Özet:

Structural lightweight concretes have the potential to be used in road pavements and bridge decks due to their properties such as sufficient wear resistance, high impermeability, superior freeze-thaw resistance and ductile behavior. However, road pavements are directly exposed to nitric acid and sulfuric acid solutions created by the exhaust gases of transportation vehicles in humid environments. Therefore, the concrete to be used in road pavements must be resistant to these acid effects. In addition, sufficient strength must be guaranteed when used as pavement material. The aim of this study is to produce lightweight concrete suitable for road pavements and other structures exposed to acid effects. For this, the effect of silica fume (SF) and fly ash (FA) on acid resistance and strength development of lightweight concrete with perlite aggregates was investigated. Five different lightweight concrete mixtures were produced by substituting 0%, 5%SF, 10% SF, 10%FA, 20% FA instead of cement by weight. Natural perlite rock has been used as an aggregate source in order to provide high strength and lightness. The cylindrical samples produced were kept in lime saturated water cure for 120 days and their compressive strength was measured on the 28th, 56th, 90th and 120th days. In addition, in order to monitor the acid resistance, the strength changes of the samples exposed to 5% sulfuric acid and 5% nitric acid solution after 28 days of standard curing were followed until the 120th day. Results show that, SF and FA additives increase the compressive strength especially at older ages. In case of 10% SF, the 120-day strength value increased by 18.6% and reached 34.5 MPa. Also, lightweight perlite concrete is highly resistant to nitric acid and sulfuric acid effects. In the case of 92 days of nitric acid and sulfuric acid exposure, the strength losses are only 5.2% and 13.4%, respectively. In order to fully benefit from SF and FA, concretes must be adequately cured before acid attack. It has been concluded that it is possible to produce high-strength and acid-resistant lightweight concretes suitable for road pavements and many other structural elements by using natural perlite aggregate.

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