Study of new formations of C-S-H in manufactured with glass powder as binder mortar

Abstract

Mortar and paste with different composition were analyzed with X-ray diffraction and dispersive energy spectrometry (EDS) with coupled Electronic Scanning Microscope (SEM) to study the formation that appear after the setting reaction in the mortar made by using glass powder, with a size of 16μ, as binder. Such analysis shows the occurrence of formations similar to C-S-H gels, but in which, the Ca/Si ratio is lower than for typical C-S-H gels. In addition it was observed that the shape of the gels is slightly different when the samples are preserved in water. These more filamentous formations and the presence of a larger number of Si molecules causes the setting reaction to be maintained for a longer period of time and provide a certain capacity for self-regeneration without external intervention, which makes it suitable for soil stabilization.