Preparation, Properties and Microstructure of Non-Calcination Rock Powder Brick with Orthogonal Experiments

Abstract

In this paper, the preparation method and reasonable mix ratio of non-calcination brick with rock powder, cement, lime and fly ash ceramsite (FAC) as the raw materials were experimentally evaluated. To better understand the effects of each component on the performance of non-calcination rock powder brick (NCRPB), an orthogonal experimental design was conducted with the water–cement ratio (W/C), rock powder–cement ratio (R/C), lime content (wl) and FAC content (wf) as the main factors, which involved four factors and three factor levels. According to the orthogonal experimental design, the compressive strength, water resistance and bulk density of nine groups of NCRPB specimens were tested. The results show that R/C was the most important factor affecting the compressive strength and water resistance, while the FAC content influenced the bulk density of NCRPB greatly. In this study, the reasonable mix of W/C, R/C, wl, and wf in weight was 0.6, 3.0, 30% and 21%, respectively. In addition, the microstructure and strength formation mechanism of NCRPB were analyzed by using SEM and XRD. The test results show that the rock powder having pozzolanic activity could react with the additional Ca(OH)2 to produce hydration products, leading to the improvement of the performance of NCRPB.

Keywords

• non-calcination rock powder brick
• orthogonal experimental design
• compressive strength
• water resistance
• microstructure