granite can completely replace the quartz powder, and the resulting AAC still exhibits good properties which are similar as the reference properties. Substitution levels up to 80% result in an enhanced performance. In fact, AAC with 80% granite and 20% quartz is the best performing sample of the entire research. Unfortunately, the drying shrinkage could not be determined due to lack of time, but it is expected that the drying shrinkage also significantly improves, similar as observed for the basalt and copper slag. In conclusion, granite is the most promising alternative material to be applied as raw material in the production of AAC. 3 Table of contents List of figures and tables .................................................................................................................... 7  List of figures ........................................................................................................................... 7  List of tables........................................................................................................................... 10 List of symbols and abbreviations ................................................................................................. 12 List of cement notations ................................................................................................................... 13 List of minerals .................................................................................................................................. 13 1. Introduction................................................................................................................................ 14 1.1. Background ............................................................................................................................ 14 1.2. Problem statement ................................................................................................................ 14 1.3. Outline of the research – experimental work ....................................................................... 17 2. Production process ................................................................................................................... 19 2.1. Raw materials ........................................................................................................................ 19 2.1.1. Alternative materials ..................................................................................................... 20 2.2. Recipes................................................................................................................................... 25 2.3. Production process ................................................................................................................ 26 2.3.1. Raw materials preparation ............................................................................................ 26 2.3.2. Mixing ............................................................................................................................ 26 2.3.3. Casting ........................................................................................................................... 26 2.3.4. Rising and setting .......................................................................................................... 27 2.3.5. Autoclaving .................................................................................................................... 27 2.3.6. Cutting ........................................................................................................................... 27 3. Testing methodologies ............................................................................................................. 29 3.1. Drying - moisture content ..................................................................................................... 29 3.2. Slump flow ............................................................................................................................. 29 3.3. Initial setting time: Vicat test ................................................................................................ 30 3.4. Green body properties .......................................................................................................... 31 3.5. Density – porosity .................................................................................................................. 32 3.6. Strength ................................................................................................................................. 33 3.7. Thermal conductivity ............................................................................................................. 34 3.8. Drying shrinkage .................................................................................................................... 34 4. Results ......................................................................................................................................... 36 4.1. Reference samples ................................................................................................................ 36 4 4.1.1. Green body properties .................................................................................................. 36 4.1.2. Final product properties ................................................................................................ 38 4.2. Preliminary study: trass and tuff ash in AAC ......................................................................... 40 4.2.1. Slump flow ..................................................................................................................... 40 4.2.2. Initial setting time (Vicat test) ....................................................................................... 42 4.3. Application of trass and tuff in AAC ...................................................................................... 42 4.3.1. Mix designs .................................................................................................................... 42 4.3.2. General observations during production process ......................................................... 43 4.3.3. Green body properties .................................................................................................. 45 4.3.4. Final product properties ................................................................................................ 52 4.4. Preliminary study: basalt in AAC ........................................................................................... 62 4.4.1. Slump flow ..................................................................................................................... 62 4.4.2. Initial setting time .......................................................................................................... 63 4.5. Application of basalt in AAC .................................................................................................. 64 4.5.1. Mix designs .................................................................................................................... 64 4.5.2. General observations during production process ......................................................... 65 4.5.3. Green body properties .................................................................................................. 