Abstract: Mica is a main rock-forming mineral that widely exists in artificial sand; its content in aggregate may be high and affect the performance of concrete significantly. In this work, we study the effects of two kinds of mica common in engineering on the workability, mechanical properties, deformation properties, and crack resistance of cement mortar considering different mica particle sizes and different mica contents. Based on the formation mechanism and quality characteristics of mica, its influence on the properties of mortar is examined. The test results show that at a small particle size and a low content, mica has little effect on the mechanical properties of mortar; at a small particle size and a high content, it has great influence on the volume stability of mortar. The higher the mica content, the worse the crack resistance of cement mortar.

Key words: artificial sand, mica type, mica content, mica particle size, mortar performance