Effect of Metakaolin and Iron Ore Tailings on The Properties if High Strength Concrete

Abstract

This study presents the effect of incorporating metakaolin (MK) and iron ore tailings on the
mechanical and durability properties of high strength concrete for a constant water/binder ratio
of 0.33 .Metakaolin mixtures with cement replacement of 0,8, 10 and 12 % and iron ore tailing
with sand at constant percentage i.e., optimum percentage of 30%, ,were designed for target
strength and slump of 50 mm. From the results, it was observed that 10 % replacement level
was the optimum level in terms of compressive strength. Beyond 10 %replacement levels, the
strength was decreased but remained higher than the control mixture. Compressive strength was
achieved optimum at 10 %replacement. Splitting tensile strength, flexural strength and modulus
of elasticity values have also followed the same trend. In durability tests metakaolin and iron ore
tailings concretes have exhibited high resistance compared to control and the resistance increases
as the metakaolin percentage increases. This investigation has shown that the metakaolin and
iron ore tailings has the potential to produce high strength and high-performance concretes.