Investigation of reactions against the chemical effects of the diatomite and zeolite substituted concretes

Durability is becoming increasingly important in modern times as well as strength in reinforced concrete structures design. Durability is a feature that manifests itself after the concrete hardened and being serviced sometimes even after a long period of time. The service life of concrete is affected negatively by water and hazardous chemicals. While focusing on the steel used in concrete in the investigation of the resistance to the harmful effects of the concrete, the final result could not be reached in studies on the durability of concrete. In this study, by using concretes which contains diatomite and zeolite in different cure environments, some studies have been done on how it affects the strength and durability of the concrete.In this context, to describe the materials used in this study and determine the properties of them, chemical, physical, mineralogical, molecular, thermal, and zeta potential analysis have been applied. In the study, reference (PÇ), 10% - 20% diatomit, 10% - 20% zeolite, diatomite and zeolite 5+5% - 10+10%, were substituted for Portland cement, a total of 7 different cements have been used. 54 units (15x15x15 cm) cube samples have been made for each concrete groups which were produced with these cements and this makes totally 378 units.While preparing the samples for the study, a mix design have been done (the amount of subsidence is between 7-10 cm).On samples of produced hardened concrete unit weight, water absorption, porosity, ultrasonic velocity, capillary water absorption, compressive strength and splitting tensile strength experiments have been done. Hardened concrete tests have been done on seven different types of concrete, for 28 days, in 23±2 oC water, then on the concrete samples which are cured In level 4 (H2SO4, MgSO4, NaCI, H2O) of the media factor and in the level 2 (56 and 90 days) of concrete age factor.As a result of experiments it has been identified that both the zeolite and diatomite substitution produced a positive effect on the concrete samples in terms of the strength and durability. When the results are evaluated, the appropriate rate of substitution was determined to be 10% for the concrete examples which contain diatomite and zeolite. With this rate it has emerged that; the values of especially 90 days year-old ultrasonic velocity, capillary water absorption, splitting tensile strength and compressive strength are better than the reference concrete samples. As a result, it is thought that it is suitable to use diatomite and zeolite which are among our country?s rich natural resources in the concrete industry and they have the capacity of being an alternative to the materials such as blast furnace slag, fly ash and silica fume which have a wide range of usage in the cement and concrete industry.