Physical-mechanical behaviour and transformations at high temperature in a cement mortar with waste glass as aggregate

Abstract The replacement of natural aggregates with different recycled materials in mortars and concretes has fostered significant progress in the construction sector, thus reducing the need to extract virgin raw materials. The incorporation of household glass waste in cement mortar was studied to determine its behaviour as a replacement for sand; this paper studies its mechanical properties at room temperature and after a 800 °C heating process. The results were evaluated using Student's t-test. Changes in thermal properties through the addition of glass to mortars were also studied. Various proportions of ground glass were used to replace the aggregate. The resistance values presented statistically significant differences. Mortars with ground glass aggregate also showed a clear improvement in the thermal conductivity coefficient and thermal diffusivity, reflecting a positive behaviour in relation to their thermal response and insulation capacity. Internal mortar structures were not affected by the incorporation of ground glass.