An Experimental Study of Cow Dung Ash in Mortar

This study investigated the effects of using cow dung ash (CDA) as a partial replacement for ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in mortar. Mortar mixtures are made by replacing OPC with different amounts of CDA: 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%. The chemical composition of CDA consists mainly of SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3, indicating a significant ignition loss. The workability, hardening properties and microstructure of mortars containing CDA are also analyzed. As the CDA content in the mortar increases, workability decreases, and above 5%, water absorption increases due to the porosity of CDA and the inability to remove organic compounds. This affects the density and compressive strength of the hardened mortar, compromising its homogenous properties. Using 5 Å, the bulk density and compressive strength of the mortar are comparable to the control mixture. However, both the bulk density and compressive strength of the mortar decrease with increasing CDA content. The thermal stability of 10%, 20% and 30°A mortar mixtures remains unchanged at temperatures between 500°C and 600°C. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed the presence of unparalleled particles and extensively extended C-S-H gels in the mortar samples. In general, the results indicate that CDA can be used as a replacement for OPC at levels up to 10% in the production of mortars and can act as a replacement for cementitious materials.