ABSTRACT
Large amounts of powders have been collected in quarries and storage of these by-product dusts is a serious environmental concern. However, these materials may be used as a filler in self-compacting concrete (SCC), which requires a large amount of fines in its composition. Thus, in this paper, the effects of limestone filler, diabase, and gneiss quarry powder on the properties of self-compacting concrete were investigated. The influence of the mineralogy, shape and particle size distribution were evaluated by rheometry, and by fresh and hardened concrete properties. SCC containing gneissic or diabasic powder can show rheological parameters values very similar to those of SCC containing limestone filler when the material has the same particle size to that of an usual limestone filer (d50 between 30 e 40 um). SCC containing diabasic powder showed higher compressive strength than that of SCC containing limestone filler or gneiss powder. It was found that diabasic and gneissic quarry powders could be used successfully for producing SCC, although a higher superplasticizer content was required than that of SCC containing limestone filler.
Keywords:
quarry dust; rheology; SCC
