Formulation of lime mortars based on natural fibers and waste materials for more sustainable buildings

Abstract

Nowadays sustainability is one of the main concept in building construction, both considering energy saving buildings and life cycle assessment of building materials. According to these considerations, in this work the use of recycled and waste materials to produce a binder and the use of a natural fiber as reinforcement are investigated to obtain a sustainable mortar. Particularly, lime is obtained by kilning waste marble slurry from marbles quarries in western Sicily; pozzolanic aggregate is obtained by grinding glass powder from urban waste collection; natural fibers come from a widespread grass: Ampelodesmos Mauritanicus also known as diss. Scanning electron microscopy and helium picnometry have been performed to characterize diss fibers. Samples with different fibers volume percentage have been prepared and subjected to three-point bending and compression tests, in order to verify the modification of resistance related to the presence of fibers; moreover, capillary uptake and thermal conductivity have been evaluated.The results show a great influence of fibers’ percentage on both mechanical and environmental properties of mortars, resulting in lowering of mechanical resistance and thermal conductivity.