Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791

Utilisation of high volumes of limestone

quarry wastes in concrete industry
(self-compacting concrete case)
Burak Felekoglu
Department of Civil Engineering, Dokuz Eylul University, 35160 Izmir, Turkey

Received 7 September 2006; received in revised form 4 December 2006; accepted 31 December 2006
Available online 15 February 2007

Abstract

In limestone quarries, considerable amounts of limestone powders are being produced as by-
products of stone crushers. High amounts of powders are being collected and utilisation of this
by-product is a big problem from the aspects of disposal, environmental pollution and health hazards.
In conventional concrete, the introduction of high volumes of limestone quarry dust to concrete mixes
is limited due to its negative effects on water demand and strength of concrete. However, these fines
can be efficiently utilised as viscosity enhancer particularly in special concrete (like self-compacting
concreteSCC) applications. Thus, the successful utilisation of this quarry dust in SCC could turn
this material into a valuable resource.
In this paper the usability of a quarry dust limestone powder in self-compacting paste and concrete
applications was investigated. In the first part, the physical and mechanical properties of cement pastes
incorporating quarry waste limestone powder (QLP) and a powder produced by direct grinding of
limestone (PLP) were compared. In the second part, the performance of quarry waste limestone powder
in SCC applications were tested and discussed. Results showed that, it is possible to successfully
utilise high amounts of quarry waste limestone powder in producing normal-strength SCCs. Among
its observed mechanical advantages, employment of quarry waste limestone powders improved the
economical feasibility of SCC production.
2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Quarry dust; Limestone powder; Self-compacting concrete; Cement paste; Compressive strength

Tel.: +90 232 412 7041; fax: +90 232 412 7253.
E-mail address: burak.felekoglu@deu.edu.tr.

0921-3449/$ see front matter 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2006.12.004
 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791 771

1. Introduction

In the last decade there has been an increase in the number of ready mixed concrete plants
in Turkey and subsequently the concrete production rate was increased. About 32 million m3
concrete was produced in 2004 (Cosgun and Esin, 2006; Arioz et al., 2007). It has been well
known that, depending on the strength class of concrete; approximately 6070% of ready
mixed concrete is composed of aggregate. In Turkey, calcareous aggregates are extensively
being used in ready mixed plants due to their low cost and the high availability. In limestone
quarries, considerable amounts of limestone powders are being produced as by-product of
stone crushers. These quarry dusts are detrimental to environment and may threat public
health if not hold by filtration systems. Thus, these powders should be collected by vacuum
filter systems (Fig. 1). These powder materials generally represent less than 1% of coarse
aggregate production. However, if fine aggregate is in question, the collected powder may
be as high as 25% of the crushed sand by weight. Considerably high amounts of powders
are being collected and utilisation of this by-product is a big problem. Most of the quarry
limestone powders are currently disposed in sanitary landfills or open-dumped into uncon-
trolled waste pits and open areas. Disposal of this material is a major problem for many
small businesses. Therefore the acceptable solution of this problem with a commercial value
is crucial. Disposal of QLP causes dust, environmental problem and pollution because of its
extremely fine nature. It contaminates the air with the storms in summer and spring seasons
and therefore causes serious health hazards including specifically asthma and lung cancer.
The industry suffers to store QLP due to the costs of storage (Turgut and Algin, 2007).

Fig. 1. Limestone quarry filtration system (circulated area), disposal of waste quarry limestone powder to the
ground (rectangle area).
772 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791

In conventional concrete, the introduction of high volumes of limestone quarry dust

