LAUSR

Abstract Large amounts of powders have been collected in quarries and the storage of these by-product dusts is a serious environmental concern. In this paper, the effects of limestone filler, diabase, and gneiss quarry powders on the properties of fresh cement pastes were investigated. The influence of the mineralogy and particle size distribution was evaluated by rheological methods on cement pastes containing the materials under investigation. In addition, in-situ particle size analysis of the fresh pastes was conducted to observe how these different by-product dusts affect agglomeration kinetics. Pastes containing quarry powders showed lower yield stress and lower viscosity than pastes containing only cement. The results show the benefit (in terms of paste rheology) of partial replacement of cement by diabase or gneiss powders, and the ability of these materials to be used as an alternative substitute to limestone filler as a mineral admixture.