Impact of thermally modified wood on mechanical properties of mortar

In this study, the impact of partially replacing sand with sustainable and renewable biomass such as ground wood chips on the mechanical properties of mortar is investigated. The effect of thermal treated biomass on strength properties is also studied. Compared to the mortar containing untreated ground wood chips, those containing highly or lightly torrefied ground wood chips were found to have higher flexural strength and compressive strength due to the enhanced bonding between the wood chips and paste matrix. Although all the tested mortars with ground wood chips have lower strength than the mortar without any wood chips, their flexural toughness and toughness indices were found to be comparable or higher than the controlled mortar, indicating better energy absorption capacity and post-peak behavior.