Utilization of marble dust and fly ash in composite mortar as partial cement substitute

The entire world is running towards infrastructural development, which is responsible for the depletion of non-renewable natural resources and to conserve them, it is necessary to find alternate green resources. Some industrial wastes like marble waste have the potential to be used in infrastructural development due to their inert nature. Thus, the study presented here focuses on investigating the possibility of the use of marble dust as a potential partial cement substitute in mortar combined with fly ash. Therefore, a total eight number of mortar mixes were prepared. The replacement levels of marble cutting waste dust were 10%, 20%, 30% by volume & fly ash + marble cutting waste dust were 25% + (10, 20, 30)% of cement in the standard 1:3 mortar. Along with this, strength development, mechanical properties, physical properties, bonding strength, adhesion strength, and shrinkage characteristics were assessed at the curing periods of 7 and 28 days. The test outcomes revealed a positive impact on the workability properties as well as mechanical and drying shrinkage performance. The optimized combined use of marble waste dust and fly ash can serve to produce sustainable mortar. Moreover, the use of such non-biodegradable waste in infrastructural development would lower down the disposal burdens from the marble industry.Copyright (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Sustainable Materials and Practices for Built Environment.