Study of gypsum composites with fine solid aggregates at elevated temperatures

Abstract

The structure and behaviour of two gypsum composites after exposition to elevated temperatures were investigated. The silica sand and fine basalt aggregate were used as solid fillers. The changes in structure and composition at temperatures from 50 to 1,000°C were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction together with the size and strength of the samples and their pore size distribution. The structure of gypsum matrix changed significantly at 1,000°C in both composites, while the aggregate particles were not changed. It was found that even if the silica sand is considered as less suitable filler at high temperatures because of its volume changes, the gypsum with sand performed better than gypsum with basalt at the highest temperatures, because the shrinkage of the gypsum matrix was compensated by the increase in the volume of aggregate. The final volume change at 1,000°C was 3.5% in composite with silica sand and 6.8% in composite with basalt. The residual compressive strength of both composites was about 9.4%. No cracks appeared in the samples and no spalling was observed.

Keywords

• gypsum composite
• elevated temperatures
• microstructure
• porosity
• properties