to concrete mixes is limited due to its high fineness. Its corporation in excess amounts
to fresh concrete increases the water demand, which has negative effects on the proper-
ties of fresh (longer setting times) and hardened concrete (low strength due to increased
capillary porosity and loss of interface adhesion between cement paste and aggregate).
In some cases, the clayey content of quarry limestone powders can increase depending
on the clay veins embedded in limestone rocks. From this point, the side effects of fine
portion of limestone aggregates that spoil the concrete performance should also taken
into account (Topcu and Ugurlu, 2003). However, these fines can be efficiently utilised as
viscosity enhancer particularly in special concrete (like self-compacting concreteSCC)
applications. Thus, the successful utilisation of quarry dust in SCC could turn this mate-
rial into a valuable resource (Ho et al., 2002). SCC is defined as a concrete that has
excellent deformability and high resistance to segregation, and can be filled in a heav-
ily reinforced area without applying any vibration (Rols et al., 1999). The paste of SCC
requires high viscosity as well as high deformability (Okamura and Ouchi, 1999). In gen-
eral, an increase in water content increases the fluidity. By doing so, concrete may lose its
stability. When the fluidity is maintained by incorporating a superplasticizer, the adverse
effect of water addition on stability can be limited providing that the water/cement ratio
(W/C) and aggregate content remain constant. However, when an excessive dosage of
superplasticizer is incorporated, the cohesiveness may sharply decrease. This can result
in greater degree of segregation and heterogenity than a normal concrete of similar W/C
and a lower fluidity. For this reason, it is important to maintain adequate stability to obtain
proper SCCs. There are two methods to keep stability and flowability of SCC at the same
time:
First method is to increase the solid fraction of paste phase of concrete and thereby
increasing the viscosity of the fresh concrete paste phase (Billberg, 1999). Increasing the
cement content or employment of some mineral admixtures such as fly ash or ground blast
furnace slag are possible ways of increasing the paste content. However, increasing the
cement content is not feasible, and may cause some other technical problems such as higher
heat of hydration and higher drying shrinkage. Alternatively, non-pozzolanic fillers are
frequently used to optimise the particle packing and flow behaviour of cementitious paste
in SCC mixtures. When a high volume of limestone filler was added to the SCC mixture, the
required self-compacting properties were achieved at a lower water/(cement + filler) ratio,
and it also appeared that in some cases the addition of filler indirectly improves the 28-day
compressive strength of concrete mixes due to improved fine-particle packing compared to
conventional concretes (Bosiljkov, 2003).
The other method is the employment of a viscosity-modifying agent (VMA). VMAs
usually improving the paste viscosity by increase the water phase viscosity. However, due
to their high costs, employment of VMAs is a quite expensive way of producing SCC.
Some side effects of VMAs (set retarding, excessive air entraining, . . .) should also be
considered.
Successful utilisation of regional limestone quarry wastes in Slovenia and United King-
dom and employment of different types of limestone and chalk powders as fillers in
self-compacting concrete (SCC) and their effects on superplasticizer demand and the
strength properties of concrete mixes have been previously studied (Bosiljkov, 2003; Zhu
 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791 773

and Gibbs, 2005). According to Sahmaran et al. (2006), limestone powder significantly
increased the workability of self-compacting mortars (SCMs). When used in SCC, some
limestone powders can reduce the amount of superplasticizer necessary to secure a given
fluidity (Sonebi et al., 2004). It should be noted that, the effect of limestone powders on
admixture requirement is significantly dependent on their particle size distribution as well
as particle shape and surface characteristics. From this point, a cost effective SCC design
can be obtained by incorporating high amounts of proper limestone powders. The successful
utilisation of limestone dust in SCC mixes would not only lower the cost of SCCs, but could
also provide a solution regarding the disposal and environmental problems connected with
this filler (Bosiljkov, 2003).

2. Experimental study

In the first part of the experimental study, the physical and mechanical properties of 10
cement paste mixtures incorporating quarry waste limestone powders (QLP) and limestone
powder processed by direct grinding (PLP) were compared at different substitution rates.
In the second part, the performance of quarry waste limestone powder in SCC applications
was investigated.

2.1. Materials

An ordinary Portland cement (CEM I 42.5) with a specific gravity of 3.12 and Blaine
specific surface area of 369 m2 /kg was used in all compositions. The chemical composition
and particle size distribution (PSD) of cement are given in Table 1 and Fig. 2, respectively.
A polycarboxylate based superplasticizer classified as Type F (ASTM C494, 2002) was
used. The solid content, pH and specific gravity of the superplasticizer are 35.7%, 6.5 and
1.11, respectively.
Two types of limestone powders were used in paste studies. The first one is a by-product of
quarry crushers, notated as Quarry Limestone Powder (QLP). This powder was collected
from the filtration system of a quarry crusher. The other one is a product from limestone
grinding process, notated as Processed Limestone Powder (PLP). The characteristic prop-
erties, mineralogical composition and particle size distributions of QLP and PLP are given
in Table 2 and Fig. 2, respectively.
In concrete studies a well graded crushed limestone coarse aggregate with maximum
particle size of 16 mm, and natural sand were used. The grading curves are presented
in Fig. 3. The fineness index of the natural sand employed was 3.1. The specific gravi-
ties of coarse aggregate and sand in saturated surface dry condition were 2.71 and 2.60,
respectively.

Table 1
Chemical composition of cement
CaO2 SiO2 Al2 O3 Fe2 O3 MgO SO3 Na2 O K2 O SO3 Loss on ign.
63.91 20.05 5.92 2.54 0.94 2.65 0.26 0.85 2.65 2.90
774 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791

Fig. 2. PSDs of ordinary Portland cement, quarry waste limestone powder (QLP) and processed limestone powder
(PLP) used in this study.

2.2. Cementlimestone paste studies

In order to compare the fresh and mechanical performance of cement pastes incorporating
QLP and PLP, some fresh state characterization tests (mini-slump flow, mini-V-funnel) and
compressive strength tests have been conducted.

