Strength and Durability of Mortars Containing Silica-Breccia

摘要

Silica-breccia, also known as Aplite, is a newly discovered supplementary cementing material (SCM) that has shown to have some pozzolanic effect when mixed with cement. Like any other SCM, pulverized silica-breccia reacts with the calcium hydroxide formed during portland cement hydration, creating additional cementitious products that modify the mixture structure and enhance its overall strength and durability performance. The objective of this study was to investigate the strength and durability of mortar samples incorporating silica-breccia. The strength and durability properties of other SCM's including fly ash, metakaolin, silica fume, and slag were also investigated for comparison. The strength and durability performance was evaluated based on the results of the pozzolanic activity index, compressive strength of hydraulic cement mortars, sodium sulfate attack, and the alkali-silica reactivity tests. The results showed that the replacement of cement by 10% silica-breccia increased the compressive strength and decreased the expansions due to sulfate attack and alkali-silica reactivity.