65 4.5.4. Final product properties ................................................................................................ 67 4.6. Application of copper slag in AAC ......................................................................................... 70 4.6.1. Mix designs .................................................................................................................... 70 4.6.2. General observations during production process ......................................................... 70 4.6.3. Green body properties .................................................................................................. 71 4.6.4. Final product properties ................................................................................................ 72 4.7. Application of granite in AAC ................................................................................................ 74 4.7.1. Preliminary study: slump flow ....................................................................................... 74 4.7.2. Mix designs .................................................................................................................... 75 4.7.3. General observations during production process ......................................................... 76 4.7.4. Green body properties .................................................................................................. 76 4.7.5. Final product properties ................................................................................................ 78 5. Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 81 5.1. Discussion of the reference samples ..................................................................................... 81 5.2. Preliminary study trass & tuff in AAC .................................................................................... 83 5.2.1. Influence on slump flow ................................................................................................ 83 5.2.2. Influence on setting ....................................................................................................... 84 5 5.2.3. Further research ............................................................................................................ 85 5.3. Application of trass & tuff ash in AAC ................................................................................... 86 5.3.1. Natural tuff ash .............................................................................................................. 86 5.3.2. Ground tuff ash ............................................................................................................. 90 5.3.3. Trass substituting Portland cement............................................................................... 97 5.3.4. Trass substituting quartz ............................................................................................. 103 5.4. Preliminary study basalt in AAC .......................................................................................... 105 5.4.1. Influence on slump flow .............................................................................................. 105 5.4.2. Influence on setting ..................................................................................................... 105 5.5. Application of basalt in AAC ................................................................................................ 107 5.5.1. Green body properties ................................................................................................ 107 5.5.2. Final properties ............................................................................................................ 109 5.5.3. General ........................................................................................................................ 114 5.6. Application of copper slag in AAC ....................................................................................... 117 5.6.1. Green body properties ................................................................................................ 117 5.6.2. Final properties ............................................................................................................ 118 5.6.3. General ........................................................................................................................ 121 5.7. Application of granite in AAC .............................................................................................. 122 5.7.1. Preliminary study ......................................................................................................... 122 5.7.2. Green body properties ................................................................................................ 123 5.7.3. Final properties ............................................................................................................ 125 5.7.4. General ........................................................................................................................ 128 6. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 132 References......................................................................................................................................... 135 Appendix 1: Recipes ........................................................................................................................ 136 6 List of figures and tables  List of figures Figure 1: Flow chart of the investigation process of the suitability of an alternative material in AAC. 16 Figure 2: Particle size distribution of the raw materials. 20 Figure 3: Particle size distribution of the alternative materials. 21 Figure 4: Ground tuff ash (left), natural tuff ash (middle) and trass (right). 22 Figure 5: Natural tuff ash placed in water. Different types of coarse particles can be observed. 22 Figure 6: Microscopy pictures of basalt powder. 23 Figure 7: Microscopy pictures of copper slag powder. 24 Figure 8: Microscopy pictures of the granite powder. 24 Figure 9: The mixer and mould. 26 Figure 10: The autoclave. 27 Figure 11: Test cubes with dimensions 10x10x10 cm³ are cut for raw density and compressive strength measurements (left), and test prisms with dimensions 4x4x16 cm³ are cut for drying shrinkage measurements (right). 28 Figure 12: Cone to determine the slump flow, developed by HESS AAC Systems B.V. 29 Figure 13: Cone to measure the penetration depth (cone height 10 cm), developed by HESS AAC Systems B.V. 32 Figure 14: Penetration tool to measure the green strength, developed by HESS AAC Systems B.V. 32 Figure 16: Polishing machine. 33 Figure 15: Compressive strength testing equipment. 33 Figure 17: Thermal conductivity measurement. 34 Figure 18: Length measurement instrument (height sample is 16 cm). 35 Figure 19: Penetration depth in function of time for several reference samples. 36 Figure 20: Temperature development of the reference green bodies. 37 Figure 21: Rising development of the reference green bodies. 37 Figure 22: Comparison of the strength of the different reference samples. 38 Figure 23: Comparison of the raw (left) and specific (right) density values of the different reference samples. 39 Figure 24: Comparison of the porosities of the different reference samples (left) and thermal conductivity plot of several reference samples (right). 39 Figure 25: Relationship between the substitution level and the slump flow of AAC mixtures incorporating trass or tuff ash. 41 Figure 26: Graphical representation of the initial setting times. 