Microstructural And Elemental Characterization Of Cement Mortar Modified With Marble Waste As Paste Replacement Using Taguchi Technique

Abstract

This study investigates at the microstructural and elemental properties of cement mortar blends that have been changed by adding different amounts of marble waste as a paste replacement. The Taguhi method is used to plan experiments, find the best signal-to-noise ratio, and find the best means. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is used to study the effect of process parameters. We used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) to to examine morphological changes and chemical composition within the modified mortar matrices look at how the modified mortar matrices changed shape and what chemicals they contained. The best results come from replacing 10% of the marble waste, using 0.8 W/C, and letting it cure for 90 days. SEM analysis showed that the microstructure became denser over time and that more hydration products formed with the presence of marble waste. EDAX confirmed that important oxides like CaO, SiO₂, and Al₂O₃ were present. The findings show that marble waste is a good material to use instead of cement because it helps with hydration, micro-filling, and pozzolanic activity.