FIELD TESTS OF BUILDING MIXES BASED ON MAN-MADE WASTE

Abstract

Basements and buried structures, in particular bomb shelters, strategic facilities and storage facilities, are operated in conditions of high humidity, limited ventilation and constant contact of enclosing structures with groundwater and capillary waters. Durability, moisture resistance, crack resistance, and preservation of the strength characteristics of building materials over a long service life are critically important for such facilities. Traditional building mixes do not always provide the required level of protection against water saturation, corrosion and bio-damage. The use of man-made waste in building mixes makes it possible to form a denser microstructure, reduce permeability and increase the resistance of materials to moisture. Conducting field tests in real-world operating conditions is a necessary step for an objective assessment of the operability of such mixtures, confirming their reliability and justifying their use in the construction and reconstruction of facilities with increased responsibility.

The use of man-made waste in building mixes is being actively studied in foreign studies [1-8]. In the countries of the European Union (Germany, the Netherlands, France), the main focus is on the use of fly ash, blast furnace slag and construction waste to increase the density and durability of concrete, including underground structures. In China and South Korea, research is focused on the mass disposal of industrial waste while increasing the moisture resistance and corrosion resistance of materials. In the USA, the emphasis is on regulatory adaptation and long-term field testing of mixtures for infrastructure and protective structures. In Kazakhstan, research is mainly focused on laboratory evaluation of mixtures using ash from thermal power plants, metallurgical and mining waste, while field testing in humid climates and underground operation remains limited, which underlines the relevance of this work.