VALORACIoN Y EFECTOS PUZOLANICOS DEL MATERIAL VOLCANICO DEL PURACE/EVALUATION AND POZZOLANIC EFFECTS OF THE PURACE VOLCANIC MATERIAL/AVALIACAO E EFEITOS POZOLANICOS DO MATERIAL VULCANICO DO PURACE

This paper reports the results of a research where was evaluated the characteristics and pozzolanic reactivity of the Purace volcanic material (PVM). This material was analyzed by scanning electron microscope, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray powder diffraction, thermal analysis, and petrographic study, among others. The ability of Purace volcanic material as pozzolan was evaluated by the pozzolanic activity index and the Frattini test. Moreover, the investigation evaluates the effect of incorporating PVM on the compressive strength of mortars, where Portland cement was replaced by PVM in the range of 0 to 40%. The results showed that PVM presents characteristics to be considered a natural pozzolan and the experimental design indicated that the optimal amount of incorporation of this material is around 10% with respect to the cement content by weight. However this experimental design also showed that it is possible to incorporate up to 20% of PVM with a small deviation from the mean strength reported by the design.