Abstract
Abstract. This paper studies the influence of five different factors affecting the dosage and production process of seven types of air lime mortars on their physical and mechanical properties. Such factors comprise the water/lime ratio, the aggregate type and size, the material of the mold and the curing conditions. Moreover, some physical and mechanical properties, not usually measured on air lime mortars, are obtained, such as open porosity, splitting tensile strength, fracture energy and elastic modulus measured through prisms. The results show that under the three different water/lime ratios tested, the material experiences a structural weakening. Ambient curing conditions were more favorable for air lime mortars than high humid ones. Moreover, it is observed that fabrication with wooden molds provided higher mechanical properties as they absorbed the free water, although this effect was probably local. Air lime mortar with an aggregate size of 2 mm had lower consistency in a fresh state as finer sands were more water demanding and the mechanical properties of this mortar were slightly lower than those of mortar with aggregate sizes of 0/4 mm. Furthermore, using limestone aggregates improved the continuity between the lime and the matrix. This fact resulted in higher mechanical properties of the mortars with limestone aggregates in comparison to those with river sand when maintaining the same water/lime ratios. This study can suppose a further step in the improvement of the dosage methodology of air lime mortars.
Highlights
The dosage methodology of lime mortars is often based on the rules given by traditional treatises such as the ones written by Vitruvius (Bails, 1973)
The apparent density, the consistency and the water retention capacity were measured in a fresh state; while the apparent density, the capillary water absorption coefficient, the open porosity, and some advanced mechanical ones, such as the flexural, compressive and splitting tensile strengths, the fracture energy and the elastic modulus in a hardened state
The results show that a compromise must be reached when selecting the water/lime ratio to reach appropriate consistency and sufficient mechanical properties
Summary
The dosage methodology of lime mortars is often based on the rules given by traditional treatises such as the ones written by Vitruvius (Bails, 1973). They establish that the appropriate lime/aggregate ratio for restoration purposes could be 1:3. There is a need for quantifying how these dosage factors affect advanced mechanical properties on lime mortars that are not so often measured. They are, for instance, the splitting tensile strength and fracture energy. Such properties are important to define the ductility and the fracture properties of the material
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