Mechanical and physical characterization of lightweight concrete based on limestone sand and cork granules

Faced with the growing needs of resource materials and the requirements of environmental protection in a vision of sustainable development, it became necessary to study all the possibilities of reuse and recycling of industrial wastes and by-product especially in the field of civil engineering. There is an increasing interest in limestone fines from limestone quarries in concrete construction to overcome inherent deficiencies in river sand in particular regions of North Africa. Limestone sand is a by-product of the quarry process and typically does not have a significant demand due to its high content of small particles whose diameters are less than 80 ?m. This work is part of the promotion of local products such as waste from the quarry crushing (limestone sand) in the region of Laghouat (Algeria) and waste from the manufacture of agglomerated expanded cork, using them in the making of cement materials for construction primarily for thermal insulation. To study the influence of the size of the aggregates on the physico-mechanical and thermal properties of concrete, two classes of granular aggregates are used 3 / 8 and 8 / 15. The results obtained showed that the reduction weight of concrete containing crushed sand with expanded cork significantly reduces its thermal conductivity which improves their thermal insulation, but causes a drop in the strength of concrete produced. Lightweight concrete with expanded cork granules 3/8 are the lightest and most isolated, and they have low mechanical strength compared to concrete with lightweight aggregates 8/15.