Use of Kufeki Stone Powder as a Cement and Limestone Replacement in OPC and LC3 Mortars

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Sayıl M. C., Kurbetci Ş.

16th International Congress on Advances in Civil Engineering, Trabzon, Türkiye, 12 - 14 Ekim 2026, ss.589-597, (Tam Metin Bildiri)

Özet

The fact that the effects of global warming have become increasingly tangible and that the production of Portland cement contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions has led researchers to develop greener alternatives. One approach is using industrial byproducts to replace cement clinker. In this study, effects of kufeki stone powder on mechanical and durability properties and environmental performance of ordinary Portland cement mortars at different replacement ratios (5%, 10% and 15%) were studied. In addition, kufeki stone powder is also used to produce a well-known alternative limestone-calcined clay cement by replacing the limestone with kufeki powder to investigate kufeki powder’s applicability to produce even greener cement. Results were compared to ordinary Portland cement and plain limestone-calcined clay cement reference mixtures. Flexural and compressive strength values were determined at the end of 7 and 28 days of standard curing, in addition to investigations of capillary water absorption and elevated temperature resistance when the samples were subjected to 400 ℃ and 800 ℃. In addition, carbon emissions stemming from each mixture design were calculated through carbon emission factors obtained from databases. Results revealed that low replacement levels of kufeki stone powder could maintain or slightly improve the compressive strength of OPC mortars, although capillary water absorption increased with increasing replacement ratio. In LC3 mortars, replacing the limestone fraction with kufeki maintained compressive strength while markedly reducing capillary absorption, and kufeki-containing mixtures also showed promising residual strength performance after exposure to elevated temperatures.