EFFECT OF ORNAMENTAL ROCK SLUDGE ON THE STRENGTH AND DENSIFICATION OF CEMENT PAVEMENT BLOCKS

摘要

The city of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, in the southwest of Brazil, has a large industrial activity related to the extraction of ornamental stones. This brings jobs and income to the state of Espirito Santo but also cause problems due to the discard of the sludge resulting from the stone processing operations (SPO). The reuse of this SPO in construction materials such as plaster and bricks has been proposed as an alternative to reduce its environmental impact. This work evaluates another low cost alternative based on the incorporation of the SPO in the fabrication of cement pavement blocks. Using an experimental planning method, the mixture of sand, gravel and SPO, jointly with a water/cement proportion, was investigated for the method surface response. Based on this statistical method, pavement blocks with an apparent density of 1.96 g/cm~3 were found for incorporation in the range of 10 to 34%.