• Are used instead of sand and crushed stone for various special types of

concrete
o Structural lightweight aggregates
• Are made from minerals such as shale
• Shale is crushed to the desired particle sizes, then heated in an oven to a
temperature at which the shale becomes plastic in consistency
• The small amount of water that occurs naturally in the shale turns to steam
and pops the softened particles like popcorn
• Expanded shale aggregate
⋅ Has a density about 20 percent less than that of normal concrete,
yet it is nearly as strong
o Nonstructural lightweight concrete is made for use in insulating roof toppings that
have densities only one-fourth to one sixth that of normal concrete
• Aggregates in these concretes are usually expanded mica (vermiculite) or
expanded volcanic glass (perlite), both produced by process much like that
used to make expanded shale.
• Much less dense than expanded shale
o Water must be free of harmful substances, especially organic material, clay, and
salts such as chlorides and sulfates
o Water that is suitable for drinking has traditionally been considered suitable for
making concrete
­ Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM)
o Various mineral products may be added to concrete mixtures as a substitute for
some portion of a Portland cement to achieve a range of benefits.
o SCMs are classified as either pozzolans or hydraulic cements
• Pozzolans
⋅ Are materials that react with the calcium hydroxide in wet concrete
to form cementing compounds
⋅ Fly ash
 a fine powder that is a waste product from coal- red power
plants
 increases concrete strength,
 decreases permeability
 increases sulfate resistance
 reduces temperature rise during curing
 reduces mixing water
 improves pumpability and workability of concrete
 also reduces concrete drying shrinkage
⋅ Silica Fume
 Also known as microsilica
 Is a powder that is approximately 100 times finer than
Portland cement, consisting mostly of silicon dioxide
 A byproduct of electronic semiconductor chip manufacturing
 When added to a concrete mix, it produces extremely high-
strength concrete that also has very low permeability
⋅ Natural Pozzolans
 Mostly derived from shales or clays
 Used for purposes such as reducing the internal temperature
of curing concrete