Construction and Building Materials 48 (2013) 894900

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Construction and Building Materials

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Strength and durability characteristics of copper tailing concrete

Blessen Skariah Thomas a, Alok Damare b, R.C. Gupta c,
a
Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
b
Structural Engineering, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
c
Department of Civil Engineering, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

h i g h l i g h t s

 Copper tailing (a solid waste material) is used in cement concrete as a partial replacement of natural river sand.
 Aim into dispose the solid waste material, and to nd an alternate to natural sand.
 M25 grade of concrete used with watercement ratios 0.4, 0.45 and 0.5.
 Copper tailing may be utilised for the partial replacement for ne aggregates till 60% replacement.

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

Article history: Solid waste disposal is a worldwide problem. If not properly disposed, these materials become sources of
Received 2 June 2013 environmental pollution and the problems related to it. Various studies are done worldwide to dispose
Received in revised form 9 July 2013 these solid waste materials by using them for partial or complete replacement of aggregates in cement
Accepted 20 July 2013
concrete. Copper tailing is the solid waste material left during the purication of the precious copper
Available online 24 August 2013
from the copper ores. Disposal of these waste tailings are very essential as it destroys the ecological envi-
ronment. This paper investigates the suitability of copper tailing in cement concrete as a partial replace-
Keywords:
ment of natural river sand. M25 grade of concrete is designed as per IS:10262-2010, with water/cement
Copper tailing
Shrinkage
ratios of 0.4, 0.45 and 0.5. 0% to 60% substitution of ne aggregates was done with copper tailings. The
Permeability specimens with 0% copper tailing was taken as control mix. Tests were done to determine the compres-
Alkalinity sive strength, exural strength, pull-off strength, abrasion resistance, drying shrinkage, air and water per-
Sulphate attack meability, rapid chloride permeability, alkalinity and resistance to sulphate attack in concrete specimens.
It was observed that Copper tailing may be utilised for the partial replacement for natural ne aggregates
till 60% replacement, with watercement ratios 0.4, 0.45 and 0.50. As the copper tailing concrete (up to
60% substitution) exhibited good strength and durability characteristics, it may be recommended for all
construction activities.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Disposal of copper tailings has long been recognised as an envi-

Copper tailing is the solid waste material left during the puri-
cation of the precious copper from the copper ores. Disposal of cop-
per tailing is one of the major important environmental issues in a
copper mine. To prevent the uncontrolled liberate of copper tail-
ings material into the atmosphere; copper mines generally have
a dumping facility in the form of a dam or a pond. This is a conve-
nient way of storage when tailings are usually in the form of slurry
when they are discharged from the concentrator. But these types of
dumping also need more land in future and failure in providing
more land results in environmental problem.
Corresponding author. Address: MSH-16, Malaviya National Institute of Tech-
nology, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302017, India. Tel.: +91 9414180915.
E-mail address: chaprathu44@gmail.com (R.C. Gupta).
ronmental problem due to the hazards of earth and aquatic pollu-
tion. The method of growing plants over the tailings appears to be
an effective method to decrease these effects. Dumping of the fre-
quently produced, huge mass of tailing material after the process-
ing operations is one of the common environmental problems
related with the mineral industries. As the mining industries dis-
charge their waste materials to the surrounding location, it gener-
ates lot of problems. The pollution creating waste can be disposed
thru dams, (which comprise of factory sediments, mine tailings
and deposited materials; and are generally considered as the larg-
est man-made structures in the world) that have played a signi-
cant role in protecting valuable soil and water resources from
dirty slurries [1,11,13,21].
Onuaguluchi and Eren (2012) studied on the properties of cop-
per tailing when used as a potential additive in cement mortar and
concrete. In the case of copper tailing mortars, pre wetted tailings

