SUSTAINABLE BUILDING PREFABRICATED ELEMENT BASED ON STABILIZED RESIDUAL QUARRY SLUDGE AND ITS HEAT TRANSFER ANALYSIS

Abstract

In this work, a prefabricated masonry element is produced by reusing a residual sludge generated by the Colombian mining industry, especially the sandstone quarries. The addition of Ca (OH) 2 and NaOH stabilizes this waste. Application of a response surface model results in optimal admixture specifications, achieving improvements in load capacity (8 MPa) and durability according to its dimensional stability, upgrading the traditional techniques. Albeit remains a lack in the study of its thermal behavior. Thus, A heat transfer analysis employing computational simulations based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) is applied to predict the thermal performance of manufactured elements with stabilized quarry sludge (SQS). Besides, several construction materials are simulated, allowing their contrast and the complement between simulation and experimentation, pointing to the achievement of a good performance in different climatic conditions, including actual city case characteristics. It is concluded that according to SQS block thermal performance, it can be a suitable building element candidate. Hence, more sustainable processes in the mining and construction production chain can be achieved.