Influence of Waste Basalt Powder Addition on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Autoclave Brick

Abstract

In the production of building materials, there has been an increased interest in the use of by-products and industrial waste in recent years. Such modifications make it possible to solve not only technical and economic problems, but also environmental problems. This article describes the use of basalt powder waste in sand-lime products (silicates). The aim of the study was to manage basalt powder waste and to investigate the changes it causes in sand-lime products. The article describes the planning of the experiment, which directly determines the number of samples and their composition, which was necessary to conducting a full analysis and correctly illustrating the relationships occurring in the samples. Basic tests were carried out: compressive strength, density and water absorption, as well as optical tests and scanning microscopy. Based on the research conducted, it was concluded that the use of basalt powder as a component of sand-lime products has positive effects. Studies show that the best results are achieved with a proportion of powder in the raw material mass of about 10%—the compressive strength reaches almost 30 MPa, which is almost twice that of traditional silicate.