Investigation of strength and durability properties of concrete produced with different types of aggregates

In this study, concrete production was carried out using natural stone aggregates (NA) and crushed stone aggregates (CA). The produced concretes had two different water/cement ratios of 0.45 and 0.65. In addition, concrete series with blast furnace slag and without blast furnace slag have also been produced. Thus, a total of 8 concrete series were produced. The effects of aggregate type, water/cement ratio and blast furnace slag utilization on the physical, mechanical and durability properties of the concretes were investigated by performing various experiments on the concrete samples produced. The produced concrete specimens were exposed to a 10% sodium sulfate solution and the physical, mechanical, and durability properties of the concretes were observed again. The produced concrete specimens consisted of 100x100x100 mm cubes and  100x200 mm cylinders. Porosity, ultrasonic pulse velocity, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, electrical resistivity, and sulfate resistance tests were performed on the specimens. As a result, it was concluded that concretes produced with crushed stone aggregates exhibited higher strength and durability properties compared to concretes produced with natural stone aggregates.