Influence of Varied Waste Ceramic Fillers on the Resistance of Concrete to Freeze–Thaw Cycles

Jacek Katzer,Izabela Major,Jacek Halbiniak,Bogdan Langier,Maciej Major

doi:10.3390/ma14030624

Jacek Katzer, Izabela Major + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14030624

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Abstract

Our research focused on the influence of fillers obtained from crushed waste materials on the selected properties of concrete composites. The used waste materials were sourced from the production of ceramic tiles, ceramic pots, and sanitary ceramics. We evaluated concretes modified with the addition of 10% (by mass of cement) of different fillers. The properties, including the air content in the fresh concrete mix, consistency, compressive strength, and freeze-thaw resistance were examined. The evaluation of the freeze-thaw resistance was carried out by testing the concrete with the direct method for 150 cycles of freezing and thawing. The characteristics of the concrete porosity structure were assessed using automated digital image analysis. Concretes modified by coarse and fine fillers were characterized by different improvements in the mechanical properties and resistance to cycles of freezing and thawing. Composites with the addition of coarse fillers did not show any significant changes in comparison to the control concrete. An automated digital image analysis of the pore distribution in concrete proved to be an effective tool for the assessment of the freeze–thaw resistance of the concretes in question.

Highlights

The most favorable effect of the ceramic filler on the compressive strength was found in the case of using ceramic tiles fine fillers (FF) and sanitary ceramics coarse fillers (CF)
The influence of all examined ceramic fillers on compressive strength was relatively small and reached up to 4%. This increase in compressive strength was negligible from the point of view of the strength class, which would be granted to the concretes in question
The addition of ceramic fillers increased the aeration of concrete

Summary

Introduction

The utilization of waste materials in the technology of mortars, concretes, or other cements and cement–like composites is one of key methods of environmental protection. This offers opportunities for the recycling and utilization of significant amounts of different types of waste materials [1]. Numerous studies have examined concretes [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10] containing various types of ceramic waste (obtained from construction elements [11,12,13], sanitary products [14], ceramic electric insulators [15], porcelain pottery [16], etc.)

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