0950-0618/$ - see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.07.075
 B.S. Thomas et al. / Construction and Building Materials 48 (2013) 894900 895

at 5% addition level reduced the negative effects of dry copper and
proved to be the best reuse approach. In the case of concrete, they
explained that, copper tailing have a slight negative impact on the
slump, porosity and setting time of concrete mixtures. When
compared to the control specimen, there is improvement in
mechanical strength and abrasion resistance, and reduced chloride
permeability. Therefore, minimum 5% copper tailing can be
introduced in concrete as an environment friendly and zero cost
material [1719].
Ramakokovhu et al. (2012), studied on the Leaching Character-
istics of Upgraded Copper Flotation Tailings. It was found out that,
the copper extraction increased with an increase in temperature
and a decrease in pH levels. In comparison to the raw feed sample,
the upgraded sample reported a maximum copper extraction of
69% which was 9%, higher than raw feed % extractions. The impu-
rity carry over was reduced from 18% to 4% on the upgraded
sample. The reduction in impurity co-extraction was as a result
of the removal of the reactive gangue elements during the upgrad-
ing process, this minimised the number of side reaction occurring
during leaching [16].
Iglesia et al. (2006) explained that, elevated available copper
content in tailings has a strong effect on the bacterial community
composition, but that other factors like pH and organic matter con-
tent also play an important role in the structure of these commu-
nities. The number of abundant bacteria was signicantly lower
than in soils not exposed to metal pollution [12]. Owor et al.
(2007), experimented on the impact of tailings from the Kilembe
copper mining district on Lake George, Uganda. They mentioned
that, when the sulphidic components in the copper tailings are ex-
posed to an oxic environment, it leads to a very complex oxidation
process and increase in the acidity. This results in the mobilisation
of metallic elements and sulphates to the surrounding water
bodies and soil [14].
Saxena and Dhimole (2006) experimented on the utilisation and
value addition of copper tailing as an extender for development of
paints. They explained that, copper tailing waste after proper
processing has good potential to be used as extender in paints with
respect to oil absorption, pH, specic gravity, etc. Physico-mechan-
ical properties of the paint lm like hardness, impact resistance
and abrasion resistance and adhesion were found better compared
mixture of CG and CT as clay substitute can reduce the tempera-
ture by more than 100 C and can greatly reduce coal consumption
during clinker calcinations [7].
Copper tailings has maximum amount of silica (75%). In com-
parison with the chemical composition of natural pozzolonas of
ASTM C618-99, the summation of three oxides (silica, alumina
and iron oxide) in copper tailings is 90.76%, which exceeds the
70% requirement for class N raw and calcined natural pozzolanas.
Therefore, copper tailing is expected to have good potential to pro-
duce high quality pozzolanas.
2. Material properties and preparation of test specimens
2.1. Raw materials
Ordinary Portland Cement of grade 43, conforming to BIS 1989 was used. (Spe-
cic gravity-3.15, Normal consistency-30.5%, Initial setting time-60 min, Final set-
ting time-200 min) Natural river sand conrming to zone II as per BIS 1970; void
content 34% as per ASTM 2009 (specic gravity-2.57, free surface moisture-1%, ne-
ness modulus-2.735) Equal proportions of 10 mm size (neness modulus-4.92) and
20 mm size (neness modulus-7.185) crushed stone was used as coarse aggregates
with an average specic gravity-2.60. Copper tailings supplied by Hindustan Copper
Limited, Khetri, Rajasthan, India; was used. (Specic gravity-3.10, neness modu-
lus-1.573 and conrming to zone I as per BIS 1970) The particle size distributions
of aggregates are shown in Fig. 1 and chemical composition of copper tailing is gi-
ven in Table 1.
2.2. Preparation of test specimens
To investigate the suitability of copper tailing as a substitute for ne aggregates
in concrete, M25 grade concrete was designed (As per IS:10262-2010) with three
different water cement ratios. [0.45 (1:1.656:3.102), 0.45 (1:1.464:2.74) and 0.5
(1:1.61:3.013)] copper tailing is replaced for natural sand from 0% to 60%. The
mixture proportions are given in Tables 24. Plasticizer was used to arrive at
the desired workability (Above 0.91). In these mixes 9 cubes of size
100  100  100 mm were casted for 7, 28 and 90 days compressive strength test,
and two cubes for abrasion test. Nine beams of size 100  100  500 mm were
casted for 7, 28 and 90 days exural strength test and pull-off test. The mixtures
were prepared and cast at indoor temperature of 2530 C. Compaction factor tests
were done on fresh concrete to determine its workability. Moulds were covered
120
100
% Passing

