Red ceramic waste in the composition of fine aggregate in mortars

effects on physical-mechanical properties

Abstract

Using alternative materials in mortars may reduce the environmental impacts of the construction industry and appropriately dispose of wastes from this sector. This paper assesses mortar with partial replacement of conventional fine aggregate by recycled aggregate to comply with the particle size limits prescribed by C144-18 and C897-15 standards. Mortars were produced with conventional and blended aggregate  (65% sand + 35% red ceramic waste - RCW) with mix proportions of 1.0:3.0, 1.0:4.5, and 1.0:6.0 (in mass) and w/c ratios that varied to achieve the normal consistency (260±10 mm) and, despite the higher water demand, showed higher compressive strength. The water absorption of RCW interfered with the physical-mechanical properties of the mortars due to the lower effective w/c ratio. The results indicate improvements in the assessed properties, except for apparent porosity, where the water/cement ratio influenced greatly the void ratio over time. The use of recycled aggregate showed to be promising in mortars produced with a minimum cement/aggregate ratio of 1.0:4.5. The blended aggregate highlight the possibility of practical use in mortars.