Strength Characteristics of Laterized Mortars Using Processed Laterite

Abstract

The rapid pace of population growth in India has enforced the construction industry to use construction materials at an accelerated rate leads to the exhaustion of natural resources. Large-scale constructions have a severe influence on the environment instigating many threats either directly or indirectly like exhaustion of the river due to unscientific sand mining being done at a frightening level, etc. To address this issue, it is required to find substitutes for river sand for producing mortars. One among the locally available marginal resource is laterite. In this study, an attempt is made to study the performance of cement mortars using laterite as fine aggregate in replacement levels of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% to natural fine aggregates (river sand). Studies were carried out in two stages, initially river sand is replaced with laterite quarry waste (unprocessed laterite), and then it is replaced with the processed laterite. The flowability and compressive strength characteristics of mortars are studied. Results indicate that, the decrease in compressive strength of mortars with increase in replacement levels of river sand by unprocessed laterite was more, when compared to mortars with processed laterite. However, there is only 13% reduction in strength for laterized mortar with 100% processed laterite when compared to control mortar is observed.