to the conventional extender. The performance in corrosive atmo- 80

sphere was good except the paint with 50% pigment [15]. Gupta 60 20mm C.A
et al. (2012) investigated on the stabilization of clayey soil using 40 10mm C.A
copper tailings. They explained that, the expansive soils (which 20 Fine Aggregates
causes potential natural hazard by creating extensive damage to 0 Copper Tailings
structures built on them) can be stabilized by the combination of
30% clay and 70% copper tailings to 70% clay and 30% copper tail-
ings [8,9]. Onuaguluchi and Eren (2013) studied on rheology,
Sieve Size
strength and durability properties of mortars containing copper
tailings as a cement replacement material. They explained that, Fig. 1. Particle size distribution of aggregates.
the substitution of cement with copper tailings led to an increase
in yield stress of mortar mixtures and decrease in ow spread. This
became more pronounced as tailings content of mixtures in- Table 1
creased. The test results showed that samples containing copper Chemical composition of copper tailings.
tailings had higher resistance to chloride penetration. Resistance S.No. Chemical tests Test sample result (%)
improved with increases in copper tailings content and the use
1 Loss on ignition(L.O.I.) 2.10
of pre-wetted tailings in mixtures [20]. 2 Silica(SiO2) 75.0
Sauer et al. (2000), studied on the re-vegetation on the copper 3 Magnesium oxide(MgO) 0.49
tailings. They explained that, if a self-sustaining vegetative cover 4 Calcium oxide(CaO) 0.16
was implemented on the copper tailings, it could prevent soil 5 Aluminium oxide(Al2O3) 12.16
6 Iron oxide (Fe2O3) 3.60
and wind erosion and there is no need of spreading top soil on 7 Potassium oxide(K2O) 1.85
the copper tailing layers [10]. Qiu et al. (2011), studied on the 8 Sodium oxide(Na2O) 4.297
utilisation of Coal Gangue and Copper Tailings as Clay for Cement 9 Titanium oxide(TiO2) 0.013
Clinker Calcinations. They explained that, qualied cement clinker 10 Copper oxide(CuO) 0.32
11 Manganese oxide (Mn2O2) 0.010
can be burnt out when taking CT and CG in place of clay and mixed
12 SiO2 + AL2O3 + Fe2O3 90.76
with high-calcium limestone and low-calcium limestone. A
896 B.S. Thomas et al. / Construction and Building Materials 48 (2013) 894900

Table 2
Mixture proportions and properties of fresh concrete with watercement ratio 0.4.

ID 400 401 402 403 404 405 406

Cement 387.000 387.000 387.000 387.000 387.000 387.000 387.000
Water 154.800 154.800 154.800 154.800 154.800 154.800 154.800
10 mm CA 600.255 600.255 600.255 600.255 600.255 600.255 600.255
20 mm CA 600.255 600.255 600.255 600.255 600.255 600.255 600.255
FA 640.752 588.570 533.744 476.276 416.165 353.411 288.014
Copper tailing 0 65.397 133.436 204.118 277.443 353.411 432.022
Specic gravity (sand + CT) 2.57 2.623 2.676 2.729 2.782 2.835 2.888
Admixture% 0.6 0.65 0.85 0.95 1.05 1.1 1.2
Compaction factor 0.92 0.91 0.92 0.90 0.94 0.94 0.93
Density (kg/m3) 2305.66 2318.88 2332.09 2345.30 2358.52 2371.73 2384.95

Table 3
Mixture proportions and properties of fresh concrete with watercement ratio 0.45.

