The effect of silica sand proportion in laser Scabbling process on cement mortar

Abstract

Cement mortar composite has a wide range of applications on construction sites, including masonry, plastering and concrete repair. In construction sites, scabbling process is a method to remove from a few millimeters to several centimeters of defect concrete surfaces. As a result, it is essential to investigate the scabbling characteristics for cement mortar with different silica sand proportion in laser scabbling process. In this study, 5 types of cement mortar with different silica sand proportions in mixing were fabricated and scabbled by using a high-density power laser beam. The effects of silica sand proportion in color changing and penetration depth of the samples after laser scabbling process were studied. Furthermore, the generation of micro-cracks and pores were observed by  using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, chemical composition changes between processed zone and non-processed zone were also evaluated by Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The results of this study are expected to provide valuable knowledge in understanding of the laser scabbling process for cement-based materials.