2.2.1. Mixture proportions and mixing sequence

The replacement ratios and compositions of 10 paste mixtures are presented in Table 3.
The water to powder ratio was fixed to 0.25 by weight. The mixtures with C and CP
initials were the control mixtures without and with superplasticizers, respectively. The
superplasticizer dosages of mixtures were fixed to 1.2% by weight of powder.
It is important to achieve a uniform cement, powder and admixture combination in
exactly the same way every time to reach a satisfactory repeatability (Billberg, 1999). For

Table 2
Characteristic properties of fillers
Code Mineralogical origin Production process Specific Blaine fineness
gravity (m2 /kg)
QLP Limestone (95.4% CaCO3 , Quarry crushers filtration 2.58 443
other impurities include waste (by-product)
Al2 O3 0.1%>; MgCO3 0.5%;
Fe2 O3 , 0.3%; SiO2 , 0.8%)
PLP Limestone (CaCO3 , 97%; Product of limestone grinding 2.65 538
MgCO3 , 2%) process
 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791 775

Fig. 3. Gradation curves of fine and coarse aggregates.

this reason, the same mixing sequence was applied in all mixture preparations. The amount
of cementpowder combination is adjusted to 1.2 l per batch and mixing was performed by
using a Hobart mixer.
The following mixing sequence was used:

(1) Cement and powder combinations are dry mixed for 30 s.

(2) The water and superplasticizer are mixed in a flask and poured slowly into the bowl of
mixer while mixing. The paste is mixed at low speed (62 rpm) for 1 min.
(3) The mixer is stopped and rested for 1 min, and then the paste is remixed with a high
speed (125 rpm) for 2 min.

All mixes are prepared at a room temperature of 22 2 C.

Table 3
Mixture proportions and fresh properties of cementfiller combinations
Notation Paste composition % (by weight) W/P Fresh state tests

Cement Filler Sp dosage (% Spread flow (mm) V-funnel time (s)

powder by weight)
C 100 0 0 0.25 100
CP 100 0 1.2 0.25 410 8
QLP10 90 10 1.2 0.25 323 12
QLP 20 80 20 1.2 0.25 298 13
QLP 30 70 30 1.2 0.25 322 19
QLP 40 60 40 1.2 0.25 258 12
PLP10 90 10 1.2 0.25 465 16
PLP20 80 20 1.2 0.25 439 13
PLP30 70 30 1.2 0.25 409 14
PLP40 60 40 1.2 0.25 449 10
776 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791

2.2.2. Fresh paste measurements

Workability is defined either qualitatively as the ease of placement or quantitatively by
rheological parameters. The most common rheological parameters used to identify worka-
bility, are the yield stress and plastic viscosity, as defined in the Bingham equation (Ferraris
et al., 2000). It may be stated that for self-compactibility, concrete should have an adequate
plastic viscosity together with a low yield stress approaching to the behaviour of a New-
tonian fluid. The measurement of yield stress and plastic viscosity requires a rheometer,
and, where it is not available, alternative simpler tests can be used to assess the fluidity. The
spread-flow and V-funnel tests have been used by many researchers; typical dimensions are
shown in Fig. 4. Domone and Jin (1999) showed that, the two most common used single
point tests, the spread-flow value and V-funnel time are closely related to the Bingham con-
stants of yield stress and plastic viscosity, respectively. Therefore, the single use of either of
these test methods will not give a satisfactory indication of the pastes performance. Both
of them should be employed to understand the rheological response of cement pastes.
In the spread test, the relative spread-flow value is calculated by the following equation:

d2
p = 1 (1)
do2
where p is the relative spread value of paste, d the average of perpendicular diameters
(mm) and do is the bottom diameter of cone (100 mm constant).

Fig. 4. Typical dimensions of mini-spread flow cone and mini-V-funnel apparatus.

 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791 777

In the mini-V-funnel test, the relative funnel speed Rp is calculated by the following
equation:
10
Rp = (2)
T
where Rp is the relative speed of paste and T is the flow time (s).
The results of spread flow and V-funnel tests are presented in Table 3. Due to the lack
of workability, the spread flow and V-funnel tests were not performed on plain control mix
(C). The relative spread flow values and relative V-funnel times have been calculated by
using Eqs. (1) and (2) and plotted in Fig. 5, respectively.

2.2.3. Hardened paste measurements

After the completion of fresh state tests the mixture was remixed at high speed (125 rpm)
for 30 s and poured into cubic moulds of 50 mm without any compaction or vibration. Due to
the lack of workability, only the (C) control mix was compacted. Specimens were demoulded
after 18 2 h and kept in 100% humid environment until the testing day. The compressive
strength values at 7 and 28 days were obtained from the average of three specimens.

