j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s p r o c e s s i n g t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 4 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 34–38

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jmatprotec

Effect of expanded perlite aggregate on the properties of

lightweight concrete

İlker Bekir Topçu a,∗ , Burak Işıkdağ b

a Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Department of Civil Engineering, 26480 Eskişehir, Turkey
b Anadolu University, Porsuk Vocational School, 26470 Eskişehir, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Expanded perlite aggregate (EPA) is a heat and sound insulator, and lightweight material
Received 27 April 2007 which ensures economical benefits in constructions. This paper investigates the properties
Received in revised form of concrete containing EPA considering cement types (CEM II 32.5R and CEM I 42.5R), dosages
4 October 2007 (300, 350 and 400) and replacement ratios (0, 15, 30, 45 and 60). The tests were conducted on
Accepted 22 October 2007 fresh and hardened concrete. 150 mm × 150 mm × 150 mm cube, ∅150 mm × 300 mm cylinder
and 100 mm × 100 mm × 500 mm prismatic specimens were used for destructive and nonde-
structive tests at the end of 28 days. In experiments, the minimum unit weight of concrete
Keywords: mixture was 1800 kg/m3 at the dosage of 300, and compressive strengths of EPAC (expanded
Lightweight concrete perlite aggregate concrete) were obtained between 20 and 30 MPa at the replacement ratios
Expanded perlite aggregate of 30% considering cement types, thus it was proved that EPAC can be used as lightweight
Fresh and hardened properties concrete with adequate replacement ratios, despite some losses in mechanical properties.
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The economical benefits of lightweight concrete are the

Perlite is obtained from pumice, which is a glassy form of rhy-
olitic or dacitic magma. It contains 2–5% water (Mladenovic et
al., 2004). Upon rapid heating, perlite transforms into a cellu-
lar material of low bulk-density. As the chemical water held
within the perlite boils (at temperatures of 900–1100 ◦ C), the
resultant steam forms bubbles within the softened rock to
produce a frothy-like structure. The formation of these bub-
bles allows perlite to expand up to 15–20 times of its original
volume (Gunning, 1994). Expanded perlite aggregate (EPA) has
been used in constructional elements such as brick, plaster,
pipe, wall and floor block; however has not been industrially
used in concrete yet (Çobanlı, 1993). Approximately, 4.5 billion
tonnes of the total 6.6 billion tonnes of perlite reserve is
located in Turkey. Besides, other reserves are located in Greece,
USA, Japan, Philippines, Russia, Hungary, Mexico and Italy
(Hamamcı, 1998).
low-heat conductivity and unit weight (Yalgın, 1983a; Seyhan,
1977; Maso, 1978; Cilason and Balta, 1994; Topçu, 1999). Today,
lightweight property of concrete has been still desirable in
constructional elements (Yalgın, 1983b). In most cases, high
buildings have been affected during earthquakes due to the
higher unit weight of concrete; however, replacement of EPA
in concrete may be a solution for reducing damages of earth-
quakes owing to lightweight property (Durmuş, 1985; Lacroix
and Fuentes, 1980; Ergen, 1983; Balta and Cilasun, 1993). Other-
wise, EPA bricks may be used in buildings to reduce the weight
of walls which is mentioned in a recent study (Topçu and
Işıkdağ, 2007b). In most studies, EPA has been used as admix-
ture in cement or directly in concrete as aggregate. In concrete,
EPA is used instead of fine aggregate with various replacement
ratios depending on required strength. In cement, perlite is
easier to be ground than the Portland cement clinkers; there-
fore they result in less energy requirement to produce blended

