The effect of clay content in sands used for cementitious materials in developing countries

The cost of building materials in Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) is one of the single largest contributing factors to housing costs. They are often transported over relatively large distances at considerable expense. Local sands may contain significant amounts of clay, considered by l...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cement and concrete research 2007-05, Vol.37 (5), p.751-758
Main Authors: Fernandes, V.A., Purnell, P., Still, G.T., Thomas, T.H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Buildings. Public works
Cement concrete constituents
CEMENTS
Clay
CLAYS
COMPRESSION STRENGTH
Compressive strength
CONCRETES
Exact sciences and technology
Materials
MATERIALS SCIENCE
Properties and test methods
Properties of anhydrous and hydrated cement, test methods
Workability
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The cost of building materials in Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) is one of the single largest contributing factors to housing costs. They are often transported over relatively large distances at considerable expense. Local sands may contain significant amounts of clay, considered by local artisans to be detrimental to concrete strength; however, in an LEDC context, there is little evidence to support this. In this study, the compressive strength and workability of representative LEDC clay-contaminated concrete was determined. Clay-cement interactions were studied using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). Different clays appeared to have fundamentally different effects on both workability and strength. No chemical interactions were detected. It was concluded that satisfactory concrete could be made from clay-contaminated sand.
ISSN:0008-8846
1873-3948
DOI:10.1016/j.cemconres.2006.10.016