Physical Properties of Sulfur Concrete with Modified Sulfur Binder

Abstract

Recently, a huge amount of sulfur has been produced as a byproduct of petroleum refining processes in Korea. Sulfur concrete is made of modified sulfur binder instead of cement paste, which has advantages of reducing CO2 emission from cement industry as well as utilizing surplus sulfur. Also, sulfur concrete is a sustainable material that can be repetitively recycled. In this study, the physical properties of sulfur concrete are experimentally investigated. From the test results, sulfur concrete showed compressive strengths higher than at least 50MPa. Also, the unit weight, modulus of elasticity and splitting tensile strength of sulfur concrete was similar to that of Portland cement concrete (PCC). The coefficient of thermal expansion of sulfur concrete was a little larger than that of Portland cement concrete and sulfur concrete with mineral filler is helpful to lower the coefficient of thermal expansion. recycled aggregate sulfur concrete resulted in a slight reduction in the compressive strength, but sulfur concrete with recycled aggregate can achieve the high strength characteristics.