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: ilkerbt@ogu.edu.tr (İ.B. Topçu), bisikdag@anadolu.edu.tr (B. Işıkdağ).
0924-0136/$ – see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2007.10.052
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s p r o c e s s i n g t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 4 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 34–38
cements by grinding clinker and perlite together. However,
blended cements with perlite may cause strength losses at
early ages compared to Portland cement, then the strength is
improved by pozzolanic reactions lately (Erdem et al., 2007).
The strength of EPA-based concrete is explained with the
bonds between cement and perlite aggregate (Glenn et al.,
1999).
Generally, admixtures such as silica fume and fly ash
has been used in concrete to improve mechanical properties
(hydration, alkali silica reaction and permeability) (Demirboğa
et al., 2001). Nonetheless, EPA is an alternative material
to these admixtures; however unit weight and compressive
strength are decreased with replacement of EPA in concrete
mixtures. As is known, the effect of EPA on concrete is
increased with increasing cure periods (Demirboğa and Gül,
2003). Furthermore, the natural perlite powder has a signifi-
cant pozzolanic effect and is a good active mineral admixture
for concrete, it has also high-freeze–thaw resistance and fire
protection capability (Yu et al., 2003; Mo and Fournier, 2007).
Moreover, EPA contains some microcrystalline quartz and has
a matrix that is mainly composed of chalcedony, which is
potentially susceptible for alkali silica reaction (Collins et al.,
2004; Topçu and Işıkdağ, 2007a). Hence, there has been an
increasing interest in EPA-based concrete.
2. Experimental study
2.1. Materials
2.1.1. Expanded perlite aggregate (EPA)
Perlite contains 70–75% silicon dioxide and 12–16% alumina.
Other components are sodium oxide, potassium oxide, ferro
oxide, manganese oxide, titan oxide and sulfide (Topçu and
Işıkdağ, 2007b). The physical properties of EPA are given
in Table 1. The unit weight of EPA depends on grada-
tion and expansion. The heat conductivity of perlite with
the unit weight of 90 kg/m3 is 0.04 W/mK at 24 ◦ C accord-
ing to Turkish Standard (TS 3681) (Topçu and Işıkdağ,
2007b).
2.1.2. Cement
In experiments, CEM I 42.5R and CEM II 32.5R produced by
ESÇİM cement factory were used (TS EN 197-1).
2.1.3. Aggregate
Osmaneli sand and crushed stones were used as aggregate
in concrete production. The gradations of aggregates were
prepared considering the reference curves (TS 707). The unit
Table 1 – Physical properties of expanded perlite
Color White
Melting point 1300 ◦ C
Specific heat 0.20 kcal/kg ◦ C
Unit weight 2.2–2.4 g/cm3
Rough density 30–190 kg/m3
Heat conductivity 0.034–0.040 kcal/m h ◦ C
Sound insulating 18 db (125 Hz)
35
weight and specific gravity of aggregates were determined
according to Turkish Standards (TS 706 EN 12620).
2.1.4. Mixture water
In concrete production network water was used according to
Turkish Standards (TS 1247).
2.2. Experimental method
In initial experiments, the effect of cement types were inves-
tigated according to 30% EPA ratio. EPA was used instead
of fine aggregate (sand) by volumetric batching considering
volumetric expansion of perlite after wetted. In labora-
tory, standard cylindrical (150 mm × 300 mm) and cubic
(150 mm × 150 mm × 150 mm) concrete specimens were pro-
duced with the cements of CEM I 42.5R and CEM II 32.5R at
the dosages of 300, 350 and 400, to determine mechanical
and physical properties of concrete containing EPA by con-
ducting fresh and hardened concrete tests on the specimens.
In secondary experiments, CEM I 42.5R was used with the
dosages of 300, 350, 400 and EPA was used with the replace-
ment ratios of 0%, 15%, 30%, 45% and 60% to determine the
effects of EPA on compressive and splitting tensile strengths.
The water/cement ratio was determined as 0.5 in the mixtures.
The specific weights of sand and crushed stone were 2600
and 2700 kg/m3 , respectively, and the maximum aggregate size
was 31.5 mm in concrete mixtures. During production process,
the fresh concrete was mixed with a mixer, and specimens
were vibrated on vibration table. The workability of concrete
mixtures was also determined with slump tests. The concrete
specimens were cured in lime saturated water at 23 ± 1 ◦ C for
28 days, afterwards destructive and nondestructive tests were
