Estimation of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Portland Composite Cement Produced by Using Raw Perlite with Fuzzy Logic Model

In this experimental study, the usability of raw perlite from the Manisa (Yuntdagi) region as a pozzolanic material in the production of Portland composite cement was investigated. In the study, raw perlite Portland composite cements (RPCCs) were produced by grinding raw perlite (RP), clinker, and gypsum together. In the production of composite cement, RP has been used as an additive to a mixture of up to 30%. Standard consistency, setting times, expansion, density, specific surface, and fineness tests were performed on RPCC. Flexural tensile strength, compressive strength, and length change experiments were performed on the mortar samples. According to the experiment results obtained, RP increases the compressive strength of mortars at advanced ages. It can be said that RPCCs comply with the limit values of the EN 197-1 standard, and therefore, RP from the Manisa region can be used as a pozzolanic material in cement production. In addition, with the developed fuzzy logic model, it was accepted that the experimental results of RPCCs could be predicted with an acceptable approach. In the fuzzy logic model, the correlation coefficients of RPCCs were determined between 0.91 and 0.98, indicating that it gave a successful result in the estimation of the experimental results.