Durability of mortars containing sugarcane bagasse ash

This research examines the durability properties of mortars containing sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) replacing Portland Cement (PC) by weight of binder. Mortar mixtures were prepared with a water-to-cementitious materials ratio of 0.60 and a cementitious/sand ratio of 1:2.75. A partial replacement of (PC) by 10% and 20% of (SCBA) was used. Compressive Strength, Electrical Resistivity, and Accelerated corrosion tests were investigated. The results showed that the addition of 10% SCBA to the mortar mixtures improves the compressive strength, increases the electrical resistivity more than the mixture control and delays first crack occurrence, therefore we may conclude it is a durable mortar. The results of electrical resistivity allow us to infer that the M3 mixture at late ages will reach the condition of low risk of corrosion. The SCBA used in this research does not require a high-energy-demanding posttreatment to be used in combination with PC for the preparation of durable mortars.