2.2.4. Discussion
As can be seen from Fig. 5 the relative V-funnel times of all mixtures incorporating
limestone powder were lower than control mixture (CP). These fresh paste measurements
confirmed that the incorporation of both of QLP and PLP increased the viscosity of the
cement paste at the same water/powder ratio and superplasticizer dosage. From this point
both of these two powders can be regarded as successful viscosity enhancers. It was also
observed that the magnitude of increase depended on the substitution rate. However, there
was not a linear relationship between the amount of substitution and the rate of increase in
viscosity. For example, substitution of 10 or 40% of cement with QLP increased the viscosity
at the same order approximately to the similar values. This behaviour may be attributed to

Fig. 5. Relationships between relative spreads flow values and relative mini-V-funnel time of paste mixtures
incorporating limestone powder (numbers of 040 designate the replacement ratios of cement with limestone
powder).
778 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791

the different particle surface charge and morphological characteristics of limestone powders
compared to cement particles (Felekoglu et al., 2006). However, a more extensive study
should be conducted to verify the effect of the latter phenomena, which is out of the scope
of this paper. The effect of particle characteristics will be discussed in the next paragraphs.
The other fresh property of paste mixtures was yield value, which can be characterized
by relative spread flow values ( ). The relative spread flow values were also plotted in
Fig. 5. The effect of the investigated powders on spread flow values was completely differ-
ent. While QLP reduced the spread flow values (increased yield value), the incorporation of
PLP improved the flow values compared to control paste. The magnitude of change was not
significantly clear as a function of substitution rate. The difference between these two pow-
ders can be attributed to the particle fineness change and shape characteristics of powders.
Finer powder (PLP) improved the spread flow values compared to coarser powder (QLP).
At first sight, due to the increased surface area, it seems not logical to expect higher flow
values from a mixture incorporating finer powders when other variables are kept constant (in
particular water content). However, just beside particle size, particle surface characteristics
and surface porosity can play significant roles in designating the fresh state behaviour of
cement pastes. The microstructural characteristics of powders lightened the reason of dif-
ferent behaviour of limestone powders in cement paste mixtures. SEM images of QLP and
PLP were captured at 500 magnification and presented in Fig. 6. In order to investigate
the surface morphology of single particles SEM images of closely zoomed representative
particles of QLP and PLP are also presented in Fig. 7. As can be clearly realized from these
images, QLP particles had no smooth surface and surface morphologies were extremely
porous (Fig. 7a and b). On the other hand, PLP particles have more smooth and flat surfaces
compared to QLPs (Fig. 7c and d). Observations from SEM images have revealed that,
there was a significant surface porosity difference between the investigated powders. The
surface porosity of QLP was considerably higher than PLP which may explain the lower
spread flow values obtained from the QLP incorporated pastes at constant W/P ratio and
admixture dosage, even its coarser particle size distribution (Fig. 2).
Another possible reason for the relative spread value difference of PLP and QLP incor-
porated mortars can be the better packaging factor of finer particles in case of PLP. Finer

Fig. 6. Surface morphology of QLP (left) and PLP (right) at 500 magnification.
 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791 779

Fig. 7. Closely zoomed images of QLP with less angularity and no smooth surface (left, a and b), and PLP with
more smooth and flat surfaces (right, c and d).

and/or spherical particles have higher packing densities than coarse and irregular ones at
wet state (Ferraris et al., 2001). For example, some agglomerated very fine particles at dry
state can be well dispersed and increased the yield stress (reduce spread flow values) when
they became a part of paste, mortar or concrete.
In summary both powders improved the viscosity of the cement paste, in other words
improved the stability and segregation resistance of the paste at constant W/P and super-
plasticizer dosage. On the other hand, the yield value was also increased (mini-spread flow
values decreased) in case of substitution of cement with QLP. A slight increase in super-
plasticizer demand of SCC for a desired slump-flow value can be expected when QLP is
employed.
The compressive strength of cement pastes at 7 and 28 days are plotted in Fig. 8. The
strength of C and CP mixtures were plotted at the y-axis of zero substitution rate. The
addition of superplasticizer significantly improved the strength of cement paste (from C
to CP) both at 7 and 28 days. The strength improvement was attributed to the increased
780 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791

Fig. 8. Compressive strength of cement paste mixtures incorporating QLP and PLP.