ID 450 451 452 453 454 455 456

Cement 413.333 413.333 413.333 413.333 413.333 413.333 413.333
Water 186 186 186 186 186 186 186
10 mm CA 566.713 566.713 566.713 566.713 566.713 566.713 566.713
20 mm CA 566.713 566.713 566.713 566.713 566.713 566.713 566.713
FA 605.168 555.884 504.103 449.826 393.053 333.785 272.020
Copper tailing 0 61.765 126.026 192.783 262.036 333.785 408.029
Specic gravity (sand + CT) 2.57 2.623 2.676 2.729 2.782 2.835 2.888
Admixture% 0 0.2 0.25 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.55
Compaction factor 0.91 0.91 0.89 0.93 0.9 0.94 0.91
Density (kg/m3) 2244.93 2257.41 2269.88 2282.37 2294.85 2307.33 2319.81

Table 4
Mixture proportions and properties of fresh concrete with watercement ratio 0.5.

ID 500 501 502 503 504 505 506

Cement 380.000 380.000 380.000 380.000 380.000 380.000 380.000
Water 190 190 190 190 190 190 190
10 mm CA 572.419 572.419 572.419 572.419 572.419 572.419 572.419
20 mm CA 572.419 572.419 572.419 572.419 572.419 572.419 572.419
FA 611.089 561.322 454.103 454.227 396.899 337.050 274.681
Copper tailing 0 62.369 126.026 194.669 264.599 337.050 412.021
Specic gravity (sand + CT) 2.57 2.623 2.676 2.729 2.782 2.835 2.888
Admixture% 0 0 0 0.15 0.25 0.3 0.3
Compaction factor 0.96 0.945 0.94 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.93
Density (kg/m3) 2230.93 2243.53 2199.96 2268.73 2281.34 2293.94 2306.54

with plastic sheets, soon after casting and de-moulded after 24 h. Curing was done
in water tank, with controlled temperature of 2527 C. Tests were done to deter-
mine the compressive strength, exural strength, pull-off strength, abrasion resis-
tance, depth of carbonation, drying shrinkage, air and water permeability, rapid
chloride permeability, alkalinity and resistance to sulphate attack in concrete spec-
imens as per IS specications [26].
3. Laboratory testing program
3.1. Density, setting and hardening of copper tailing concrete
Workability of fresh concrete was tested in compacting factor
apparatus as per Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS 1199-1959). Den-
sity of fresh concrete mixtures was also measured as per BIS 1959.
The workability and density of concrete with different percentages
of copper tailing were compared with that of control mix. The re-
sults of the workability and density of fresh concrete are given in
Tables 24. It was observed that the density of concrete increased
with increasing percentages of copper tailing in concrete. The rea-
son for the increase is due to the high specic gravity of copper
tailing when compared with natural sand.
3.2. Compressive strength, exural strength, pull-off strength and
abrasion resistance of concrete
For measuring the compressive strength, concrete cubes of size
100  100  100 mm size were cast with varying percentages of
copper tailing and varying watercement ratios. The specimens
were de-moulded after 24 h and tested in compression testing ma-
chine after 7, 28 and 90 days of curing (As per IS:516-1959). From
the results given in Fig. 2, when the watercement ratio is 0.4 (till
40% substitution), the copper tailing concrete shows more com-
pressive strength than that of control mix (90 day strength). Simi-
lar trend can be seen till 20% substitution in 0.45 w/c ratio and till
30% substitution at 0.5 w/c ratio.
In the case of exural strength test, concrete beams of size
100  100  500 mm size were casted with varying percentages
of copper tailing and varying watercement ratios. From Fig. 3, at
w/c ratio of 0.4, there was increase in exural strength than the
control mix till 30% substitution (90 day strength). When w/c ratio
was 0.45, exural strength was higher than that of control mix till
60% substitution. At 0.5 w/c ratio, the exural strength at 90 days
showed gradual increase till 60% substitution.
 Compressive Strength, Mpa B.S. Thomas et al. / Construction and Building Materials 48 (2013) 894900 897

60 2

Depth of Abrasion, mm
50
1.5
40
W-C= 0.4
30 7 Day 1
28 day W-C= 0.45
20
90 Day 0.5 W-C= 0.5
10
0 0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
% of Copper Tailing % of Copper Tailings

Fig. 2. Compressive strength of cubes for w/c ratio 0.4, 0.45 and 0.5. Fig. 5. Abrasion resistance of copper tailing concrete.

