Mechanical performance and physico-chemical properties of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) in Malawi

Kafodya, Innocent, Basuroy, Debojyoti, Kululanga, Grant, Marangu, Joseph Mwiti, Maddalena, Riccardo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6251-3782 and Novelli, Viviana Iris ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3809-7170 2023. Mechanical performance and physico-chemical properties of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) in Malawi. Buildings 13 (3) , 740. 10.3390/buildings13030740

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Abstract

Malawi is one of the least-developed countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with disaster-prone housing infrastructure characterized by poor construction materials. Therefore, there is a need to provide resilient and cost-effective materials, such as limestone calcined clay cement (LC3). However, the exploitation of LC3 in Malawi is limited due to a lack of mineralogical information about the clays and limestone and related strength and durability when used as a cementitious material. In this study, the strength and physico-chemical properties of LC3 systems with 50% and 40% clinker contents (LC3-50 and LC3-40) were investigated. Cement mortar specimens were prepared at water to cement (w/c) ratios of 0.45, 0.5, and 0.6 with varying calcined clay (CC) to limestone (CC/LS) ratios (1:1, 2:1, and 3:1). The effects of CC/LS ratio on the fresh properties, strength, and durability were investigated. The results showed that specimens with 40% Portland cement replacement levels (LC3-40) exhibited higher standard consistency (up to 45%) than LC3-50, porosity in the range of 8.3–13.3%, and maximum water uptake in the range of 3.8–10.9%. On the other hand, LC3-50 samples offered the highest strength of approximately 40 MPa, complying with requirements for pozzolanic cementitious materials, whereas LC3-40 conforms to the strength requirements for masonry cements. This work shows that LC3 systems can be manufactured with local clays and limestone available in Malawi, and used as a sustainable construction material to mitigate carbon emissions as well as boost the local economy.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Engineering
ISSN:	0007-3725
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 March 2023
Date of Acceptance:	6 March 2023
Last Modified:	21 May 2023 22:33
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/157684

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