Research on producing high-strength mortar by using of local construction materials in Thanh Hoa

Abstract

With the rapid industrialization and modernization of the country, more and more industrial solid waste is being discharged, causing environmental pollution, while cement production depletes natural resources as well as emitting large amounts of CO₂ gas causing the greenhouse effect. This study investigates the use of local construction materials in Thanh Hoa in producing high-strength mortar, including fly ash, which is solid waste taken from Nghi Son 1 coal thermal power plant. Five mortar mixtures were designed with a water-to-binder ratio of 0.16 and used fly ash to replace 0%, 15%, 30%, 45%, and 60% cement by weight. Test results indicated that the use of tro bay registered in increasing workability, reducing fresh unit weight, and decreasing the drying shrinkage. All mortars in this study had a compressive strength and flexural strength of above 54 MPa and 8.7 MPa, respectively, meanwhile, the water absorption was below 4.5%. In particular, the use of fly ash contributed to treating a part of solid waste in industry and reducing environmental pollution.