6 300

Shrinkage Strain in 10-6

Flexural Strength, Mpa

5 250
0%
4 200
10%
3 7 Day 150
20%
28 day 100
2 30%
90 Day
1 50 40%

0 50%
0
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%

10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%

10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
0%

0%

0%

0 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 84 91 60%
Time in Days
% of Copper Tailing
Fig. 6. Shrinkage strain of copper tailing concrete for w/c = 0.4.
Fig. 3. Flexural strength of beams for w/c ratio 0.4, 0.45 and 0.5.

well as for heavy duty oor tiles as they exhibited average wear
less than 2 mm. When the watercement ratio is 0.4 and 0.5, the
Pull-Off Strength, N/mm2

2.5 least abrasion can be seen at 20% substitution. The value is even
2 less than that of the control mix. Same trend can be noted in 10%
1.5 and 20% substitution, when watercement ratio is 0.45. In all the
W/C-0.4 three cases, the abrasion value increases with increasing percent-
1
W/C-0.45 age of copper tailing and maximum value of abrasion was seen
0.5 at 60% substitution of copper tailing in the place of natural sand.
W/C-0.5
0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
3.3. Drying shrinkage
% of Copper Tailings

Fig. 4. Pull-off strength on beam specimen. For measuring the drying shrinkage of concrete, three concrete
beams of 75  75  300 mm was taken. After 28 days of curing,
The tensile strength on the cover zone concrete is termed as two stainless steel demec studs were perfectly bonded to the con-
pull-off strength. This test was done on the broken pieces of con- crete using an epoxy adhesive and the gauge length (212 1 mm)
crete beams after measuring the 28 day exural strength. 50 mm between the studs were measured using a length comparator (De-
diameter iron discs were perfectly bonded to the concrete using mec Gauge) conforming to IS:9459-1980. Then the specimens were
an epoxy adhesive. The standard loading rate of 510 kN/min stored in a control cabinet maintained at 27 2 C and 50 5% rel-
was applied. The force that was required to pull-off the disc, along ative humidity. The gauge lengths of the specimens are measured
with the surface area of the concrete was measured as the pull-off after every 7 days of the initial measurement, up to 3 months
strength. From the results (Fig. 4), for all watercement ratios, an (91 days).
increase in strength are noted from 10% till 30% replacement and From the results given in Figs. 6, 7 and 9; when w/c is 0.4; at
beyond that, it tends to decrease. But for all watercement ratios, 7 days, for control mix, the shrinkage strain value was
all the pull-off strength values till 60% replacement are equivalent 35.19  10 6. A decreasing trend in shrinkage strain value could
to that of the control mix. So it can be understood that the usage of be noticed from 10% to 30% substitution and beyond which, the va-
copper tailing does not affect the tensile strength of cover zone lue started to increase and reached 50.94  10 6 at 60% substitution.
concrete. Same trend was noticed at 28 days, 56 days and 91 days and also
The abrasion test was done to measure the resistance to wear. It when watercement ratio is 0.5, it followed the trend of 0.4 w/c
was performed according to BIS 1237 (1980) on 28 days cured con- ratio. When w/c ratio is 0.45, for 7, 28, 56 and 91 days, the shrinkage
crete cubes (which are oven dried at 110 5 C for 24 h) of strain values up to 20% substitution decreases from control mix
100  100  100 mm. A suitable abrasive powder was used, and and gradually increases from 30% to 60% substitution (see Fig. 8).
a load of 600 N was applied on the specimen as the surface area ex-
posed to wear was 100 cm2. As per the code, in general purpose 3.4. Water permeability and air permeability
tiles, the average maximum wear shall not exceed 3.5 mm and
wear on individual specimen shall not exceed 4 mm. For heavy One of the characteristics that inuence the durability of
duty oors, it is 2 mm and 2.5 mm respectively. The abrasion resis- concrete is its permeability to the ingress of water and other
tance values of the concrete samples are given in Fig. 5. In the test potentially deleterious substances. A suitably low permeability
samples, all the mixes could be used for general purpose tiles as can be obtained by having an adequate cement content, low
898 B.S. Thomas et al. / Construction and Building Materials 48 (2013) 894900

