Development and Performance Evaluation of Industrial Wastes and Local Sand -Based One Part Alkali-Activated Mortars

<p dir="ltr">Alkali-activated mortars are zero-cement-based sustainable alternatives to traditional cement based materials. This research develops cheaper mortar sand-based one-part ambient/cured AAMs (MS-AAMs) compared to their costly silica sand (SS-AAMs) counterparts. Eight MS-AAMs are developed by using binary/ternary combinations of fly ash (class C and F), and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) as precursors, and two types of calcium-based powdered-form reagents. Eight other mortar mixes are developed by using glass-beads (GBs) as replacements of 10% GGBFS designated as MS-AAMGs. The fresh state (with rheological), mechanical and durability properties of MS-AAMs and MS-AAMGs are evaluated. The 28-day compressive strength of AAMs ranges between 21 MPa and 38 MPa. AAMs produced with MS and GBs have shown comparable/better fresh-state, compressive strength and durability properties compared to traditional cement-based mortars. Use of mortar sand produces higher strength properties compared to those with SS. MS-AAMGs show better fire/sulfate/acid resistance compared to MS AAMs due to denser micro-structure.</p>