Potential applicability of tailings as fine aggregate for concrete paving slabs

Abstract

Statistics of recent years shows an annual increase in the volume of technogenic waste (in particular "tailings") of mining and metallurgical enterprises of Kazakhstan by about 1.5 billion tons, which at the current time is already about 4.7 billion that entails certain environmental and economic consequences. This article proposes the potential use of the tailings of the enterprises as a fine aggregate to partially replace the consumption of cement in the concrete mixture for the manufacture of paving slabs. Carbonate tailings of Kazzinc LLP enterprise were used. To determine the optimum composition of concrete mix with the use of tailings were made control and 4 experimental compositions with the replacement of part of the cement waste in the amount of 5, 10, 15, 20% respectively. Samples of concrete mixtures were tested for compressive strength, flexural tensile strength, abrasion, frost resistance, and resistance to wetting and drying. According to the test results, it was found that as the concentration of tailings increases, the physical-mechanical and operational indicators of the concrete mixture and concrete for the manufacture of paving slabs improve.