0.3

Air Permeability Index

300
Shrinkage Strain in 10 -6

0.25
250
0.2

(Bar/min)
200 10%
0.15 W/C=0.4
150 20%
0.1 W/C=0.45
100 30%
40% W/C=0.5
50 0.05
0 50% 0
0 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 84 91 60% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Time in Days % of Copper Tailings

Fig. 7. Shrinkage strain of copper tailing concrete for w/c = 0.45. Fig. 10. Air permeability index of copper tailing concrete.

0.5 bar and the pressure reduction per minute was recorded
350
continuously for 15 min. As per literatures, if the air permeability
Shrinkage Strain in 10 -6

300 index (Ln(bar)/min) is less than 0.1 bar, the durability risk rating
250 is low; 0.10.5 is medium risk; 0.50.9 is high risk and above
0%
200 0.9 bar is very high risk. From the results (Fig. 10), for waterce-
10%
ment ratios 0.4, 0.45 and 0.50, the air permeability of copper tailing
150 20%
30%
concrete (1060% substitution) is less than that of control mix. It
100
40% was observed that the air permeability index decreases with
50 increasing amount of copper tailing in concrete; which may be
50%
0 60% due to the denser packing of copper tailing concrete. As all the re-
0 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 84 91 sults are between 0.1 and 0.5, the durability risk rating is medium.
Time in Days

Fig. 8. Shrinkage strain of copper tailing concrete for w/c = 0.5.

3.5. Rapid chloride permeability test

This test method (As per ASTM C 1202) in concrete specimen

provides a rapid indication of their resistance to chloride ion pen-
etration by evaluating the electrical conductance of concrete sam-
Depth of Penetration (mm)

8
6 concrete to resist the penetration of chloride ions). The electrical
4 sion of the reinforcement in cement concrete. This test method
2 W/C=0.45
0
0% 10%
20% 30%
40% 50%
% of Copper Tailings
Fig. 9. Water permeability of copper tailing concrete.
watercement ratio, complete compaction of concrete and ade-
quate curing. Permeability test was done according to DIN 1048,
on 28 days cured concrete cubes of 100  100  100 mm. The
specimen was exposed from above, a constant water pressure of
0.5 N/mm2 acting normal to the mould-lling direction, for a per-
iod of 3 days. The specimen were removed after 3 days and split
down the centre. After 510 min drying, the maximum depth of
penetration was measured from the three specimen and mean of
the measurement is calculated as the depth of penetration. From
the results given in Fig. 9; when w/c ratio was 0.40, the depth of
penetration of control mix was 5 mm. at 10% substitution the pen-
etration was 4.75 mm. From 20% to 60 % substitution, the depth of
penetration started increasing from 5.25 mm to 8 mm. At 0.45 and
0.5 watercement ratio, from the value of control mix, there was
gradual increase in the depth of penetration from 10% to 60% sub-
stitution. It can be understood that the concrete with copper tailing
replacement till 60% would be safe against water permeability.
Air permeability is measured as per Autoclam Permeability Sys-
tems (APS) on 28 days cured concrete specimens (150  150
 150 mm cubes) that are dried in an oven maintained at 60 for
14 days. The pressure in the apparatus was increased above
ples (RCPT is an electrical indication to measure the ability of
conductance results have shown good correlation with the corro-
W/C= 0.4
consists of monitoring the amount of electrical current passed
through 51-mm thick slices of 102-mm nominal diameter core
W/C=0.5 during a 6 h period (monitored every 30 min). A potential differ-
ence of 60 V from a DC power source is maintained across the ends
of the specimen. The apparatus consists of a two component cell
60% assembly (which checked for is air tight and water tight) whose
cathode compartment is immersed in a sodium chloride solution
(3%), the anode compartment in a 0.3 M sodium hydroxide solu-
tion. The total charge passed, in coulombs, has been found to be re-
lated to the resistance of the specimen to chloride ion penetration.
As per the code, if the charge passed in coulombs is less than 100,
chloride ion penetrability is negligible, 1001000 is very low pen-
etrability, 10002000 is low penetrability, 20004000 is moderate
penetrability and above 4000 coulombs is high penetrability.
From the results of the RCPT test (Fig. 11), when watercement
ratio is 0.4 and 0.5, the chloride ion permeability decreases contin-
uously from the control mix till 30% substitution, and then it
started to increase till 60% substitution. In the case of 0.45
watercement ratio, there was decrease in the value of chloride
permeability till 40% substitution and beyond which it started to
increase till 60% substitution. All the values obtained were be-
tween 100 and 1000 and hence the chloride ion permeability is
very low as per the code. The important observation is that, addi-
tion of copper tailing in concrete up to 30% of the ne aggregates
will denitely help to reduce the pores of the concrete and makes
it more impermeable (makes concrete less permeable to chloride
ions).
3.6. Alkalinity test and resistance to sulphate attack
For the alkalinity test, the concrete cubes after curing, were
dried in an oven for 24 h at 105 C. After cooling in room
 B.S. Thomas et al. / Construction and Building Materials 48 (2013) 894900 899

