Avaliação da atividade pozolânica de turfa em cimento Portland

Abstract

Cement is one of the most used materials in the world, being widely used in the civil construction sector. Among the existing types of Portland cement there is the pozzolanic type, in which a pozzolanic material is added to the cement, whose main characteristics is to react with calcium hydroxide generated in the hydration reactions and to form compounds with binder properties, similar to the compounds generated in the hydration. Peat is an organic compound formed by the decomposition of plant material and is widely used in the agriculture, metallurgical industry and as fuel. The peat chemical composition is similar to usuals pozzolans, which may present potential to be used as pozzolana. The present work aims to evaluate the pozzolanic potential of peat when it is added to the cement, in the content of 5, 10, 15 and 20% by weight and to correlate the final properties with the characteristics present by the pure materials, using three differents cements. X-ray fluorescence and diffraction tests were performed for the characterization of the cements and peat separately, and also fineness tests, water in the paste of normal consistency, start and finish of the handle, air permeability, specific mass, expandability and mechanical resistance for the three cements. On the other hand, X-ray fluorescence and compressive strength tests were performed from the cement and peat compositions for the age of 28 days. In addition, tests of porosity and scanning electron microscopy were made. The results showed that the combination of chemical and physical properties of each studied cement corroborates its mechanical behavior and the final properties acquired during the cure process, all the cements present properties superior to the values established by standart. For the compressive strength of compositions, for every content studied, regardless of age or cement used, there is a reduction of 70% in the mechanical resistance (analyzing contents of 5 and 20%), resulting in values lower than those presented by pure cements. Considering that the porosity values remain constant, around 17%, for all compositions, it can be considered that peat, although having some chemical characteristics similar to usuals pozzolans and presenting granulometry according to the standart, acts as an inert material, having no pozzolanic activity. That can be explain by the silica content in the peat (less than 30%) that is partially in the crystalline state, as shown by the XRD, negatively affecting the pozzolanic reaction. Scanning electron microscopy confirms the results of mechanical resistance obtained: for the content of 5% of peat added to the cement it is possible to identify the hydration products, by the microstructure and chemical composition presented and when the addition of peat is 20%, the microstructure changes drastically for the three cements, presenting areas that did not go through the hydration process.