Physical and Mechanical Characterization of Artificial Stone with Marble Calcite Waste and Epoxy Resin

The incorporation of calcite marble waste in epoxy resin for the production of artificial stone can represent a technical-economical method and environmentally viable, reducing the amount of discarded residue in the environment, and adding economic value to marble waste and enabling the generation of jobs. The production of natural stone in Brazil recorded an exorbitant amount of waste generated in marble processing. Only 75% of marble taken from the deposits it becomes the finished product the rest is discarded. This study aimed to evaluate the mechanical and physical properties of produced artificial marble based in calcite marble waste and epoxy resin. The vacuum vibro compression was used for production as artificial marble and the specimens were cut according to standart NBR 15845. The results indicated that the artificial stones exhibit physical and mechanical results within the expected range for these kinds of materials. Artificial marble with a maximum flexural strength of 31,8 MPa, maximum compressive strength of 85,2 MPa, water absorption below 0.05% and a satisfactory adhesion between load and resin were obtained for the materials produced with 80% wt marble particles and 20% wt epoxy resin, enabling the development of an alternative material for civil construction applications.

将方解石大理石废料（calcite marble waste）掺入环氧树脂（epoxy resin）中制备人造石材（artificial stone），既是技术经济可行且环境友好的方案，又可减少环境中废弃固废的排放量，同时提升大理石废料的经济价值，并带动就业岗位创造。巴西天然石材产业在大理石加工过程中产生了巨额废料：仅75%的矿采大理石可加工为成品，剩余部分均被废弃。本研究旨在评估以方解石大理石废料与环氧树脂制备的人造大理石的力学与物理性能。制备过程采用真空振动压缩成型法（vacuum vibro compression），试样切割遵循巴西标准NBR 15845。测试结果表明，所制备的人造石材的物理与力学性能均处于该类材料的预期范围内。当采用80%（质量分数）大理石颗粒与20%（质量分数）环氧树脂制备时，所得人造大理石的最大抗弯强度达31.8MPa，最大抗压强度达85.2MPa，吸水率低于0.05%，且填料与树脂间的粘结性能良好，可开发为土木工程建筑领域的替代材料。