Charge Passed in Coulombs 700

3.5

600 3

% Weight Loss
500 2.5
400 2 w/c=0.4
300 W/C=0.4 1.5
w/c-0.45
200 W/C=0.45 1
w/c=0.5
100 W/C=0.5 0.5
0 0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
% of Copper Tailing % of Copper Tailings

Fig. 11. Rapid chloride ion permeability in copper tailing concrete. Fig. 15. Sulphate attack in copper tailing concrete at 90 days.

The resistance to sulphate attack was studied by immersing the

28 days cured standard cube specimens (100  100  100 mm) in
13 a solution containing 7.5% magnesium sulphate for 28, 60 and
90 days. The concentration of the solution was maintained
pH Value of Solution

12.8
throughout the period by changing the solution periodically. The
12.6 change in weight during the period of 28, 60 and 90 days was
W/C=0.4 determined. From the results (Figs. 1315), it could be noticed that
12.4 W/C=0.45 the copper tailing concrete got good resistance against sulphate at-
W/C=0.5 tack, similar to that of control specimens.
12.2

12 4. Results and discussion

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
% of Copper Tailing  The density of concrete increased with increasing percentages
Fig. 12. pH values showing the alkalinity of copper tailing concrete.
of copper tailing in concrete. The reason for the increase is
due to the high specic gravity of copper tailing when com-
pared with natural sand.
 When the watercement ratio is 0.4, the copper tailing concrete
1.6 shows more compressive strength than that of control mix, till
1.4 40% substitution (90 day strength). Similar trend can be seen till
% of Weight Loss

1.2 20% substitution in 0.45 w/c ratio and till 30% substitution at 0.5
1 w/c ratio. In the case of exural strength test; at w/c ratio of 0.4,
0.8 w/c=0.4 there was increase in exural strength than the control mix till
0.6 w/c-0.45
30% substitution (90 day strength). When w/c ratio was 0.45,
0.4 exural strength was higher than that of control mix till 60%
w/c=0.5
0.2 substitution. At 0.5 w/c ratio, the exural strength at 90 days
0 showed gradual increase till 60% substitution. From the results
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% of the pull-off strength test, for all watercement ratios, an
% of Copper Tailing increase in strength are noted from 10% till 30% replacement
and beyond that, it tends to decrease. But for all watercement
Fig. 13. Sulphate attack in copper tailing concrete at 28 days. ratios, all the pull-off strength values till 60% replacement are
equivalent to that of the control mix. So it can be understood
that the usage of copper tailing does not affect the tensile
3 strength of cover zone concrete.
 In shrinkage test, at watercement ratios 0.4 and 0.5, a decreas-
% of Weight Loss

