Geomechanics and Engineering

Techno-Press (테크노프레스)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Effects of activated carbon on the compressive strength of Portland cement concrete

  • Sungmin Youn (Department of Civil Engineering, Marshall University) ;
  • Andrew Ball (Department of Civil Engineering, Marshall University) ;
  • Claire Fulks (Department of Civil Engineering, Marshall University) ;
  • Sanghoon Lee (Department of Computer Sciences and Electrical Engineering, Marshall University) ;
  • Sukjoon Na (Department of Civil Engineering, Marshall University)
  • Received : 2022.11.10
  • Accepted : 2023.02.26
  • Published : 2023.04.25
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

A series of experiments were performed to evaluate the effects of activated carbon on the compressive strength and air content of Portland Cement Concrete (PCC). Activated carbon/PCC composites were prepared by mixing concrete components with commercial activated carbon granules with weight fractions of 0, 0.5%, 1%, and 2% to cement. All PCC specimens were then tested for compressive strength on 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. The experimental results showed that adding 0.5% of activated carbon increased the compressive strength significantly over the curing periods compared to the normal PCC without activated carbon. For the specimens has 0.5% activated carbon, the 7, 14, 21, and 28-day compressive strengths increased by 28.7%, 22.2%, 26.8%, and 22.9%, respectively. However, adding excessive amounts of more than 1% activated carbon had a minimal effect on the compressive strength or even decreased it, which agrees with other studies. Regarding the air contents of the mixtures, adding activated carbon decreased the air content from 3.6% to around 1.5%. The surface morphologies of fine aggregates and activated carbon particles were compared using a novel image processing technique. The results indicated that the surface of activated carbon significantly differs from that of aggregates.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The authors gratefully acknowledge the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences at Marshall University for their support during the experiments of this study. Patrick Quinlan, Jr.is acknowledged for their assistance in material preparation and strength analysis. We used equipment located in the Marshall University Molecular and Biological Imaging Center for the SEM portion of the work, and we thank Michael L. Norton and David Neff for training and assistance.

