Influence of marble and limestone dusts as additives on some mechanical properties of concrete

Abstract

In this study, some mechanical properties of concrete containing marble dusts (MD) and limestone dusts (LD) were investigated. Seven concrete mixtures were produced in three series with control mixes having 400 kg cement content. These control mixes were modified to 5, 10 and 15 % MD and LD in place of fine sand aggregate. The compressive strengths of concrete were measured for 7, 28, 90 and 360 days and sodium sulphate resistance were for 12 months. Also, abrasion resistance and water penetration of concretes were investigated. Results indicate that MD and LD fine aggregate concrete has good workability and abrasion resistance is comparable to that of conventional concrete. They also showed that maximum abrasion rate is obtained from control specimen, while minimum abrasion rate is obtained from MD3 specimens. Abrasion resistance is increased as the rate of fine MD and LD is increased. Furthermore, the results indicated that the increase in the dust content caused a significant increase in the sodium sulphate resistance of the concretes. Therefore, the studied MD and LDcan be used for more durable concrete production.   Key words: Concrete, mechanical properties, marble, limestone, dust.