Resumo:
The search for solutions to equate the growing demand of civil construction and
sustainability in the exploration of natural resources involves the search for new renewable
sources and use of waste, especially those that are not yet satisfactorily absorbed by the
recycling industry, such as the glass.
Widely used around the world, concrete and other cementitious composites are a
good alternative for the absorption of waste from different origins, and have been improved
in the last decades, as the case of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC).
This study investigated the viability of producing Self-Compacting Mortars (SCM)
as an initial phase for the production of SCC, replacing the sand with Ground Waste Glass
(GWG) in the proportions of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 30% by mass, using Silica Fume (SF)
as a mineral addition and a superplasticizer (SPA) as a chemical additive. To achieve the
objectives proposed in this study, tests were performed on the mortars in the fresh and
hardened states, analysis of images generated by scanning electron microscopy, as well as
the investigation of the occurrence of the Alkali-Aggregate Reaction (AAR), because the
glass, in its nature, is considered potentially reactive. Regarding the GWG studies, its
granulometry was manipulated so that it approximated to sand.
The results showed that it is viable to use GWG as a partial substitute for sand in the
production of SCC, once the SCM produced met the requirements in fresh state and had their
mechanical properties improved, furthermore, in most cases, could even meet structural
applications such as in reinforcements and repairs.
In the occurrence of AAR, the expansions were within the established limit not to
cause damage, with the occurrence of only one result that minimally exceeded this value,
indicating a positive participation of the pozzolanic activity of the fine particles of the GWG,
but mainly the essential composition of the SCM through its additives.
