Experimental Study on the Compressive Strength of Masonry Blocks with Geopolymer Mortar

Abstract

Masonry units are the major building materials used in construction work. There are several masonry units available in the market today. Some of the widely used masonry units are burnt clay bricks, concrete blocks, fly ash blocks, compressed stabilized soil/earth blocks, geopolymer mud blocks, geopolymer concrete blocks, and so on. These blocks are used for the construction of load bearing structure. To bond two masonry units together, mortar plays a vital role. Fly ash based geopolymer mortar has been used in this study. The strength of masonry units namely bricks, concrete blocks and stabilized geopolymer blocks masonry with geopolymer mortar has been individually studied and the results have been tabulated. From this study, it was found that the stabilized geopolymer mud blocks are suitable in the construction of load bearing walls and for other structural purposes. The failure pattern revealed visible vertical fissures and ultimately spalling of brick prism blocks.