Recycled Conductive Mortar

Due to the urgent need to care for the environment, the use of recycled materials is necessary. The creation of multifunctional materials with content of recycled materials presents an alternative to reduce the use of natural resources. This is through the addition of recycled fine aggregate, product of industrial waste in its manufacture, such as graphite powder (GP) and carbon fiber (CF), turning it into conductive recycled mortar (CRM). The sustainability of this new material brings great ecological benefits, such as the reduction in the use of fine aggregates, which are naturally present in rivers, and also, lower production of construction waste sent to landfills. In this research, an evaluation of the effect of the addition of carbon fiber and graphite powder on wet, dry and hardened electrical properties, electrical percolation in dry state, and flowability of the mixture of recycled conductive mortar in a wet state-based on cement―fine aggregate from waste blocks―graphite powder was carried out. The results obtained showed the effect of the addition of GP and CF to the mortar mix, mainly the reduction of its flowability, caused by the physical interaction between the recycled sand or recycled fine aggregate RFA and the carbon fiber CF, as well as the graphite powder GP.