Application of the Taguchi Method for Optimizing the Process Parameters of Producing Controlled Low-Strength Materials by Using Dimension Stone Sludge and Lightweight Aggregates

Abstract

In view of the increasing concerns over non-renewable resource depletion and waste management, this paper studied the development of low-density controlled low-strength material (CLSM) by using stone sludge and lightweight aggregates. First, the investigation was performed at a laboratory scale to assess the effects of the composition on the properties of the resulting low-density CLSM. The Taguchi method with an L9(34) orthogonal array and four controllable three-level factors (i.e., the stone sludge dosage, water to binder ratio, accelerator dosage and lightweight aggregate dosage) was adopted. Then, to optimize the selected parameters, the analysis of variance method was used to explore the effects of the experimental factors on the performance (fresh and hardened properties) of the produced low-density CLSM. The test results show that when the percentage of stone sludge usage was increased from 30% to 60%, the initial setting time approximately doubled on average. Moreover, at the age of 28 days, the compressive strength of most specimens did not exceed the upper limit of 8.83 MPa stipulated by Taiwan’s Public Construction Commission. Further, the material cost per cubic meter of the produced CLSM was about NT$ 720.9 lower than that of the ordinary CLSM, which could reduce the cost by 40.6%. These results indicate that the use of stone sludge as a raw material to produce CLSM could achieve environmental sustainability. In other words, the use of stone sludge and lightweight aggregates to produce low-density CLSM was extremely feasible.

Designing Hollow Brick Waste Based Alkali Activated Composites by Taguchi Method

“…The optimum combination is determined based on the signalto-noise ratio (S/N) and is used to understand the effects of each parameter on the responses. Several studies have been conducted using the Taguchi method to convert complex waste compositions into construction materials [32,35,36]. The Taguchi method is efficiently utilized for examining waste materials with complex compositions, but its disadvantage is that it can only be used to optimize a single objective.…”

Optimization of Controlled Low-Strength Material from Multi-Component Coal-Based Solid Waste

“…Among them, the portion larger than 40 mm was removed after MSWI screening and then heat treated at 900 • C. The results showed that the addition of MSWI bottom ash improved the compressive strength of the CLSM sample, and the leachable substances exerted no harm on health and the environment [21]. Other solid waste for the preparation of CLSM includes soft shale from coal mine overburden [22], dimension stone sludge [23], cement kiln dust [24], waterworks sludge [25], waste glass powder [26], etc.…”

“…The dosage of a certain material cannot be adjusted independently without affecting the mixing ratio, so its mixing ratio is generally obtained by changing the ratio recommended in ACI 229R by trial and error [1]. The experimental design of this trial-anderror method has contingency and limitations, while the orthogonal experimental design can explain the influence of different experimental factors alone or synergistically through fewer experiments, which greatly reduces the experimental workload and improves the work efficiency [23]. For instance, Wang and colleagues explored the optimum ratio of the filler material with fly ash, desulfurization gypsum, and coal gangue as the main components through orthogonal experiments and found that the content of the cementitious material mainly composed of fly ash was the primary factor affecting the strength [7].…”

Application of the Taguchi method to determine optimized parameters for designing brake of hand winch

“…Taguchi method is mainly in the parameter design stage based on assessing the influence of factors on the objective function, thereby determining the optimal parameters. Taguchi method is commonly used in many fields such as using experimental design, using for optimal design, using for quality control, using economic analysis [19][20][21][22][23]. The Taguchi method has the advantage of being simple, with a small number of trials, and can be quantitative or qualitative.…”