Utilization of Co-Fired Blended Ash and Chopped Basalt Fiber in the Development of Sustainable Mortar

Abstract

Excessive consumption of cement in construction materials has resulted in a negative impact on the environment. This leads to the need of finding an alternative binder as a sustainable construction material. Different wastes that are rich in aluminosilicates have proved to be a valuable material for alkali-activated product development, which contains zero cement. Alkali-activated products are claimed to be sustainable and cost-effective. In the present study, alkali-activated reinforced masonry mortar was developed using locally available industrial waste (co-fired blended ash—CBA). Appropriate mortar design is one of the key challenges as connections between two structural elements play a significant role in building construction. The mortar designed with suitable fiber reinforcement shall significantly help to enhance the fresh, mechanical, durability, and dynamic properties. Chopped basalt fibers (CBFs) obtained from basalt rock are one of the eco-efficient fibers applied as a reinforcing material. The present study checked the feasibility of novel industrial waste-co-fired blended ash (CBA) in the development of alkali-activated masonry mortar and reinforced alkali-activated mortar. In view of sustainable construction material design, the study elaborated the application of chopped basalt fibers (CBFs) in alkali-activated mortar design. The mortar cubes were cast and tested for various properties with varying percentages of chopped basalt fibers (0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%). The results suggest that developed mortars were able to achieve higher compressive strength (10–18 MPa) and flexural strength (3–3.5 MPa). Further, based on the properties of developed alkali-activated reinforced mortar, masonry prisms were cast and evaluated for the bond strengths (flexural and shear) of masonry. The optimum properties of alkali-activated mortar were found for the mix design of alkali activator to solid ratio of 0.40 and 0.5% CBF percentage. Application of CBF in CBA alkali-activated reinforced masonry mortar proved to be an efficient construction material with no cement.

Development of sustainable prefabricated housing system by small-scale experimental model

“…As the source being the same, the material was found consistent with its properties even though acquired through various seasons. The products like bricks (Ram, Ralegaonkar and Pradhan, 2017), mortar (Shelote et al, 2021), concrete (Chippagiri et al, 2021), and alkali-activated masonry products (Gavali et al, 2019) were developed earlier. The design of modular prefabricated construction elements using CFA is aimed in the present study.…”

Agro-industrial-based wastes as supplementary cementitious or alkali-activated binder material: a comprehensive review

“…The nanoparticles operate as nuclei for cement, speeding up the hydration process and densifying the microstructure as well as interfacial transition zone (ITZ), thus lowering permeability [46]. While in alkali activation process, the FA is mixed with various binder mixes such as GGBS, palm oil fuel ash, rice husk ash, and silica fume, and activated using AAM such as NaOH [24,47,48]. Best temperature endurance was witnessed in the binder mix containing 75% of GGBS and 25% of FA, and with complete replacement of natural coarse aggregate by ferro chrome slag (FCS) [25].…”

Performance Evaluation of a Sustainable Prefabricated System Using Small-Scale Experimental Model Technique

“…Many agro-industrial and construction wastes were used as alternative raw materials in earlier mix designs. Some of these alternates are fly ash, furnace slag [17], recycled paper-mill waste [18], briquette ash [19], blended ash [20][21][22], and construction and demolition wastes [23,24]. The physicomechanical and functional test results of the novel end products were better in comparison with commercially available products.…”