PSI - Issue 70

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ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 70 (2025) 556–563

Structural Integrity and Interactions of Materials in Civil Engineering Structures (SIIMCES-2025) Thermal Performance of Cement Mortar Incorporating Expanded Vermiculite as Partial Fine Aggregate Substitute Sreegovind M. a , Mini K.M. a,* a Department of Civil Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India Abstract Buildings are reported to have a major contribution to energy consumption primarily due to the reliance on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Consequently, research is ongoing to improve the thermal efficiency of buildings through the use of energy-efficient materials. This study focuses on enhancing the thermal performance of cement mortar by substituting fine aggregate with expanded vermiculite, without compromising strength characteristics. Expanded vermiculite has a layered structure and hence possess better thermal insulation properties. For the investigation, cement mortar of 1:2 mix ratio with a water cement ratio of 0.5 is used. The fine aggregate is partially replaced by expanded vermiculite in 5%, 10% and 15% by weight during the preparation of mortar. The thermal performance is analyzed by noting the thermal conductivity of the mortar slab using hot guarded apparatus. Mechanical tests including compressive strength and flexural strength are carried out to understand the strength characteristics. This developed mortar can be utilized in wall panels for thermal insulation, contributing to the advancement of sustainable energy-efficient building materials. The thermal performance of the innovative cement mortar is further analyzed through a simulation study conducted with COMSOL Multiphysics software.

© 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under the responsibility of International Conference on Structural Integrity Organizers

Keywords: Cement mortar; Expanded vermiculite; Strength, Thermal conductivity

1. Introduction Global temperature has been steadily rising due to climate changes, leading to increased demand for energy efficient building materials that can enhance thermal comfort and reduce the energy consumption from building sector (Tomrukcu et al., (2024)).

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-8330016031 E-mail address: k_mini@cb.amrita.edu

2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under the responsibility of International Conference on Structural Integrity Organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2025.07.090