Elasticity and shrinkage of cement-sand mortar produced in Riyadh

Abstract EN

Effects of sand type (white vs red sand) on the stress-strain relationship, modulus of elasticity, and shrinkage of mortar were studied.

A total of 108 specimens of 25 × 25 × 275 mm prisms and 98 specimens of 75 × 150 mm cylinders of mortar collected from ongoing construction projects in Riyadh were cast and tested.

It was found that under the same curing conditions and for same mix proportions white sand produces mortar with higher modulus of elasticity and lower drying shrinkage.

For instance, replacing 50 or 100 % of red sand by white sand increases the modulus of elasticity and reduces the drying shrinkage by more than 50 %.

This implies that white sand mortar is more stable than red sand one.