Temperature-dependent thermal conductivity of high strength lightweight raw perlite aggregate concrete

Twenty-four types of high strength lightweight concrete have been designed with raw perlite aggregate (PA) from the Erzincan Mollaköy region as new low-temperature insulation material. The effects of the water/cement ratio, the amount of raw PA, and the temperature on high strength lightweight raw perlite aggregate concrete (HSLWPAC) have been investigated. Three empirical equations were derived to correlate the thermal conductivity of HSLWPAC as a function of PA percentage and temperature depending on the water/cement ratio. Experimentally observed thermal conductivities of concrete samples were predicted 92 % of the time for each set of concrete matrices within 97 % accuracy and over the range from 1.457 W • m -1 • K -1 to 1.777 W • m -1 • K -1. The experimental investigation revealed that the usage of raw PA from the Erzincan Mollaköy region in concrete production reduces the concrete unit mass, increases the concrete strength, and furthermore, the thermal conductivity of the concrete has been improved. The proposed empirical correlations of thermal conductivity were considered to be applicable within the range of temperatures 203.15 K ≤ T ≤ 303.15 K in the form of λ = a(PAP b ) + c(T d ). © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.