Influence of clay composition in machine-made sand on the performance of mortar and concrete

Abstract

The clay components in machine-made sand mainly include 1:1 layer kaolinite, 2:1 layer montmorillonite and illite. In this paper, through experiments of mortar and concrete mixed with different clays, the influence of different clays on the dispersion performance of polycarboxylate superplasticizer and the strength and durability of concrete is studied, which provides a reference for the quality control of concrete using machine-made sand. It can be seen from the experimental results that montmorillonite, due to its multi-layer structure and large interlayer spacing, has the greatest impact on the dispersion performance of polycarboxylate superplasticizer and the strength and durability of concrete. In a certain amount, adding illite can improve the fluidity of mortar and concrete, and has little effect on the strength and durability of concrete.