GHANAIAN MINERAL ADMIXTURES FOR MASONRY MORTAR FORMULATION

The suitability of masonry mortar for various construction applications is dependent on some vital engineering properties and production cost. In majority of masonry formulations,ordinary portland cement(OPC) is the principal binding agent. However the current trend of cement cost in Ghana has rendered masonry mortar formulation quite expensive. Meanwhile in other parts of the world, different types of admixtures which are either chemical or mineral products are well known to improve mechanical and economical values of formulated mortars. In this study two available mineral admixtures namely clay pozzolana and limestone were used as partial replacement of OPC to formulate binary and ternary pastes and mortars. Some mechanical properties and aspect of durability studies were determined. The economic analysis of using mineral admixture in masonry mortar over plain mortar was studied. Test results indicated that the formulated paste and mortar showed appreciable mechanical properties. In accordance to the ASTM,both type M and type S mortar classes were produced which also presented a satisfactory economic advantages over plain mortars.

Autorentext

I hold a Bachelor of Science(BSc) in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Philosophy(MPhil) in Materials Engineering both obtained from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. My speciality is in cement science, cementitious and pozzolanic materials for construction.