Comparison Between the Effect of Silica Fume and Wood Ash Used for the Production of High Performance Mortar

Abstract

This paper presents a comparison between the use of silica fume and wood ashfor High Performance Mortar (HPM). The different percentages used for each of thesilica fume and wood ash are: 6, 8, 10, 12 and 16%. The experimental testsincluded density, compressive strength and flexural strength. The results illustratethat the use of silica fume increases the density, whereas the wood ash decreasesthe density of HPM. Besides, the inclusion of Silica fume (10 % as a partialreplacement of cement) and wood ash at the same level of replacement gives thebest properties of the HPM. In other words, the compressive strength and flexuralstrength have been enhanced by the inclusion of silica fume and wood ash.