Dosage to make hollow concrete blocks that comply with the current NTE INEN 3066

Abstract

In Ecuador, the industry dedicated to the manufacture of hollow concrete blocks does not have a dosage method, so production processes are carried out empirically, using lightweight aggregates such as pure pumice or pumice with sand (chasqui), and combined with powder, which is a fine, low density, off-white sand; these materials have different properties to those conventional required by the Ecuadorian standard for concrete blocks, NTE INEN-3066. This largely explains why the blocks that are made in this country do not reach the minimum strengths required by these norms. The methodology shown in ACI 211.2 for lightweight structural concrete is considered the most applicable for this type of material; it implies carrying out several test mixtures which, through statistical analysis, allow generating a correct water-cement ratio. This type of dosage achieves optimization in the proportions of light aggregate that improves the behavior of the hollow blocks, performing an increase of 70% in its resistance in relation to artisan blocks. The result of this investigation is a dosage table for the three types of blocks, which can be used by artisans to guarantee the quality of the product they manufacture.