Use of wood ash, crumb rubber, and powdered glass in building materials to improve eco-friendly construction

Abstract

Mortar, even after all these centuries, is still one of the preferred material used in construction. Specifically, the Portland cement is the dominant cementing agent used nowadays in concrete. Mortar is a mixture of cement, sand, and water. With the increasingly alarming amount of pollution, modern construction has been trying to reduce its emission caused by the use of mortar. Instead, waste is being used to replace the components of concrete such as wood ash, powdered glass, and crumb rubber. Wood ash, waste glass, and used tires are wasted materials that are produced every day by the industry all around the world. These wasted materials are usually thrown in landfills that are becoming scarce; these wasted materials do not decompose easily in nature, which make them highly dangerous. This study investigates the use of wood ash as partial cement replacement, wood ash, powdered glass, and crumb rubber as partial sand replacements in mortar mixes. Individual studies were performed on each component; then, these materials were combined together and the best combination was selected. The flexural strength and compressive strength were evaluated (individually and combined on three different dates: day 7, day 14, and day 28. The study yielded the following conclusion: 4% wood ash as partial cement replacement, 30% wood ash, 30% powdered glass, and 2% crumb rubber as partial sand replacement; this combination was determined to be the best possible mix with acceptable compressive strength and flexural strength.