homogeneity and better self-compaction of the admixtured pastes. The cement paste mix-
tures incorporating QLP and PLP showed similar strength values at each substitution rate.
Despite their different particle size distributions, the strength value differences were not sig-
nificant except 10% of replacement. When compared to self-compacting control mixture
(CP), the strength improvement was observed in case of replacement of 10% of cement with
QLP both at 7 and 28 days. However, employment of PLP was found ineffective at the same
replacement level. From the literature, the increase of strength at low replacement ratios can
be attributed to the particles of limestone filler acting as nucleation sites of the CH crystals
(Erdogdu, 2002; Kelham, 1998). If this is the reason for all limestone powders, PLP should
also increase the strength, however, PLP was failed. Another possible source of strength
increase was reported as limestone powders can react with the aluminate phase of cement
producing calcium hemicarboaluminate, calcium monocarboaluminate and calcium tricar-
boaluminate. As a third possibility during the hydration of silicate phases, small amounts of
filler are incorporated to the CSH and the formation of carbonated hydrated calcium sili-
cate compound has been reported (Rahhal and Talero, 2005; Felekoglu and Baradan, 2003).
However, from this study it was observed that, these strength-contributing reactions could
not always be generalized to all limestone powders at different substitution rates. Probably
the reactivity of calcite phase of QLP was higher than PLP. The SEM images presented in
Figs. 6 and 7 gave some clues about the surface reactivity of powders. As can be realized
from images, higher surface porosity can be an indication of higher reactivity of calcite in
QLP case, which may explain its strength enhancing performance at 10% replacement.
Higher substitution rates of limestone powders caused decrease in compressive strength
values. According to Rahhal and Talero (2005), the incorporation of crystalline mineral addi-
 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791 781

tions to Portland cements of different mineralogical compositions stimulates the hydration

reactions of the Portland cement components. The effect of stimulation increases with the
percentage incorporation. However, when this is superposed by the dilution effect, which is
also increasing, from a calorimetric viewpoint the crystalline mineral addition particles can
begin to behave as sites of heat dissipation. The variability of strength results observed in
Fig. 8 at increased substitution rates may be attributed to the prevalence of the dilution effect
or the stimulation effects. Depending on the substitution rate, crystalline mineral additions
could act as sites of heat dissipation or heat stimulation, respectively (Rahhal and Talero,
2005).
In summary substitution of 10% of cement with QLP improved the compressive strength
of cement pastes, which can be accepted as a positive factor in the utilisation effort of QLP
in self-compacting paste applications.

2.3. Self compacting concrete applications

2.3.1. Preparation and testing of SCC specimens

From cement paste investigations QLP was found suitable for SCC applications. To
verify its performance in SCC applications, 13 concrete mixtures incorporating different
amounts of QLP and 1 control mixture without any QLP addition were prepared. The mixture
ingredients and proportions were particularly different (Table 4). The cement content varied
from 307 to 470 kg/m3 and QLP varied from 194 to 292 kg/m3 . Coarse/fine aggregate ratio
was also variable. In some mixtures C-type fly ash was also incorporated at small amounts.
The aim of changing mixture ingredients was to test the performance of QLP at SCCs
with different rheological behaviour and strength grades. In addition to mixture ingredient
amounts, the water to effective cement (cement + k fly ash) ratio by weight and water to
total powder ratio by volume are presented in Table 4. Note that, in order to determine the
W/Ce ratio effective cement dosages were used. Effective cement dosages were calculated
by using the cementitious efficiency factor of fly ash (Antiohos and Tsimas, 2004; Antiohos
et al., 2005; Badogiannis et al., 2004). For the studied fly ash, experimentally determined
k value was 0.7. A pressure type aerometer was used in determination of air contents and
found in the range of 1.53.3%.
The self-compactability of mixtures was adjusted by changing the admixture dosage. To
judge the self-compactability, slump-flow diameter and V-funnel (10 l capacity) time of each
concrete mixture were determined according to EFNARC (2005) standards. All fresh state
tests were conducted at the temperature interval of 2030 C. Additionally, nine 150 mm
cube moulds were filled with SCCs without any compaction. These cubes were cured
in lime-saturated water and three cubes for each mixture were subjected to compressive
strength test at 1, 7 and 28 days.

2.3.2. Acceptance criterion of self-compactability

The slump-flow values and V-funnel times of each concrete mixture are plotted in Fig. 9.
As previously mentioned, the fresh state performance of highly workable concretes should
be defined by two parameters (yield value and plastic viscosity). In SCC case, the slump-
flow diameter and V-funnel flow time can be related to the Bingham constants of yield stress
and plastic viscosity, respectively (Wallevik, 2006; Schwartzentruber et al., 2006).
 782
B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791
Table 4
Mixture ingredients of SCCs
Code Mixture ingredients (kg/m3 )

