Examination of the physical and mechanical properties of cement tiles in comparison with terrazzo tiles

The aim of this study is to find the physical and mechanical properties of traditional flooring materials, cement tile and terrazzo, and to compare these materials to evaluate the physical and mechanical properties of the cement tiles. Prior to the experimental study, a literature survey was conducted and experimental studies were carried out within the framework of the program prepared in light of the information obtained. In the literature, section has been lead into the subject. Today, one of the most important building materials, cement, who was found, who has the first patent. This question has been searched. Its development is mentioned in chronological order. Cement has started to be produced mechanically with the industrial revolution. New materials have begun to be produced from the pressing properties of the machines and the combination of cement. One of the newly produced materials is cement tile. Information about the first production place of cement tiles and the manufacturer has been given. Since the first day of production, many different nations have been used it. Among them are the French, the Spanish and the Greeks. In our country, cement tiles have been manufactured and used by Greek masters. The use of cement tiles in Istanbul, Izmir and Mersin provinces have been became widespread with the arrival of Greek masters and introduction of these materials. In the second part, information on the historical process of traditional flooring materials from past to present has been given. In this section, the topics such as where the flooring materials were first discovered in historical excavations and which societies used which flooring materials were investigated. It has been later used in materials such as mosaic tiles. In the 19th century, cement tiles have been started to be used as flooring material in houses. In addition, in this section, we see the tiles applied, as well as catalogues of the present-day motif, texture and colors by comparing with cement tiles, similarities were encountered and in fact, in terms of motif material similarity was emphasize. In the third chapter, the production stages of cement tiles and terrazzos, which are the subject of the thesis, have been explained. The production stages of these two materials are very similar. Cement tiles are produced by hand. Terrazos are produced entirely by machine. The materials used in production show similarities in terms of properties. This section provides information about the general properties of materials. The terrazzo is briefly provided with the assumption that terrazzo produced according to TSE standard and handmade cement tiles are similar products. The raw material of terrazzo tiles, cement, is also the raw material in cement tiles. These two flooring materials are produced by pressing technique. However, due to its motif detail, the cement tiles, each of which must be produced by hand, are separated from the terrazzo tiles by the fact that the terrazzo tiles are monolayer and non-motif-free. Because of this situation, terrazzo tiles from these two materials, which resemble each other in all respects, have their own two standards. One of these standards is "TS 213-1 EN 13478 -1 Terrazzo tiles - Terrazzo tiles for internal use," which is intended for the same purpose as cement tiles. The other is "TS 213-2 EN 13478 -2 T Terrazzo tiles - Terrazzo tiles for external use", which is used for outdoor items. In the fourth section, information was given about the Turkish Standards Institute. The importance of the TSE brand that cement tiles cannot have due to the hand production technique has been mentioned. The benefits of the TSE brand to the products and vendors in the sales and marketing areas have been mentioned. As well as why it carries the meaning of trust and quality for the consumer. In the fifth section, an experimental study was carried out. Some benchmarks have been dealt with for the comparison of the work. Experiments were carried out according to these standards. The most important of these standards is TS 213-1 EN 13478-1 Terrazzo tiles - Terrazzo tiles for internal use. In addition to the test methods for terrazzos, standard test methods of similar materials have also been applied in order to characterize the properties of the materials. The manufacturer has supplied the materials used in the experiments. The materials used in the experiment have production stages that cannot be produced under laboratory conditions. For this reason, these products were produced in production facilities and brought to İ.T.Ü Architecture Faculty building materials laboratory. In some of the experimental works, colored mortars have been produced. The materials used in these mortars have been obtained from the manufacturer. Experiments on hardened tile samples are as follows. Physical, mechanical, durability, abrasive strength, adhesion resistance tests have been applied. The aim is to compare the experimental values of a material produced in accordance with the standards and a material produced by hand. The conclusions are to make inferences about the properties within both materials. With the obtained data, suggestions have been made in addition to the results. Fresh and hardened mortar tests were applied to the prepared colored mortars. The aim is to show the effect of colored mortars on the physical and mechanical properties of hardened tiles. For this reason, most of the experiments on hardened tiles have been produced in colored mortars produced. The mortars produced after the experiments applied to fresh mortars were subjected to physical and mechanical tests after 28 days of curing. Later, durability experiments and ultrasound transit speed experiments have been also conducted. The results are comparatively evaluated among the pigments participating in the colored mortars produced for the experiment. In the sixth chapter, the values obtained because of the experiments are being evaluated with the help of graphics and tables. Test specimens whose results are being out of expected values are examined. Positive and negative aspects have been observed both in the construction and in the result. The specifications of the tiles produced according to the standards have been checked by standards. Test results with appropriate values were then compared with two different types of cement tiles. At this stage, the cement tiles have to be evaluate as having two different types and not having the wash surface. In addition to being used for interior use of the comparative materials, color stability, freezing, and thawing tests were applied to observe the deformations to be encountered in outdoor use, and conclusions have been evaluated in the direction of the results. The seventh section is the last section of the thesis. This section also assessed the results of all the materials examined. Similarities and differences have been identified. This study has been conducted separately for two different experimental groups. In the first group, colored mortars, the contribution of color pigments and mortars to physical and mechanical properties has been investigated. The results are close to each other. The graduate and doctoral dissertations examined in the literature research have been also used in the evaluations. Experiments that have been characterized in colored concrete have been used in this section. In the second part, hardened tile experiments, there have been generally no significant differences between cement tile and terrazzo. When the physical properties are examined, the dimensional deviations and the divergent deviation of the edges do not exceed the tolerance values. This suggests that although the cement tiles are made by hand, they have a uniform production such as terrazzo tiles. When looking at mechanical experiments, the mechanical strengths of terrazzo tile specimens were compared with two different cement tile specimens. These cement tiles have different finish surfaces. Cement tiles, which has no wash surface exhibited lower strengths in experiments. Besides, the cement tiles, which have been wash surface, have been very strong and same durability's like terrazzo. These results show that terrazzo tiles and cement tiles, whose production and application stages have been completed, are similar in mechanical properties. From the results, it can be seen that the treatment of the surfaces of the materials gave the material resistance. This strength contributes to the mechanical properties. In this respect, materials used for the material can be used for many years. At the same time, this surface treatment is also resistant to abrasion. Because the soft mortar has turned the surface to a harder and more integrated structure. Compared to the materials produced in accordance with the standards, cement tiles are generally close to their standard values. Cement tiles, which cannot have a certain standard due to hand production, have shown that they can give the same results to standard tests on this count. In experimental works, not only terrazzo tile standard tests but also standard tests of concrete and cement materials were used. Because cement tiles and terrazzos are also used as cement raw materials, they are colorless/colored concrete materials. Experimental studies have also been used for the measurements specified in the cement tile materials test standards. However, the results that were given when the same experiments were carried out in their size, i.e. 20x20 cm size, were not investigated.