conducted on specimens (TS EN 12350, 12390). The dynamic
elasticity modulus of specimens was calculated with the for-
mula
V 2 n(1 + )(1 − 2)
Ed (10−6 ) =
1−
( = poisson, n = unit weight (kg/m3 ) and V = pulse velocity
(m/s).
3. Results and discussion
According to experimental results, dynamic elasticity modu-
lus, compressive and splitting tensile strengths increase with
the increase in dosage and cement quality. It is proved that
cement types and dosages inconsiderably affect workability;
however, as the dosage and cement quality increases, VeBe
time and unit weight increase, slump decreases. The test
results of fresh and hardened concrete specimens are given
in Figs. 1–4, respectively. The compressive and splitting ten-
sile strengths considerably decreased with the increase in EPA
ratio; however it was observed that EPAC can be still pro-
duced with the lower replacement ratios despite the losses
in mechanical properties.
36 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s p r o c e s s i n g t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 4 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 34–38
Fig. 1 – Unit weight and VeBe value of fresh concretes
containing 30% EPA ratio considering cement type and
dosage.
Fig. 2 – Slump and flow of fresh concretes containing 30%
EPA ratio considering cement type and dosage.
3.1. Fresh concrete tests of EPAC containing 30%
perlite ratio considering cement type
3.1.1. Unit weight
The unit weights of concrete mixtures were calculated
between 1800 and 2040 kg/m3 . It was proved that the unit
weight of fresh concrete increased as the specific gravity and
dosage of cement increased. The fresh unit weight of concrete
mixtures produced with CEM II 32.5R at dosages of 350 and 400
increased 4.72% and 8.89%, respectively compared to concrete
at dosage of 300 with the same type of cement. And, the fresh
Fig. 3 – Compressive strengths of concretes containing 30%
EPA ratio considering cement type, dosage and specimen
shape.
Fig. 4 – Splitting-tensile strengths of concretes containing
30% EPA ratio considering cement type, dosage and
specimen shape.
unit weight of concrete mixtures produced with CEM I 42.5R
at dosages of 350 and 400 increased 4.78% and 10.87%, respec-
tively compared to concrete at dosage of 300 with the same
type of cement. As is known, the specific gravity of the CEM
I 42.5R was higher than specific gravity of the CEM II 32.5R
cement, therefore the fresh unit weights of the concretes pro-
duced with CEM II 32.5R cement were consequently lower, this
decrease was obtained 2.17%, 2.23% and 3.92% for concretes
at dosages of 300, 350 and 400, respectively. In experiments,
it was observed that the minimum unit weight of concrete
specimens was 1800 kg/m3 at the dosage of 300, which was
adequate for a lightweight concrete. Furthermore, the mini-
mum and maximum unit weights of hardened concretes were
between 1750 and 1900 kg/m3 .
3.1.2. VeBe time
It was observed that the VeBe times of concrete mixtures
increased with the increase in dosage and were between
3.40 and 3.80 s. The VeBe time of mixtures produced with
CEM II 32.5R at dosages of 350 and 400 increased 5.88%
and 8.82%, respectively, compared to concrete at dosage of
300 with the same type of cement. Nevertheless, the VeBe
time of mixtures produced with CEM I 42.5R at dosages of
350 and 400 increased 5.71% and 8.57%, respectively com-
pared to concrete at dosage of 300 with the same type of
cement. The VeBe time of the fresh concrete mixtures pro-
duced with CEM II 32.5R was approximately 2.73% lower than
the VeBe time of the concrete mixtures produced with CEM
I 42.5R.
3.1.3. Slump and flow
The slumps of the concrete mixtures were observed between
100 and 130 mm. The concrete mixtures with lower unit
weight had higher slump values, due to their porous struc-
ture. The slumps of concretes with CEM II 32.5R and CEM I
42.5R cements at dosage of 400 decreased 7.69% and 0.09%,
respectively compared to those at 300 dosage. Consequently,
it was observed that the slump values of the concretes with
CEM II 32.5R were higher than the slump values of the con-
cretes with CEM I 42.5R cement. Furthermore, flow test results
were observed between 310 and 360 mm as demonstrated in
Fig. 2.
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s p r o c e s s i n g t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 4 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 34–38 37