Cement QLP Fly ash Water Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate Superplasticizer Air content (%) W/Ca (by weight) W/Pb (by volume)
C0 600 0 0 190 754 837 10.5 1.8 0.32 0.99
C1 316 196 36 179 897 718 10.0 N/A 0.52 0.92
C2 307 288 34 194 882 581 8.7 3.1 0.59 0.86
C3 312 292 35 199 872 574 8.9 1.6 0.59 0.87
C4 316 202 35 191 1010 541 10.0 2.2 0.56 0.98
C5 394 281 0 230 800 543 9.7 N/A 0.58 0.98
C6 412 264 0 206 857 558 11.0 2.5 0.50 0.88
C7 470 241 0 180 877 567 10.0 3.3 0.38 0.74
C8 318 228 0 184 962 619 11.8 1.9 0.58 0.97
C9 374 226 0 174 1079 480 9.2 N/A 0.47 0.84
C10 383 244 43 193 951 501 8.5 1.7 0.47 0.81
C11 384 222 43 191 716 774 8.4 2.3 0.46 0.84
C12 386 222 43 181 719 786 12.4 3.5 0.43 0.79
C13 384 255 43 195 700 745 8.5 1.5 0.47 0.81
a C: effective cement content (cement + k fly ash), k = 0.7.
b P: total powder content (cement + QLP + fly ash).
 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791 783

The concept of workability box was used to designate the self-compactability by using the
above mentioned workability tests (Saak, 2000). The two rectangle regions one within the
other designate the workability boxes of proper SCC and marginal SCC mixtures, respec-
tively. Slump flow value and V-funnel time boundaries of the first workability box were
selected as 650800 mm and 820 s, respectively. The mixtures at this box were regarded
as proper and acceptable SCCs. The slump flow value and V-funnel time boundaries of
the second workability box were selected as 600850 mm and 525 s, respectively. The
mixtures in this box were regarded as marginal SCCs which may need little external com-
paction to settle (in particular mixtures present in left upper corner of the box) or may
slightly segregate (in particular mixtures present in right lower corner of the box). The mix-
tures out of these workability boxes may be more susceptible to segregation (right lower
part of the graph) or may not have adequate workability to compact by its own weight (left
upper part of the graph) (Fig. 9). These concrete mixtures (C1, C5 and C9) were regarded
as unacceptable and were not taken into consideration in discussion part.

2.3.2.1. Determination of boundaries for slump ow values. The upper boundaries of

slump flow-values of acceptable and marginal SCCs were selected by using Visual Stabil-
ity Index ratings (Lemaire et al., 2005). Acceptance criterions are described by the visual
inspection of slump-flow area of concrete. According to this index, self-compactability
of concrete is divided into four groups. The visual stability properties of slump flow area
concrete at each rating index are presented in Table 5.
The representative slump-flow images of proper, marginal and unacceptable concretes
are presented in Fig. 10. Fig. 10a represents the concretes in the smallest box of Fig. 9, which
can be called as proper or acceptable SCCs. Fig. 10b represents the slump-flow behaviour
of marginal SCCs at the outer box plotted in Fig. 9. Fig. 10c represents the unacceptable
concretes out of the two boxes plotted in Fig. 9. Note that, these boundaries were determined
for concretes having slump-flow values higher than 600 mm and V-funnel times lower than
35 s. The behaviour of concretes out of these ranges cannot be generalized within these
findings.

Fig. 9. Workability boxes for determination of self-compactability of concrete mixtures.

784 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791

Table 5
The visual stability properties of slump-flow area of concretes (employed in the determination of upper boundary
limits of slump-flow of SCCs) (Lemaire et al., 2005)
VSI rating Self-compactability Visual information notes
0 Proper SCC (Fig. 10a) No indication of segregation. Uniform aggregate distribution
throughout, coarse aggregate carried to the perimeter of the
slump-flow. No indication of bleed water or mortar halo on
the surface or around the perimeter
1 Acceptable SCC Little evidence of mortar halo and bleed water separation.
Good aggregate distribution, although a small ring of mortar
is present at the outer edges of the slump flow
2 Marginal SCC (Fig. 10b) Mix exhibits signs of instability and segregation. More pro-
nounced mortar halo or uneven distribution of aggregate is
expected
3 Unacceptable SCC (Fig. 10c) Mix exhibiting poor aggregate distribution, segregation and
excessive bleed water. Coagulation of the coarse aggregate
particles on the centre of slumping area. Separation of mortar
around the perimeter of slump-flow area

2.3.2.2. Determination of boundaries for V-funnel times. Pore concentration on the sur-
faces of samples can be accepted as an indication of compactability of SCCs under their
own weight. It was observed that there is a relation between V-funnel times (related to
viscosity) of fresh concrete and surface pore concentration of hardened concrete. If the vis-
cosity of SCC is extremely high, the pores in the concrete cannot be disposed out and will
be entrapped in concretes structure. These pores can be observed on the moulded surface
of the concrete. On the other hand, if the viscosity is low enough (note that, this reduction
should not cause any segregation), the air bubbles can easily escape from the concrete sur-
face. As a result of better self-compaction improved surface appearance can be obtained. It
should be noted that very low V-funnel values (under 5 s) also caused an increase in surface
pore concentration. This behaviour was attributed to the high speed of the low viscosity
concrete, which restricts the escape of air bubbles to the upper parts of concrete.
The upper boundary of V-funnel times of proper, acceptable and marginal SCC worka-
bility boxes were selected by visual investigation of surface of hardened cube samples. First,
the upper boundary of V-funnel flow time that provides sufficient compaction ability was

