Investigation of the use of zeolite in light block production

Lightweight blocks are building materials that contain 75-80% air space by volume and are mostly produced using cement as a binder. They are usually produced by three different methods. These are; using lightweight aggregate, using aluminum powder under hot steam pressure, and adding foam to the mixture from outside. In this study, cement pastes were prepared by substituting zeolite to cement as the main binder. Zeolite was added to the mix by replacing cement at 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% by weight. The foam was added to these mixtures at 20% and 40% by volume to produce lightweight block mortars. The prepared specimens were subjected to standard water curing and 60 °C unpressurized steam curing. Then, the 1-, 7- and 28-day compressive strengths of the specimens were determined. The specimens were also subjected to fresh unit volume weight, unit volume weight, water absorption and apparent porosity, thermal conductivity, and ultrasound transmission rate tests. SEM/EDX analyses were performed to determine microstructural and mineralogical properties. The samples with the best compressive strength and thermal conductivity values were determined and the results were evaluated. According to the results obtained, the best strength values were found to be in the series with 15% zeolite substitution water curing.