Utilization of waste glass as sand replacement in cement mortar

In this study, alkali silica reaction (ASR) expansion and strength characteristics of mortar containing waste glasses are analyzed in terms of waste glass content and glass color. Three different colors of waste glasses (white, green and brown) are replaced with sand at ratios of 10%, 30% and 100% by weight. The mixtures used in this study did not show a considerable ASR expansion. All batches had expansions less than 0.10% is indicative of non-deleterious expansion. However, the samples continued to expand beyond 14 days which makes the test period questionable for glass containing samples. The strength depends upon the level of waste glass replacement and age. With high replacement percentages of sand by waste glass, the glass containing mortar exhibited lower values of compressive strength. This effect is more pronounced for 100% glass containing mortar. The reduction in flexural strength is generally higher than the reduction in compressive strength of the similar samples. It can be concluded that up to 30% replacement level of waste glass, the glass containing mortar can achieve improved or equivalent strength performance compared to 100% limestone mortar.