3.2. Destructive tests of EPAC containing 30% perlite

ratio considering cement type

The hardened concrete test results of lightweight concretes

containing EPA were examined according to figures. The con-
crete specimens were grouped as 300, 350 and 400 considering
dosages, and strengths were demonstrated in Figs. 3 and 4,
in order to make a comparison. It was observed that the
compressive and splitting-tensile strengths were considerably
low compared to conventional concrete at the same dosages,
owing to EPA. The minimum compressive and splitting-tensile
strengths were 11 and 1.7 MPa at the dosages of 300, and the
maximum values of these strengths were 26 and 2.3 MPa at
the dosages of 400, respectively, for cylindrical specimens with
different types of cements.
The compressive strengths of concretes containing 30%
EPA were calculated between 11 and 33 MPa according to Fig. 6 – Splitting tensile strengths of CEM I 42.5R concrete
dosage, cement type and shape of the specimens, and they cylindrical specimens considering cement dosage and
approximately increased 20% and 30% at the dosages of replacement ratio of EPA.
350 and 400, respectively, compared to 300 dosages. Con-
sequently, it was observed that the cylindrical compressive
strengths were 30% lower than cubic compressive strengths.
Furthermore, the splitting-tensile strengths increased with
the increase in dosage, and were observed between 0.9 and
2.3 MPa depending on specimen shape, dosage and cement.
The splitting-tensile strength increased 13% and 22% at the
dosages of 350 and 400, respectively, compared to those at 300
dosage, and splitting-tensile strength of concrete produced
with CEM II 32.5R cement was approximately 8% lower than
those with CEM I 42.5R.

3.3. Destructive tests of EPAC containing 0%, 15%, Fig. 7 – Ultrasonic pulse velocity and modulus of dynamic
30%, 45% and 60% perlite considering cement type and elasticity of concretes containing 30% EPA ratio considering
replacement ratio cement type and dosage.

The concrete specimens were produced with CEM I 42.5R at

the dosages of 300, 350 and 400 considering 0%, 15%, 30%,
45% and 60% replacement ratios to determine the effects of
EPA on compressive and splitting tensile strengths, as demon-
strated in Figs. 5 and 6. The minimum compressive and
splitting-tensile strengths were 15 and 1.5 MPa at the dosages
of 300, and the maximum values of these strengths were 37
and 3.5 MPa at the dosages of 400, respectively. According to
results, the optimum strengths for lightweight concrete were
obtained between 15% and 30% ratios at the dosage of 350 and
400. Furthermore, results have shown that higher replacement
of EPA (60%) negatively affects both compressive and split-
ting strengths of concrete specimens, but positively affects the
lightweight property.

3.4. Nondestructive tests of EPAC containing 30%

perlite ratio considering cement type

3.4.1. Ultrasonic pulse velocity and dynamic elasticity

Fig. 5 – Compressive strengths of CEM I 42.5R concrete
cylindrical specimens considering cement dosage and
replacement ratio of EPA.
modulus
The maximum and minimum ultrasound pulse velocities
were 2.5 and 3.2 km/s, respectively. These results were used
for calculating dynamic elasticity modulus of specimens.
The dynamic elasticity moduli of the concrete specimens
were determined between 11 and 20 GPa. It was observed
that dynamic elasticity modulus increased as the dosage
increased, as shown in Fig. 7. This increase were approxi-
mately 16% and 9% at the dosages of was 400 and 350 for
cylindrical specimens, compared to 300 dosage with same
38 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s p r o c e s s i n g t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 4 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 34–38
type of cement. However, dynamic elasticity modulus of cubic
specimens approximately increased 26% and 4.5%, at the
dosages of 350 and 400, respectively, compared to the concrete
at the dosage of 400 with same type of cement.
4. Conclusions
In this study, initially 30% replacement ratio of EPA was used
to determine the effects of cement type; secondarily vari-
ous replacement ratios were used to determine the effects of
EPA on compressive and splitting tensile strengths for pre-
diction of lightweight properties of concrete. According to
results, concrete quality between C20 and C40 can be obtained
with improving cement quality, dosage or replacement ratio
of EPA. It was proved that, the more use of EPA ensures the
less strength and better lightweight property. Furthermore,
the minimum unit weight for lightweight concrete consider-
ing cement types was obtained with the CEM II 32.5R cement at
the dosage of 300 with the replacement ratio of 30%, however
the optimum strengths for lightweight concrete were obtained
between 15% and 30% ratios at the dosage of 350 and 400 with
the CEM I 42.5R.
In experiments, it was observed that the compressive
strength, splitting-tensile strength and the dynamic elastic-
ity modulus increased with the increase in dosage. However,
workability was inconsiderably affected by the cement types
and dosages. According to experimental results, flow table
and slump values decreased as the dosage, cement quality
and VeBe time increased. Furthermore, the unit weights of
concretes increased in parallel with the increase in dosage
and cement quality. According to mechanical property of con-
crete, it was proved that EPA can be used as fine aggregate in
concrete with appropriate replacement ratios along with the
lightweight property.
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