42 Figure 27: Left: Colour differences of the GTA samples (from top to bottom: 100%, 80%, 60%, 40% and 20% GTA). Right: Colour differences of the trass for cement samples (from top to bottom: 75%, 60%, 50%, 40% and 25% trass). Length of a sample is 16 cm. 43 Figure 28: Surface of the NTA1 sample (30 cm wide). 44 Figure 29: Microscopy pictures of several larger particles: a) dark-coloured aggregate. b) very big particle in NTA1 sample – interaction with AAC structure. c) pumice. 44 Figure 30: Microscopy pictures of several cut big particles: a) cut pumice aggregate. b) cut dark- coloured aggregate. c) detail of the dark-coloured aggregate and the AAC structure. 44 Figure 31: Crack in autoclaved aerated concrete sample (length 8 cm). 45 7 Figure 32: The large pores of the NTA 3 sample (top: NTA3, bottom: Reference 6). 45 Figure 33: Temperature development of the NTA samples. 46 Figure 34: Rising development of the NTA samples. 46 Figure 35: Penetration depth in function of time for NTA samples. 47 Figure 36: Temperature development of the GTA samples. 48 Figure 37: Rising development of the GTA samples. 48 Figure 38: Plot of the penetration depth in function of time for the GTA samples. 48 Figure 39: Plot of the green strength. 49 Figure 40: Temperature development of the trass substituting cement samples. 50 Figure 41: Rising development of the trass substituting cement samples. 50 Figure 42: Graph of the penetration depth in function of time for the trass substituting cement samples. 50 Figure 43: Temperature development of the trass substituting quartz sample (left). 51 Figure 44: Rising development of the trass substituting quartz sample (right). 51 Figure 45: Plot of penetration depth in function of time for the trass substituting quartz sample. 51 Figure 46: Plot of the strength of the NTA samples. 53 Figure 47: Plot of the density of the NTA samples. 53 Figure 48: Plot of the porosity of the NTA samples, on the left. 54 Figure 49: Plot of the thermal conductivity of the NTA samples, on the right. 54 Figure 50: Total length change in function of the substitution level (left) and relative length change in function of the moisture content (right) for the NTA samples. 54 Figure 51: Graphical representation of relationship between the GTA content and the strength. 55 Figure 52: Plot of the CaO to SiO ratio versus the A-value of the GTA samples. 56 2 Figure 53: Graphical representation of relationship between the GTA content and the density (raw + specific). 56 Figure 54: Graphical representation of relationship between the GTA content and the porosity. 57 Figure 55: Graphical representation of relationship between the GTA content and the thermal conductivity. 57 Figure 56: Graphical representation of relationship between the GTA content and the total length change. 57 Figure 57: Plot of the relative length change against the moisture content for the GTA samples. 58 Figure 58: Plot of the strength in function of the trass content (replacement of cement). 59 Figure 59: Plot of the CaO to SiO ratio versus the A-value of the trass replacing cement samples. 59 2 Figure 60: Plot of the density in function of the trass content (replacement of cement). 60 Figure 61: Plot of the porosity in function of the trass content (replacement of cement). 60 Figure 62: Plot of thermal conductivity in function of the trass content (replacement of cement). 61 Figure 63: Plot of the total length change in function of the trass content (replacement of cement). 61 Figure 64: Plot of the relative length change in function of the moisture content (trass replacing cement) 61 Figure 65: Relationship between the substitution level and the slump flow for different W/S ratios (pre-study basalt). 63 Figure 66: Graphical representation of initial setting time of basalt samples (preliminary study). 64 Figure 67: Picture of the basalt samples (length sample 16 cm). From bottom to top: increasing basalt content, starting from reference. 65 Figure 68: Temperature development of the green bodies of the basalt samples. 66 8 Figure 69: Rising development of the green bodies of the basalt samples. 66 Figure 70: Setting development (penetration depth) of the green bodies of the basalt samples. 67 Figure 71: Plot of the strength values of the basalt samples. 68 Figure 72: Plot of the density values of the basalt samples. 68 Figure 73: Plot of the porosity values of the basalt samples. 69 Figure 74: Plot of the thermal conductivity values of the basalt samples. 69 Figure 75: Total length change of the basalt samples against their substitution level. 69 Figure 76: Relative length change of the basalt samples against their moisture content. 70 Figure 78: Temperature development of the copper slag samples. 71 Figure 77: Picture of the copper slag samples including reference (width sample 16 cm). Bottom: reference, middle: 20% Cu slag sample and top: 40% Cu slag sample. 71 Figure 79: Rising development of the copper slag samples. 72 Figure 80: The setting development (penetration depth) of the copper slag samples. 72 Figure 81: Relationship between the strength and the copper slag content. 73 Figure 82: Relationship between the density and the copper slag content. 73 Figure 83: Relationship between the porosity and the copper slag content, on the left side. 74 Figure 84: Relationship between the thermal conductivity and the copper slag content, on the right side. 74 Figure 85: On the left side, the total length change against the substitution level. On the right side, relative length change against the moisture content. 74 Figure 86: Slump flow values of AAC mixtures with granite in function of the substitution level (preliminary study). 75 Figure 87: The granite samples (length sample 16 cm), from bottom to top: reference to granite 7. The colour differences are clearly visible. 76 Figure 88: Temperature development of the AAC samples with granite, including reference. 77 Figure 89: Rising development of the AAC samples with granite, including reference. 78 Figure 90: Penetration depth development in time of the AAC samples with granite, including reference. 78 Figure 91: Strength values of the AAC samples with granite in function of the substitution level. 79 Figure 92: Density values of the AAC samples with granite in function of the substitution level. 80 Figure 93: Porosity values of the AAC samples with granite in function of the substitution level. 80 Figure 94: Thermal conductivity values of the AAC samples with granite in function of the substitution level. 80 Figure 95: Raw density versus compressive strength (ground tuff ash). 93 Figure 96: Plot of the A-value (left) and thermal conductivity (right) against the porosity. 96 Figure 97: Plot of the A-value against the thermal conductivity. 96 Figure 98: Raw density versus compressive strength (trass replacing cement). 99 Figure 99: Thermal conductivity versus raw density (trass replacing cement). 101 Figure 100: Correlation between the A-value (left) and the thermal conductivity (right) with the porosity. 103 Figure 101: Correlation of the A-value with the thermal conductivity. 103 Figure 102: Raw density versus compressive strength (basalt). 110 Figure 103: Thermal conductivity versus porosity (basalt). 112 Figure 104: The raw density versus the porosity on the left side, the thermal conductivity versus the porosity on the right side. 115 9