Title: Acid Resistance of Cement Mortars Incorporating Ceramic Waste Powder as Cement Replacement

Author(s): Yasser Sharifi, Ali Ranjbar, and Mehdi Mohit

Publication: Materials Journal

Volume: 117

Issue: 2

Appears on pages(s): 145-156

Keywords: acid resistance; cement mortar; ceramic waste powder; mechanical strength; microstructures; sulfuric acid

DOI: 10.14359/51720302

Date: 3/1/2020

Abstract:
In this paper, acid resistance and microstructural properties of cement mortars containing ceramic waste powder (CWP) as an alternative cementitious material were examined. Cement powder was replaced with CWP powder in amounts of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% (by weight of cement). The fresh mortars were stored in 100% relative humidity for 1 day then the specimens were cured 28 days in the water. To simulate sulfuric acid deposits, the prepared specimens were submerged in a sulfuric acid solution (pH = 1.5) for 28, 42, and 56 days. This study presents the mechanical strength, visual inspection, and mass loss tests of the cement mortars. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses of prepared mortars were used to explore the specimen microstructures. The results show that the specimens including CWP as cement replacement exhibit higher mechanical strength than control specimens at 28, 42, and 56 days of acid curing. The SEM micrographs illustrated that incorporation CWP as cement replacement decreased the voids and pores. XRD diffractograms explained that the specimens including CWP have lower intensities of gypsum peaks than the control samples. It should be noted that using CWP as cement replacement improves the acid resistance of mortars.