Paper • open access

3
Results and discussion 
3.1 Physical and chemical properties of constituent materials 
3.1.1 Physical Properties 
Table 1 showed the physical and chemical properties of PC, CCW and MK respectively. The 
average specific gravity of RHA, CCW and MK showed that CCW with a value of 2.19 is very 
light and fine compared with other constituents like PC with a value of 3.15. RHA and MK are 
both lighter than PC with a value of 3.15. The specific surface area of CCW, RHA and MK are 
higher compared with PC value which means that they are much finer than PC particles and thus 
occupy more space than PC. Generally, the specific gravity of mineral admixture is less than that 
of PC therefore more volume is obtained when it replaces PC.

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Nanotechnology Applications in Africa: Opportunities and Constraints
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 805 (2020) 012031
IOP Publishing
doi:10.1088/1757-899X/805/1/012031
7
Table 1
. Physical and Chemical Properties of Materials 
Physical Properties 
Materials 
PC (wt %) 
 
RHA (wt % ) 
 
 
CCW (wt %) 
 
MK (wt %) 
Specific gravity (g/cm
3
) 
3.16 
2.25 
2.19 
2.52 
Blaine Fineness (cm
3
/g) 
3045 
- 
- 
7483 
Loss on ignition (LOI) 
2.98 
15.76 
31.70 
1.22 
Chemical composition 
Calcium Oxide, CaO % 
64.19 
1.30 
93.69 
0.39 
Silicon dioxide, SiO
2
% 
19.57 
73.60 
6.49 
54.30 
Aluminum Oxide, Al
2
O
3
% 
5.47 
0.68 
2.00 
38.30 
Ferric Oxide, Fe
2
O
3
% 
3.24 
0.93 
1.87 
4.28 
Magnesium Oxide, MgO % 
2.01 
0.35 
0.70 
0.08 
Manganese Oxide, MnO % 
1.25 
- 
0.47 
- 
Sodium Oxide, Na2O % 
0.26 
0.12 
0.10 
0.12 
Potassium Oxide, K
2
o % 
0.43 
2.37 
0.18 
0.50 
SO
3
2.74 
- 
0.36 
0.22