Improving Lime Mortar

Charles A. Laster July 13, 2012 Abstract Lime mortar is making a comeback in recent years due to the green building movement. However traditional quicklime based mortar has not had the benefit of extensive research and testing like concrete has for the decades it has been out of common use. Research done on concrete mixs can be used improve the traditional lime mortar mix. In the course of this research, two distinct bonding mechanisms are examined, one carbonate based and one based on silica. This allows a concrete or lime paste to be optimized based on the aggregate used. As a result new lime based mortar mixes are possible and traditional quicklime mortars improved. Man made stone identical to natural stone is also discussed. The research also has implications for improving high strength concrete blends. Lastly the possibility of a new type of high strength concrete is explored that exploits the silica bonding mechanism. Introduction The use of lime mortar has been gaining support in recent years for a number of reasons that make it a better choice than concrete based mortars for many applications. Less energy to produce, a carbon neutral footprint, and humidity control are only a few of the reasons this old construction technology is making a comeback after an absence of less than 100 years of common use. This paper is not about why the use of lime mortar is a good choice for some applications, but rather to examine lime-based mortar in light of modern knowledge and see if it can be improved or new uses found. Quicklime of produced by heating limestone to drive out the carbon dioxide in the rock, reducing it to powder. Water is added to the powder to produce quicklime, which when mixed with sand is your basic lime mortar. Modern concrete came from lime mortar and there are many similarities. The main difference is in the way they harden. Concrete when mixed with water generates heat while curing, and the process is fairly quick. Quicklime on the other hand hardens by absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, turning it back into limestone, and the process takes longer.

At some point instead of sand someone used pottery, broken bricks, and/or volcanic ash as the aggregate instead of sand, and concrete was invented. Your basic Portland cement is just quicklime and powdered clay that was heated along with the limestone during production. Additives like ash are still used to make specific concrete mixes. All this is basic knowledge in the construction trade. Knowledge in the construction comes slowly, even with modern scientific testing. Concrete construction has a life span of decades or more. 50 years after construction we are just seeing the effects of certain concrete mixes under give conditions. This means we must rely on observation spanning generations to fully evaluate the life span of many construction technologies. As a result, the construction trade is slow to adopt new ideas till tested. The formula for lime based mortar was written down in the middle ages as a mixture quicklime and sand, and it has not changed since. This brings us to the subject of the paper, after a short and mostly unnecessary history lesson. Traditional Quicklime Mortar The traditional recipe for lime mortar recognized 2 grades of sand for use as the aggregate, river sand and sharp sand. In the U.S. today we recognize 5 grades of sand. Aggregate Standards BS 812: Part 1, 1975 Well Rounded Rounded Sub Rounded Sub AngularAngular No crystal faces left Crystal faces almost gone Considerable wearing of crystal faces Some wear, crystal faces intact Little to no wear of the crystals

So in the ancient recipe for mortar, river sand would be rounded to well rounded, and sharp sand would be angular to sub angular by todays standards. Sharp sand was preferred as experience showed it was more resistant to weathering. Even today the bond between cement paste and the aggregate is not fully understood, so observation and testing is still the best means of analyzing the properties of concrete mixtures. The situation is just as complex in lime based mortars, but in this case, some of the effects can be understood from a purely mechanical aspect.

The points and angular faces allow for a better hold in the mortar based on shape. A round grain will fall out when half of the crystal is exposed to weathering, and slight abrasion will dislodge the crystal grains before that point. Angular crystal grains will still have a point and/or several faces still embedded when half exposed. When I was a kid, quicklime and sand mortar was still in use, and I have seen its weathering characteristics over the years. Its properties closely resemble that of some grades of sandstone. The more I studied lime mortar of various types, the more it resembled sandstone. There is good reason for this resemblance; lime mortar is man made sandstone! Sandstone, like limestone, is a sedimentary rock. Sandstone is sand, tightly compacted, that has been cemented together by another material. One of the most common cementing materials found in sandstone is calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is limestone and what quicklime hardens into. Lime mortar is 1 part quicklime to 2-3 parts sand. This is a good proportion for workability, but makes for low quality sandstone. While the same basic method has been used since the Middle Ages, in ancient times a thicker mixture was sometimes used and tamped into place. Less water and compaction produced a stronger joint. This suggests a construction technique that should improve the strength and the forces of weathering in modern lime based mortars. Lime mortar should contain as little water as possible and still be workable using modern masonry techniques. The joints of modern masonry have some of the material in the joint removed with a tool to improve water resistance and to protect from weathering on the exposed face. Lime mortar cures slower, and this allows time before this step has to be done verses a concrete mortar joint. A slight tamping to compress the grains at the surface of the joint prior to removal of this excess mortar should improve the weathering of the joints and possibly the appearance as well. If we were to add more sand to this thick lime mortar and place it into a mold and compress it, we would create a stone that resembles higher quality sandstone. This type of faux stone, due to its carbon

