Lime putty versus hydrated lime powder: Physicochemical and mechanical characteristics of lime based mortars

Abstract

The aim of this work is to study the influence of calcium hydrated lime (lime putty or hydrated lime powder) to the chemical and physico-mechanical characteristics of lime mortars. The mortars were designed with the same mixing ratio of lime/aggregates and evaluated till 18 months of curing. The carbonation rate is evaluated via DTA/TG, the pore structure by mercury intrusion porosimetry and the hygric properties via capillary rise and water immersion tests. Mortars’ shrinkage and apparent density were also measured along with mechanical strength and static and dynamic modulus of elasticity that were evaluated by using conventional mechanical tests and ultrasonic technique. The obtained results revealed that lime powder mortars present a higher carbonation rate and higher values of compressive strength compared to lime putty mortars. Lime powder mortars also exhibit a unimodal pore size distribution (while lime putty mortars present a bimodal one) and higher capillary rise coefficient and porosity accessible to water in respect to lime putty mortars.