Acid, alkali and chloride resistance of binary, ternary and quaternary blended cementitious mortar integrated with nano-silica particles

Abstract This paper investigates the quantification of ettringite (Ca6Al2(SO4)3(OH)12.26H2O, AFt), gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O, Gy) and Friedel's salt (Ca4Al2(OH)12Cl2.4H2O, Fs) formed for binary, ternary and quaternary blended cementitious mortar mixes that were exposed to acid (H2SO4), alkali (Na2SO4) and chloride (NaCl) solutions. Quantification was carried out through a thermogravimetric analyzer by characterizing the mass loss associated to the decomposition of these compounds at specific boundaries of temperature (50–120 °C for AFt, 120–150 °C for Gy and 230–380 °C for Fs). Binary, ternary and quaternary blended cementitious mortar mixes were designed by adopting modified Andreasen and Andersen particle packing model. A long-term exposure period was spanned to the duration of 180 days for all kind of aggressive media and its effect on engineering properties of blended cementitious mortar were measured. Deterioration due to acid (H2SO4) exposure is found to be more intense due to the synergistic action of acid and sulfates. It is to be noted that for acid exposure period of 180 days, control mortar underwent an acute density and strength losses of 18% and 59%, respectively. However, cementitious mortar mix consisting of 3% nano-silica performs the best against aggressive media. The optimistic resistance to the formation of AFt and Gy was also found to be offered by quaternary blended mix. A similar trend was also observed in the formation of Fs for the mortar mixes exposed to NaCl solution. Significant improvement in particle packing density by the inclusion of micron to nano sized finer particles for quaternary blended mortar mix has minimized the permeable porosity, thus reduced the susceptibility to the formation of voluminous compounds. Enhanced pozzolanic activity due to the presence of nano-silica could be one of the primary reasons for quaternary blended mortar to perform better against the aggressive media that can be adopted in the practice considering sustainability and economical point of view.