neutral footprint, can still be marketed as a "green construction material. This will effectively create man made sandstone virtually identical to natural stone. Color of the man made sandstone can be controlled by the color of crystal grains in the sand, as well as by adding materials that color natural sandstone like iron oxides and manganese. Clay is also found in small amounts in limestone and larger amounts in some types of sandstone. As we know, when clay is added to quicklime, a type of concrete is formed. Thus even a concrete mixture with clay and quicklime could still be considered an All Natural Man Made Sandstone. Silica Bonding Now not all types of sandstone are this easy to recreate. For example, some sandstone is cemented together with silica. A rim of silica forms around the quartz grains called overgrowth connecting the grains together. This process is also seen in the labs of electronic chip manufactures where silica chips are grown. Thin films of silica are grown in the lab onto parent silicon wafers by thermal oxidation. The silica grows both into and out of the parent crystal it is deposited on. In silica based sandstone it is this type growth that binds it together. Now in the lab this process requires temperatures of 800 to 1200 Celsius, this is called thermal oxidation. In the lab there is a wet and a dry method of growing the silica, The wet process has a faster growth rate, but a less regular structure than the dry process. In the lab the silica that is deposited is in a gas, while in cement paste the silica is dispersed from a liquid. Now from a physics perspective the only difference between a gas and a liquid is one of density as far as how they behave. Silica is one of the other ingredients in modern Portland Cement and a common additive as well. Portland cement heats up during the curing process, but not to the degree seen in the lab for silica growth. In pollution control devices a catalyst is used to improve the thermal oxidation process and reduce the heat needed, this catalyst is usually some form of an oxide. Calcium hydroxide is the main ingredient in concrete and quicklime is just calcium hydroxide.

Thick concrete pours generate substantial heat during the curing process, and must cool slowly to prevent cracking and maximum strength. So thick concrete pours and concert mixes with high amounts of sand or quartz aggregate should benefit from more silica being added to the mix if this is indeed the case. Extensive testing of high strength concrete suggests this is in fact the case. An extensive, multi-year testing of high strength concrete samples published in the PCI Journal. In the conclusions a number of important points were discovered related to the use of silica. [1] Among these was that a micro-silica content of 7.5% by weight significantly improved the compressive strength of high strength concrete made with round gravel, which is composed mainly of silica based rocks, where as limestone aggregate only had a slight improvement. The greatest improvement in both was found in concrete samples that were moist cured. Not only did the compressive strength improve from additional silica, the fractures in testing were revealing as well. Normally concrete with round gravel aggregate shows a poor bond with cement paste, with the plane of fracture passing around the aggregate at the boundary between it and the cement. When silica was added, the bond strength increased to the point that the fracture starts passing through the coarse aggregate particles rather than around their edge. This is good evidence for the view that the growing of silica on silica used in electronics is similar to precipitation of silica occurs in concrete and natural rock formation over a range of temperatures with the aid of natural catalysts. While all of this is useful, it is time to return to the primary subject of lime based mortar. Rice hulls are very high in silica. In ancient China rice hulls and rice hull ash were used as part of their lime based mortar for some sites. When this was done a very strong and long lasting mortar was created, it even at lasts and out wears the brick it was laid with. Given what we have seen about silica on silica crystal growth; it would appears that it apply to lime and sand based mortars as well. Silica growth on crystal extends into the lime paste as it hardens, increasing silica to lime paste bond, and touching or nearby silica crystals become connected by the new silica growth. Silica is one additive that can be mixed with a lime based mortar without transforming it into concrete, and offer perhaps the best choice

