Properties of cement based lightweight composites produced by using red soil

It has been determined that sand, gravel and stones formed as a result of volcanic rocks changing over time have different colors. The use of these colored sand, gravel and stones as aggregates in concrete is important as it can be a new natural resource for concrete. It is clearly seen that the research of aggregates that can be used instead of limestone and limestone-based aggregates used in concrete is a popular research area. Colored soil, sand, gravel etc. aggregates can be partially or completely replaced with limestone-based aggregates in concrete to produce concrete and reinforced concrete materials. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the usability of red soil naturally formed from volcanic rocks located between Terzili-Delice villages of Yozgat in the production of concrete. For this purpose, red soil was added to the mortar mixtures at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% by weight of cement. Prismatic mortar samples with dimensions of 40x40x160 mm3 were produced from mixtures prepared for water/cement (w/c) ratios of 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6. Physical properties of the produced samples such as dry unit weight, porosity, thermal conductivity coefficient, water absorption, ultrasound transmission rate and mechanical properties such as compressive and flexure strength were determined. According to the results obtained, as the water/cement ratio increases in samples with the same red soil content, water absorption, unit weight, thermal conductivity coefficient and ultrasound transmission rate increase. On the other hand, a decrease was observed in the compressive strength, flexural strength, and thermal conductivity coefficients of the samples. 2024, xiii + 57 Pages Key Words: Red soil, cementitious composite, pumice, lightweight composites