Impact of Self-Vacuuming of Lithoid-Pumice Aggregate on Concrete Properties

Development of modern construction material science follows the way of cardinal increase of durability of erected constructions. The durability of concrete itself can be evaluated in different ways, but in practice it is convenient to use and test its water resistance, as this property is a qualitative indicator of capillary-porous microstructure of the material. Waterproofing is also closely related to other properties that predetermine the durability of concrete, such as frost resistance, corrosion resistance, etc. Increasing the water resistance of concrete is achieved by increasing the density of all components: cement stone and aggregates. Basically, waterproof concrete uses aggregate from dense rocks such as basalt, granite, diabase, etc. The idea of using porous rocks as aggregates for waterproof concrete at first glance may not be appropriate, but a deeper approach to the issue of application shows the obvious advantage of some of the lightweight aggregates compared with dense. The article provides information about the effect of self-vacuuming of litho-aluminous aggregate in hardening concrete. It is shown that the introduction of these aggregates leads to a decrease in the permeability of concrete, and in some cases to an increase in its strength. The test results are given in comparison with concrete on dense aggregates of basalt rubble and river sand.