Mechanical strength and Environmental impacts of eco- Self-compacting mortar containing dune sand in the Oued-Souf region of Algeria as cementitious materials

ABSTRACT: Due to the abundance of sand and sand dunes that surround us in the southern regions of the Algerian Sahara, known as dry zones, and despite the beauty of the sand dunes and their beautiful view, they have become a threat to the vegetation around us with the desertification of agricultural lands. We must therefore find a new formula to eliminate the excess sand. We decided to study sand exploitation in the field of civil and urban engineering. This study explores the impact of dune sand (DS) on the rheological and mechanical properties of self-compacting mortars (SCM), with particular attention to its dual role as a cement substitute. The research assesses the performance of SCM when dune sand powder (DSP) is used as a 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% replacement for cement. The results show that use of DSP as a cementitious material in the formulation of SCM improved the rheological and mechanical behavior of self-compacting mortars. This study offers encouraging results into optimizing SCM mixtures with DSP in rheological, mechanical properties and environmental impacts