On the Combination of Silica Fume and Ceramic Waste for the Sustainable Production of Mortar

Abstract

The combined use of silica fume (SF) and ceramic waste (CW) for the production of mortar is studied. Sand is replaced by 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of CW while a fixed 5% percentage (% wt of cement) of SF is used. The results show that the best results are obtained by using silica fume and ceramic waste sand with 15% weight of sand and 5% wt of cement. With the addition of sand ceramic waste (SCW), the mortar compressive strength and density increase, while the porosity displays an opposite trend. The experimental analysis is complemented with theoretical considerations on the matrix strength and related improvements in mechanical behavior. It is shown that the agreement between the experimental values and the estimated values is good.