2.5
ing trend in shrinkage strain value could be noticed from 0% to
2
30% substitution and beyond which, the value started to
1.5 w/c=0.4 increase and reached maximum at 60% substitution. When w/
1 w/c-0.45 c ratio was 0.45, for 7, 28, 56 and 91 days, the shrinkage strain
0.5
w/c=0.5 values up to 20% substitution decreases gradually from control
mix and gradually increases from 30% to 60% substitution
0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%  From the results of water permeability test; when w/c ratio was
% of Copper Tailings 0.40, the depth of penetration of control mix was 5 mm. at 10%
substitution the penetration was 4.75 mm. From 20% to 60%
Fig. 14. Sulphate attack in copper tailing concrete at 60 days. substitution, the depth of penetration started increasing from
5.25 mm to 8 mm. At 0.45 and 0.5 watercement ratio, from
the value of control mix, there was gradual increase in the
temperature, the specimens were broken to separate the mortar depth of penetration from 10% to 60% substitution. It can be
from the concrete. The mortar is powdered and sieved in 150 lm understood that the concrete with copper tailing replacement
sieve. 10 g is taken and diluted in distilled water by stirring. The till 60% would be safe against water permeability.
pH value of the solution is noted with a pH metre. From the results  From the results of air permeability test, for watercement
(Fig. 12), it was observed that the pH values of copper tailing con- ratios 0.4, 0.45 and 0.50, the air permeability of copper tailing
crete are within the limits and the potential for corrosion is low for concrete (1060% substitution) is less than that of control
all the mixes. mix. It was observed that the air permeability index decreases
900 B.S. Thomas et al. / Construction and Building Materials 48 (2013) 894900
with increasing amount of copper tailing in concrete; which
may be due to the denser packing of copper tailing concrete.
As all the results are between 0.1 and 0.5, the durability risk
rating is medium.
 In Rapid Chloride permeability Test, all the chloride permeabil-
ity values obtained were between 100 and 1000 and hence the
chloride ion permeability is very low as per the code. The
important observation is that, addition of copper tailing in
concrete up to 30% of the ne aggregates will denitely help
to reduce the pores of the concrete and makes it more imper-
meable (makes concrete less permeable to chloride ions).
 From the results of alkalinity test, it was observed that the pH
values of copper tailing concrete are within the limits and the
potential for corrosion is low for all the mixes. From the results
of sulphate attack test, it could be noticed that the copper
tailing concrete got good resistance against sulphate attack,
similar to that of control specimens.
5. Conclusion
Experiments were conducted to study the suitability of copper
tailing in cement concrete as a partial replacement of natural river
sand. M25 grade of concrete was designed as per IS-10262:2010,
with watercement ratios 0.4, 0.45 and 0.5. 060% substitution of
ne aggregates was done with copper tailings. The specimens with
0% copper tailing was taken as control mix. Tests were done to
determine the compressive strength, exural strength, pull-off
strength, abrasion resistance, depth of carbonation, drying shrink-
age, air and water permeability, rapid chloride permeability, alka-
linity and resistance to sulphate attack in concrete specimens. The
following conclusions may be drawn from the study.
 Copper tailing may be utilised for the partial replacement for
natural ne aggregates till 60% replacement, with water
cement ratios 0.4, 0.45 and 0.50. More strength and durability
may be achieved by adopting the watercement ratio of 0.4
and 0.45.
 As the copper tailing concrete (up to 60% substitution) exhibited
good strength and durability characteristics, it may be recom-
mended for all construction activities.
Acknowledgement
The authors are thankful to Hindustan Copper Limited, Khetri,
Rajasthan, India for providing copper tailing.
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