ABSTRACT
The flow value measurements of the mortar mixtures show that replacing cement by quartz powders M6 and M300 has less influence on the workability of the mixtures than replacing cement by M600. Increasing the amount of M600 in a mixture increases the workability. This is contrary to the idea that increasing the specific surface area of the powders will reduce the workability. The results can be explained by the higher packing density of the mixtures containing an increasing amount of M600 (up to 40%). When the packing density increases, such as in mixtures E10-E13 the voids content ε decreases and more water becomes available to make the mixtures flow.
