Estudo do aproveitamento de resíduos de cerâmica vermelha como substituição pozolânica em argamassas e concretos

Abstract

Portland cement based materials have great potential for providing good waste immobilization solutions, which are both cost effective and also promotes the sustainable development of modern industrial activities. Indeed, several industrial wastes have successfully been used in constructions worldwide, most of them from steel and energy manufacturing processes. Nevertheless, transportation, when needed in places where industrial activities are still incipient can affect the cost effectiveness of its use. In such places, such as in the Northeast of Brazil, red clay bricks industry is chiefly predominant, and little is done for its sustainable development. Even though, some researches have been suggesting that their waste, when ground, can improve some properties of cement based materials. However, in order to implement an effective strategy for its use, more research needs to be done, evaluating the potential immobilization of such waste in systems containing Portland cement. Therefore, the current research: investigated the effect of the finesse on the pozzolanic activity of ground red clay bricks (RC), comparing with a conventional cement industry pozzolan (FC); evaluated the effect of the replacement of cement by RC on the fresh and hardened mechanical properties and permeability in mortar and concrete and on the corrosion of steel reinforcement in concretes. Mortar and concrete samples were cast with different levels of RC replacing cement (0%, 20% and 40%) by mass. The water to binder ratio was kept constant (0.50) in both mix proportions of mortar (1:1,55) and concrete (1:1,55:2,19). The samples were initially cured in water at two different temperatures (room around 23ºC - and 55o C) for 7 days, in air for 21 days, and lately immersed in test solutions (water and 3.5% NaCl solution). The mineralogical compositions of RC and the pozzolan FC were obtained by X-Ray diffraction analysis. The cement used was a CPII-F 32 (Portland Limestone Cement with c.a. 10% of CaCO3). When the parameters related to the porous structure of mortars and concretes containing RC were considered, it can be observed that only mortars presented satisfactory results. With respect to the investigated concretes mechanical performance, it was concluded that, although the use of RC in replacement levels of 20% and 40% had reduced the compressive strength of these concretes, this reduction wasn t proportional to the used replacement level. Indeed samples containing 40% retained 89% of the of the concrete control mix, without replacement, due to its satisfactory pozzolanic activity and filler effect. The dilution of cementitious material by its replacement for RC appears to affect the alkalinity of the studied matrices, reducing its pH´s, which can be an indicative of a major predisposition of these matrices to durability problems due the corrosion of its steel reinforcing