Engineering Properties, Reserves Estimation And Evaluation Of Landikotal Slates As Structure Lightweight Concrete Aggregate, Khyber Range, North-West, Pakistan

Abstract

In order to meet the rising demand for housing, in the current era industrialization has forced the world's housing market to move vertical by creating high-rise structures and skyscrapers. Due to worries about planning and erecting such heavy building foundations and the potential for their settlement, lightweight concrete has expanded the capabilities of concrete technology. Such issues have been resolved by lightweight concrete made from either synthetic or natural lightweight aggregates (LWA). Since bloated slate utilized as LWA has produced impressive results in many industrialized nations, the Pakistani construction industry, which is still developing, may easily adopt it. In this study, Paleozoic slate from the Khyber Ranges has been used to examine its geochemistry, petrography, and physical-mechanical characteristics for usage as a lightweight aggregate concrete. Its reserves have also been estimated by accurate geological mapping. These rocks are described as dark greenish-gray and dark grey in colour and have a fine-grained texture from a petrographic perspective. Major mineral phases include quartz, biotite, and muscovite, while minor to accessory phases include hematite and chlorite. SiO2 (71%), Al2O3 (19.282%), Fe2O3 (4.247%), and K20 (3.405) are the principal oxides that are present in the examined slate according to the average XRF geochemical concentration (in%Wt), whereas the remaining oxides (CaO, TiO2, MnO, ZrO2, WO2, V2O5, SrO, Cr2O3, ZnO, Rb2O, and Y2O3) are only present Similar to this, XRF elemental analysis reveals that the primary elements identified by the specimen's results are Si, Fe, AL, K, and Ca. When compared to the sample's overall percentage, the values of Ti, Mn, Zr, V, W, Rb, Zn, Sr, Cr, Y, and Nb range from very low to low percentages. These swollen specimens had neither Loss on Ignition nor any organic contaminants. To obtain the greatest bloating, the samples were burned in a rotary furnace at temperatures between 1050C˚ and 1250C°. Following bloating, physical tests were performed in accordance with the requirements of the American Standards for Testing Materials (ASTM). The results of numerous tests, including those for water absorption, bulk density, Los Angeles abrasion, specific gravity, clay lumps and friable particles, soundness, sieve analyses, fineness modulus, flat and elongated particles in aggregates, slump test, and compressive strength, demonstrate that the material is suitable for use as a light aggregate for structural purposes and meets the requirements of concrete. This study successfully carried out volumetric quantitative mapping of slate and discovered that there are approximately 2214.28 megaton of mineable slate are present in the Khyber Range