Environmentally-friendly mortars: a way to improve bond between mortar and brick

摘要

In order to find new application fields for either fine materials coming from building demolition or industrial byproducts, some mortars, in which fine recycled materials, obtained from a plant where rubble from building demolition are ground, are substituted to natural sand, were tested. Moreover, mortars containing either fly ash or ground brick powder as partial cement replacement were studied. Based on characterization results and performance evaluations, recycled-aggregate mortar seems to be superior in terms of mortar-brick bond strength, mainly because of its rheological properties. In addition, the use of fine recycled aggregate instead of natural sand is in accordance with the sustainable development concept, with recycling and reuse of building rubble playing a key role in meeting the need to complete the building life cycle.