Performance characteristics of dredged silt and high-performance lightweight aggregate concrete

Dredged silt from reservoirs in southern Taiwan was sintered to make lightweight aggregates (LWA), which were then used to produce high-performance lightweight aggregate concrete (HPLWC). The HPLWC was manufactured using different amounts of mixing water (140, 150, and 160 $kg/m^3$) and LWA of different particle densities (700, 1100, and 1500 $kg/m^3$) at different W/b ratios (0.28, 0.32, and 0.4). Results show that the lightweight aggregates of dredged silt taken in southern Taiwan perform better than the general lightweight aggregates. In addition, the HPLWC possessed high workability with a slump of 230-270 mm, and a slump flow of 450-610 mm, high compressive strength of over 40 MPa after 28 days of curing, good strength efficiency of cement exceeding $0.1MPa/kg/m^3$, low thermal conductivity of 0.4-0.8 $kcal/mh^{\circ}C$, shrinkage of less than $4.8{\times}10^{-4}$, and high electrical resistivity of above 40 $k{\Omega}-cm$. The above findings prove that HPLWC made from dredged silt can help enhance durability of concrete and provide and an ecological alternative use of dredged silt.