Influence of Granulometric Composition and Type of Fillers and Additives on the Strength and Biostability of Cement Composites Based on Dry Building Mixtures

Abstract

The structure of filled cementitious composite materials is formed as a result of hardening with the formation of a crystalline framework. The filler is involved in the building material crystal system structure formation. Chemically active fillers promote intensive release of hydration products that bind into insoluble compounds and increase the system stability. When developing the formulations for dry building mixtures, it is effective to use several fillers with different properties that complement each other, and biocidal additives increasing the materials resistance to environment effects formed by mold fungi. To create modified dry building mixtures based on cement binder, materials such as filler made of quartz sand of various fractions, fillers chrysotile and clinoptilolite and biocidal additives of the Teflex series were used. The composition with sand grains of 0.16–0.315 mm in size showed high strength properties in bending and compression. The introduction of chrysotile in an amount of 3% by weight of cement and quartz sand with a particle size of 0.16–0.315 mm increases the compressive and flexural strength by 7 and 13%, respectively, compared with the control composition. Clinoptilolite, introduced in an amount of 20% of the cement mass instead of one of the quartz sand fractions, increases the compressive strength of the composites up to 5%. The introduction of the Teflex series additives in the amount of at least 1% by weight of the binder ensures the composites’ fungal resistance. The additive “Teflex disinfectant” in an amount of at least 3% of the cement mass gives the composites fungicidal properties, the zone of no fungal growth on the nutrient solution near the infected samples is 4 mm.

Mitigation Measures of Swelling Characteristics in Alkali-Contaminated Red Earth using Fly Ash and GGBS Blends

“…Chrysotile has a tubular structure, and the tube-like, very long fibers are arranged laterally in an array [63], [66], [68]. The inherent structural characteristics of chrysotile create a consistently compact and homogeneous structure in a binding material, thus contributing to its exceptional compressive and flexural strength [59], [60], [64].…”