Revamp of masonry structures using bio-additive infused air lime mortar as an applicator

Abstract

Lime masonry walls have been the initial type of masonry wall construction in the construction era. The minimally processed limestone extracted from the lime quarries gives a lesser carbon footprint than any other present-day construction material, making it superior to other construction materials in the construction industry and is the need of the hour. In this study, naturally fermented Bio-Additives, Jaggery and kadukkai were used to make lime mortar for the masonry prisms and walls, and the strength performance was investigated. The bio-additive and the lime powder combination were studied using a pH meter and pH strips to confirm their acidic/basic nature. The lime mortar was experimented with for its flexural strength using a beam specimen. The masonry prism study was initially made with stacked prisms and wall panels (English bond and Flemish bond) for testing compressive strength. The lime mortar thicknesses were varied into two for all the specimens of 10 mm and 15 mm for both the head and bed joints of the masonry. The experimental analysis revealed that a mortar thickness of 10 mm masonry increased the wall’s strength more than mortar of 15 mm thickness in the masonry, disproving the myth that higher mortar thickness in masonry increases the strength of the masonry. The mineralogical characterization of the mortar was carried out by SEM-EDAX to know the internal composition and morphological reactions, FTIR for the changes in the organic composition, and DSC-TGA to know the thermal properties of the mortar matrix. This study justifies the use of bio-additives-infused lime mortar for contemporary masonry projects.