Fig. 10. Slump-flow area of proper (a), marginal (b) and unacceptable (c) SCCs.
 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791 785

Fig. 11. Surface pore concentration classification of concrete according to French reference scale (Lemaire et al.,
2005).

determined. SCCs representing V-funnel times under this critical value can be casted into
mould under their own weight without causing high amounts of entrapped air. According to
French reference scale (Lemaire et al., 2005), the surface pore concentration of concrete is
divided into seven groups (Fig. 11). From the experimental investigations it was observed
that V-funnel times of 820 s were usually fall in the scale of 13, which was accepted as
proper and acceptable SCCs. The pore concentration of the moulded surface of marginal
SCCs having V-funnel time intervals of 58 and 2025 s usually fall to the 4 and 5 scales.
The pore concentrations equal to or higher than scale 6 were accepted as unacceptable
concretes. In this study, the concretes having V-funnel values lower than 5 s and higher than
25 s can be regarded as unacceptable to obtain self-compactability.
Examples of surface photos of cube specimens of C10, C11 and C12 are presented
in Fig. 12. Their slump-flow values were nearly 750 mm. However, their V-funnel times
were extremely different; 11, 17 and 25 s, respectively. The increase of V-funnel time is an
indication of increased viscosity. Higher V-funnel values increased the pore concentration
on samples surfaces.

Fig. 12. Pore concentration of SCC cube samples (selected surface area 80 mm 80 mm) with increasing V-funnel
times (C10-11 and 12; the slump flow values are approximately similar750 mm).
786 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791

Table 6
Compressive strength test results (MPa)
C0 C2 C3 C4 C6 C7 C8 C10 C11 C12 C13
1 day 27.7 7.5 15.4 12.2 17.3 26 13.5 18.8 16.8 23 20.4
7 days 46.6 25.3 28.2 28.8 31 42.9 27.9 36.9 34.4 41 35.8
28 days 50.0 33.3 37.6 33.5 35.8 47.4 33.7 47.2 42.3 45 44.5
C1, C5 and C9 mixtures were not self-compactable and discarded.

From the above-mentioned observations, it can be summarised that; optimum viscosity

should be targeted to minimise the pore formation in SCCs. In this study, optimum V-funnel
time as the representative of viscosity was in the range of 820 s for SCCs with low pore
concentration.

2.3.3. Effect of QLP on superplasticizer requirement and strength of SCC

The superplasticizer requirements of SCCs incorporating QLP were in the range of
8.412.4 l/m3 . When the dosage is expressed as the weight percent of the total powder, it is
in the range of 1.292.16%. This range was higher than the dosages employed in practical
SCC applications (Su et al., 2001; Xie et al., 2002). However, it should be kept in mind
that, the active ingredient solid content of superplasticizers might vary depending on the
dilution rate used by the producer.
Compressive strength values of eleven accepted concrete mixtures (1 control, 10 includ-
ing different amounts of QLP) are given in Table 6. The strength values are in the range of
3050 MPa. It was observed that, without grouping similar mixtures, it is hard to consider
any possible relationship between the compressive strength, W/P and admixture dosage
due to the differences in other mixture ingredients. In order to examine the major impact of
the use of QLP on admixture requirement and strength, concrete mixtures were classified
into three sets. The mixture ingredients, admixture requirements and 28 days compressive
strength values of SCCs of all three sets are graphically presented in Figs. 1315, respec-
tively. The first set involves with the effect of QLP increase at comparatively lower cement
dosages (Fig. 13). In this set, the cement dosage was approximately kept constant and

Fig. 13. Comparison of SCC mixtures (set I).

 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791 787

Fig. 14. Comparison of SCC mixtures (set II).

fine aggregate amount was reduced. The highest QLP amount was 292 kg/m3 (C3) and the
admixture requirement of this mixture was the lowest in this set (8.9 kg/m3 ). If the worka-
bility box coordinates of C3 and C8 (incorporating higher QLP) compared with C4, it can be
observed that these mixtures were better than C4 to maintain self-compactability criterion
(Fig. 9). On the other hand, the 28 days compressive strength of SCCs was improved by
the addition of QLP. In summary, at the same cement content, substitution of QLP with fine
aggregate improved the self-compactability. When higher QLP substitution rates employed,
the admixture requirement reduced and strength values of SCCs were improved.
In the second set, the effect of QLP addition was compared with the effect of water
reduction (to maintain self-compactability by increasing superplasticizer dosage at the same
time) on compressive strength of SCCs (Fig. 14). C11 was the control mixture and its
compressive strength was 42.3 MPa. Twenty-eight days compressive strength was increased
to 44.5 MPa by adding QLP at the same admixture dosage. On the other hand, in case of
C12 mixture, reducing water content by increasing superplasticizer dosage at the same time
caused similar strength improvements (45 MPa). Note that, both C12 and C13 mixtures

Fig. 15. Comparison of SCC mixtures (set III).