References

  1. ASTM (2007), "ASTM C150-07, standard specification for Portland cement", https://doi.org/10.1520/C0150-07. 
  2. ASTM (2009), "ASTM C231-09a, standard test method for air content of freshly mixed concrete by the pressure method", https://doi.org/10.1520/C0231-09A. 
  3. ASTM (2014), "ASTM C192/C192M-14, standard practice for making and curing concrete test specimens in the laboratory", https://doi.org/10.1520/C0192_C0192M-14. 
  4. ASTM (2015), "ASTM C128-15, standard test method for relative density (specific gravity) and absorption of fine aggregate", https://doi.org/10.1520/C0128-01. 
  5. ASTM (2018), "ASTM C33/C33M-18, standard specification for concrete aggregates", https://doi.org/10.1520/C0033_C0033M18. 
  6. ASTM (2020), "ASTM C143/C143M-20, standard test method for slump of hydraulic-cement concrete", https://doi.org/10.1520/C0143_C0143M-20. 
  7. ASTM (2021), "ASTM C39/C39M-21, standard test method for compressive strength of cylindrical concrete specimens", https://doi.org/10.1520/C0039_C0039M-21. 
  8. Chhun, K.T., Choo, H., Kaothon, P. and Yune, C.Y. (2020), "Experimental study on the strength behavior of cement-stabilized sand with recovered carbon black", Geomech. Eng., 23(1), 31-38. https://doi.org/10.12989/gae.2020.23.1.031. 
  9. Chin, C.O., Yang, X., Kong, S.Y., Paul, S.C., Susilawati and Wong, L.S. (2020), "Mechanical and thermal properties of lightweight concrete incorporated with activated carbon as coarse aggregate", J. Build. Eng., 31, 101347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2020.101347. 
  10. Cuthbertson, D., Berardi, U., Briens, C. and Berruti, F. (2019), "Biochar from residual biomass as a concrete filler for improved thermal and acoustic properties", Biomass Bioenergy, 120, 77-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2018.11.007. 
  11. Gao, T., Shen, L., Shen, M., Chen, F., Liu, L. and Gao, L. (2015), "Analysis on differences of carbon dioxide emission from cement production and their major determinants", J. Cleaner Production, 103, 160-170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.11.026. 
  12. Haralick, R.M., Shanmugam, K. and Dinstein, I. (1973), "Textural Features for Image Classification", IEEE T. Syst. Man Cy., SMC-3(6), 610-621, https://doi.org/10.1109/TSMC.1973.4309314. 
  13. Horgnies, M., Dubois-Brugger, I. and Gartner, E.M. (2012), "NOx de-pollution by hardened concrete and the influence of activated charcoal additions", Cement Concrete Res., 42(10), 1348-1355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2012.06.007. 
  14. Jawad, A.H., Abdulhameed, A.S., Wilson, L.D., Hanafiah, M.A.K.M., Nawawi, W.I., Alothman, Z.A. and Khan, M.R. (2021), "Fabrication of schiff's base chitosan-glutaraldehyde/activated charcoal composite for cationic dye removal: Optimization using response surface methodology", J. Polym. Environ., 29(9), 2855-2868. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-021-02057-x. 
  15. Jia, J.Y. and Gu, X.L. (2021), "Effects of coarse aggregate surface morphology on aggregate-mortar interface strength and mechanical properties of concrete", Constr. Build. Mater., 294, 123515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123515. 
  16. Justo-Reinoso, I., Caicedo-Ramirez, A., Srubar, W.V. and Hernandez, M.T. (2019), "Fine aggregate substitution with acidified granular activated carbon influences fresh-state and mechanical properties of ordinary Portland cement mortars", Constr. Build. Mater., 207, 59-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.02.063. 
  17. Justo-Reinoso, I., Srubar, W.V., Caicedo-Ramirez, A. and Hernandez, M.T. (2018), "Fine aggregate substitution by granular activated carbon can improve physical and mechanical properties of cement mortars", Constr. Build. Mater. 164, 750-759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.12.181. 
  18. Kalantari, B. (2011), "Strength evaluation of air cured, cement treated peat with blast furnace slag", Geomech. Eng., 3(3), 207-218. https://doi.org/10.12989/gae.2011.3.3.207. 
  19. Krou, N.J., Batonneau-Gener, I., Belin, T., Mignard, S., Javierre, I., Dubois-Brugger, I. and Horgnies, M. (2015), "Reactivity of volatile organic compounds with hydrated cement paste containing activated carbon", Build. Environ., 87, 102-107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.01.025. 
  20. Lekkam, M., Benmounah, A., Kadri, E.-H., Soualhi, H. and Kaci, A. (2019), "Influence of saturated activated carbon on the rheological and mechanical properties of cementitious materials", Constr. Build. Mater., 198, 411-422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.11.257. 
  21. Mahoutian, M., Lubell, A.S. and Bindiganavile, V.S. (2015), "Effect of powdered activated carbon on the air void characteristics of concrete containing fly ash", Constr. Build. Mater., 80, 84-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.01.019. 
  22. Manz, K.E., Haerr, G., Lucchesi, J. and Carter, K.E. (2016), "Adsorption of hydraulic fracturing fluid components 2-butoxyethanol and furfural onto granular activated carbon and shale rock", Chemosphere, 164, 585-592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.09.010. 
  23. Na, S., Lee, S. and Youn, S. (2021), "Experiment on activated carbon manufactured from waste coffee grounds on the compressive strength of cement mortars", Symmetry, 13(4), 619. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13040619. 
  24. Qin, Y., Pang, X., Tan, K. and Bao, T. (2021), "Evaluation of pervious concrete performance with pulverized biochar as cement replacement", Cement Concrete Compos., 119, 104022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2021.104022. 
  25. Rekha, L.A., Keerthana, B. and Ameerlal, H. (2016), "Performance of fly ash stabilized clay reinforced with human hair fiber", Geomech. Eng., 10(5), 677-687. https://doi.org/10.12989/gae.2016.10.5.677. 
  26. Taha, M.R., Alsharef, J.M., Khan, T.A., Aziz, M. and Gaber, M. (2018), "Compressive and tensile strength enhancement of soft soils using nanocarbons", Geomech. Eng., 16(5), 559-567. https://doi.org/10.12989/gae.2018.16.5.559. 
  27. Tefera, D.T., Hashisho, Z., Philips, J.H., Anderson, J.E. and Nichols, M. (2014), "Modeling competitive adsorption of mixtures of volatile organic compounds in a fixed-bed of beaded activated carbon", Environ. Sci. Technol., 48(9), 5108-5117, https://doi.org/10.1021/es404667f. 
  28. Woolson, R.F. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test
  29. Youn, J.N., Sung, C.Y. and Kim, Y.I. (2009), "Physical and mechanical properties of porous concrete using waste activated carbon", J. Korean Soc. Agricultural Engineers, 51(4), 21-27. https://doi.org/10.5389/KSAE.2009.51.4.021. 
  30. Zhang, Y.G., Wang, Y., Yang, C.Y., Li, G.Q. and Yan, H.C. (2017), "Study on the reduction of radon exhalation rates of concrete with different activated carbon", Key Eng. Mater., 726, 558-563. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.726.558.