The effect of siliceous types as pozzolanic materials and aggregate types on the properties of cement mortar

Abstract

Portland cement can be considered as the most important building materials because it is serving as the primary component in the manufacturing of mortar and concrete for diverse buildings., but cement production is associated with high carbon dioxide emissions when compared with other building materials. Therefore, it has a high impact on climate change around the world. Many types of materials were added to cement mortar and concrete to improve their properties and reduce the amount of cement in their mixtures. In this research to produce sustainable cement mortar, the effect of adding various siliceous materials (Silica (SiO₂) is the main constituent) as pozzolanic materials on the properties of cement mortar with and without waste fine aggregate was investigated. The silica fume, silica powder, and waste glass powder were used to replace (2.5, 5, and 10) weight percentages of cement in the cement mortar mixture with natural sand. While 5% silica fume, 10% silica powder, and 5% waste glass powder were used to replace cement in cement, a 25-weight percentage of waste mortar was used as a fine aggregate to replace virgin aggregate in mortar mixtures. The flexural and compressive limits were evaluated for all cement mortar samples, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was characterized for some samples (control and high compressive strength). The findings indicate that the siliceous materials used in this study enhanced the compressive strength of cement mortar by altering its microstructure. The maximum compressive strength of 36.16 MPa was achieved. in samples that contained 5% silica fume in a standard cement mortar, while samples that contained 100% waste fine aggregate and 2.5% waste glass had a lower compressive strength ( 17.89 MPa) than all samples of cement mortar prepared by this research for 28 curing days.