788 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791

are marginally self-compacting according to workability box criterion (Fig. 9). In this set,
it was concluded that additional QLP improved the strength of SCCs at the same cement
content.
The third set presented in Fig. 15 involves with the effect of QLP increase and cement
reduction at the same time. There is a considerable cement content difference between the
C7 and C3 mixtures and both mixtures have proved their self-compactability. Note that, the
admixture requirement of C3 mix was also slightly lower than C7. However, high volumes
of substitution of cement with QLP caused significant strength loss due to the reduced
binder amount.
In summary, normal strength SCC (30 MPa) mixtures that contain approximately
300310 kg of cement per cubic meter can be successfully prepared by employing high
amounts of QLP (C3 and C8). Higher strength classes of SCCs (4550 MPa) can be
achieved but the cement dosage should be increased (C7).

3. Cost effectiveness of SCCs incorporating QLP

In concrete industry, despite its advantageous technical properties, the use of SCC lim-
ited only to special applications due to the high material costs of additional ingredients,
in particular cement and superplasticizer (Martin, 2002; Hughes et al., 2002). Cost effec-
tiveness of SCC can only be feasible if cheaper mixture ingredients will be introduced
into the market. Incorporation of limestone powders and substitution of high amounts of
cements may significantly improve the material cost effectiveness of SCC. However, the
costs of many processed limestone powders are comparatively high due to additional grind-
ing energy requirement. For example the price of PLP is approximately 3/4 of cement. From
this point, QLP as a by-product brings no additional cost to producers and can be effectively
employed in SCC applications.
In order to compare the costs of investigated SCCs the local unit costs of materials
were collected and presented in Table 7. Note that, factors that change the overall cost
of concrete production, i.e. the transportation, handling and placement and quality control
were not taken into consideration. The costs of one cubic meter of each mixture have been
presented in Fig. 16. As can be expected there is a significant material cost between only
cement SCC (C0) and SCCs prepared with QLP. However, only the cost of one cubic meter
of material was not enough to compare the cost affectivity of SCCs. Since the final strength
values of mixtures were also different. For this reason the cost of unit compressive strength
(1 MPa) of mixtures were calculated and presented in Fig. 17. To simplify the comparison
QLP amounts of mixtures of each set was also presented in circles. It can be seen that, for all
series the increase in QLP amount reduced the unit strength cost of SCCs. The reduction was

Table 7
Unit cost of materials used in analysis
Material

Cement QLP Fly ash Water Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate Super plasticizer
Unit cost ($/kg) 0.061 0 0.012 0.001 0.003 0.001 0.8
 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791 789

Fig. 16. Cost of 1 m3 of proper SCC mixtures.

Fig. 17. Unit strength material costs of SCC series.

in the order of 0.050.2 $/MPa/m3 . For a normal strength SCC with 30 MPa, approximately
1.53 $/m3 can be saved.

4. Conclusions

From the cement paste studies, substitution of 10% of cement with QLP improved
the compressive strength of cement pastes, which can be accepted as a positive factor
in the utilisation effort of QLP in self-compacting paste applications. Higher substitution
rates were investigated on concrete mixtures. The concept of workability box was used to
designate the self-compactability of concrete mixtures. Ten from 13 studied mixtures were
regarded as self-compactable. The following conclusions were obtained.
790 B. Felekoglu / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 51 (2007) 770791

Quarry waste limestone powder (QLP) can successfully be used in the production stage of
proper SCC mixtures, although modest adjustments of mixture ingredients and in particular
superplasticizer dosage were necessary.
Incorporation of QLP at the same cement content generally reduced the superplasticizer
requirement and improved the 28 days compressive strength of SCCs. Normal strength SCC
(30 MPa) mixtures that contain approximately 300310 kg of cement per cubic meter can
be successfully prepared by employing high amounts of QLP. However, substitution of high
amounts of cement with QLP reduced the strength values. By incorporating QLP higher
strength classes of SCCs (4550 MPa) can also be achieved by using proper cement dosage
and mixture proportions. Incorporation of QLP reduced the cost of unit compressive strength
of SCCs for all investigated cases. The reduction was in the order of 0.050.2 $/MPa/m3 .

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