Hellenic Natural Zeolite as a Replacement of Sand in Mortar: Mineralogy Monitoring and Evaluation of Its Influence on Mechanical Properties

Dimitrios Vogiatzis,Costas Sikalidis,Nikolaos Kantiranis,Anestis Filippidis,Evaggelos Tzamos

doi:10.3390/geosciences2040298

Dimitrios Vogiatzis, Costas Sikalidis + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences2040298

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Journal: Geosciences	Publication Date: Nov 22, 2012
Citations: 25	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Abstract

HEU-type zeolite-rich volcaniclastic tuff (Hellenic natural zeolite) is used as a raw material for the production of lighter mortars. The addition of natural zeolite in mortar mixtures of sand and Portland cement leads to a decrease of up to 18.35% unit weight. The increase of the natural zeolite proportions increases the porosity and water absorption of the mortar and, at the same time, decreases the uniaxial compressive strength. These variations in the mortar’s mechanical properties are due to the addition of natural zeolite, which causes incomplete hydration of C2S (2CaO.SiO2) and retardation of the mortar’s hardening.

Highlights

IntroductionLightweight added materials can be natural (pumice, perlite, diatomites, zeolites, clays, etc.) or artificial (expanded aggregates), the latter obtained from natural or artificial materials after a processing cycle able to create a cellular or highly porous structure
Lightweight added materials can be natural or artificial, the latter obtained from natural or artificial materials after a processing cycle able to create a cellular or highly porous structure
The replacement of sand by Hellenic natural zeolite led to a decrease of the unit weight

Summary

Introduction

Lightweight added materials can be natural (pumice, perlite, diatomites, zeolites, clays, etc.) or artificial (expanded aggregates), the latter obtained from natural or artificial materials after a processing cycle able to create a cellular or highly porous structure. Lightweight mortars show a wide range of applications, especially when the need of decreasing the weight of the structures is crucial, e.g., historic masonry. Other advantages of lightweight mortars are thermal and sound insulation and fire resistance. Natural zeolites are used as pozzolana, replacement material in cement production, raw material for lightweight aggregate, raw material for the production of lightweight expanded aggregate, anti-bacteria agent, fungus-resisting material and humidity-conditioning material [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]

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