Mechanical properties of lightweight aggregate concrete produced with waste materials via cold bonded and sintered techniques

There will be a steady increase in demand for aggregates in the near future, but limited natural reserves will not be able to respond to this demand due to the risk of depletion. Artificial aggregate production is one of the new methods for sustainable, environmentally friendly material production. Fly ash (FA), ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS), and quartz powder (QP) were utilized in the production of artificial lightweight aggregate (LWA) by using two different techniques known as cold-bonding and sintering pelletization. In the present study, the prepared concrete samples with the artificial aggregates were subjected to compressive, tensile, flexural, and bonding tests. The test results demonstrated that the bonding, tensile, and compressive strength values of lightweight concrete with a 20% GGBFS coarse aggregate replacement ratio of lightweight aggregates increased by 11%, 12%, and 30%, respectively. Moreover, it has been observed that a 41% increase in compressive strength is possible with a 40% QP coarse aggregate replacement ratio of lightweight aggregates. Finally, in addition to significantly impacting the mechanical properties of the lightweight concrete produced via artificial lightweight aggregates, the study demonstrated that it is possible to control and reduce the harmful environmental effects of waste materials, such as FA, GGBFS, and QP in the present study.