Mechanical, freeze-thaw, and sorptivity properties of mortars prepared with different cement types and waste marble powder

The cement production process contributes significantly to CO2 gas emissions and environ- mental pollution. To reduce this adverse effect, the substitution of waste marble powder as a cement additive was investigated. In this study, the properties of mortar specimens were analyzed by using waste marble powder as a partial substitute for three different cement types: CEM I 42.5R Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), CEM II/B-L 42.5R White Cement (WC) and CA-40 Calcium Aluminate Cement (CAC). Waste marble powder has been replaced with ce- ment at 5%, 10%, and 15%. The compressive and flexural strength, capillary water absorption, and sorptivity values of the prepared mixtures were determined before and after freezing and thawing. It was carried out after 28 days of water curing on 50 x 50 x 50 mm specimens for compressive strength and 160 x 40 x 40 mm specimens for flexural strength test. Freeze-thaw testing of the mixture samples was conducted according to ASTM C666 Procedure A. Test re- sults showed that the highest compressive strength before freeze-thaw was obtained in calcium aluminate cement-based mortars containing 10% by weight waste marble powder replacement for cement. The appropriate waste marble powder ratio was determined as 10% in all cement types used in the study. Before freeze-thaw, the mechanical properties of CAC-based mixtures were higher than those of other cement types. However, as the number of freeze-thaw cycles increased, the strength losses were more significant compared to OPC and WC.