MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF A SUSTAINABLE BUILDING PREFABRICATED ELEMENT BASED ON A STABILIZED RESIDUAL QUARRY SLUDGE

Abstract

A masonry prefabricated element will be produced from the process of reusing a sludge generated by the Colombian mining industry, especially the sandstone quarries, that become pollution agents ending up in the hydric sources, impacting negatively the environment. This waste was previously stabilized with the addition of Ca(OH) and Na(OH), the optimal mixing specifications were obtained using a response surface model accomplishing low quantities of stabilizers and the use of the waste as the main component, achieving improvements in load-bearing capacity (8 MPa) and the durability according to its dimensional stability, upgrading the traditional techniques. In this work, computational simulations are performed to understand some mechanical responses in stabilized-sludge masonry elements with different geometries and to compare the simulation results with common materials in the literature. Simulation outcomes showed that hollow-block geometry saves up a considerable amount of material and improves stress distribution compared with a solid block. Also, the mechanical simulation of the stabilized-sludge elastic zone achieved a better performance than a compressed earth block, which is a similar material used in construction. This way, the design of more sustainable elements through an innovative methodology based on statistics, mathematical and computational models, saving materials, time, and energy is sought, generating an economic and environmental impact.