for improving traditional lime based mortars while retaining its environmental benefits for the green construction industry while keeping the traditional look. Beyond Traditional Quicklime Mortar Mixes We do not have to use the traditional quicklime/sand mortar, as sand is not the only aggregate that can be used without transforming quicklime mix into concrete. Again we must look to research into concrete. Limestone has been used as an aggregate in concrete, and as quicklime hardens into limestone, this would seem a logical place to start. First we must differentiate between Dolomite and High Calcium limestone. High Calcium limestone is the best choice for the production of quicklime and has the best bonding with cement paste as well. High calcium quicklime hardens to a lovely white finish matching pure white limestone. As early as the 1960s it was noted that the surface of High Calcium aggregate transformed into Calcium Hydroxide, which is quicklime, increasing bond strength between aggregate and concrete. [2] The limestone aggregate in effect mortars itself to the cement. In the study on high strength concrete, the ultimate compressive strength was roughly equal to the compressive strength of the limestone aggregate used. [1] Technical analysis of concrete with limestone dust replacing fine sand is important at this point. Limestone dust and small aggregate could be used to replace the sand in traditional lime mortar for a stronger joint. Tests where lime dust replaced sand in a concrete mix are informative. [3] Lime dust and marble dust replaced sand in amounts of 5, 10, and 15%. The maximum compressive strength increased as sand was replaced with dust. The compressive strength was slightly lower for the first 28-60 days for limestone dust, but rose above that for the control specimens past as time increased.

There was also an obvious increase in the concretes resistance to sulfate from the addition of limestone and marble dusts. Abrasion resistance improved slightly from dust Resistance to water penetration was also improved by replacing sand with lime and marble dust. It is reasonable that lime mortar would also benefit from replacing sand with fine limestone aggregate and dust. When one considers that quicklime turns back into limestone over time, sand can be completely eliminated for the mortar mix. The result if a joint that hardens into pure limestone with a lovely white finish. If color of the joint is not as important or an off white color is preferred, dolomite limestone, which has a higher compressive strength, can be used for the dust and the aggregate. While the ultimate compressive strength of this type of mortar is quite high, it takes years, depending on joint depth, to fully cure. Thus like traditional lime mortar, it is only suitable for construction projects where a high strength mortar is not necessary. As with man-made sandstone, with this mix, limestone can be cast and molded into any shape. It is also carbon neutral and takes less energy to produce than concrete versions and is an all natural product that qualifies as a green building material as well. Improving High Strength Concrete This specific silica based bonding mechanism allows for the development of high strength concrete blends with superior properties. We already know quite a bit due to testing about the use of silica in concrete, and there are lots of obstacles to farther improvement. As silica is added to the mix, workability will go down and super-plasticiser will be needed. Replacing cement with aluminum oxide nanoparticles in amounts up to 4% by weight improves the compressive strength and helps to modify the negative effects of the polycarboxylate superplasticiser used in the study. [4] Portland cement contains aluminum oxide and aluminum oxide crystals are found in sand, and in sharp sand from granite, identifiable percentages. Thus there seems to be a bonding mechanism with alumina as well as silica in concrete or as a catalyst.

Conclusions 1. The traditional quicklime/sand mortar can be improved by the addition of silica, strengthening the silica to silica and silica to lime paste bond. Thus traditional lime mortar can be improved for modern use for the green construction industry. 2. A non-traditional limestone mortar where the sand is replaced by crushed limestone and limestone dust offers another choice as a mortar with excellent physical properties and also qualifies as a green building material. 3. All natural made sandstone and limestone can be created as a marketable green building option. 4. The silica bonding discussed in this research, opens up the possibility of new silica based high strength concrete mixes that exploit this bonding mechanism. This however is off the topic of this paper and worthy of a paper in its own right.

References [1] Catherine W. French, Ph.D. and Alireza Mokhtarzadeh High Strength Concrete: Effects of Materials, Curing and Test Procedures on ShortTerm Compressive Strength PCI Journal [2] Alen D. Buck Joint Transportation Research Program Technical Report Series Purdue University Purdue e-Pubs 1964 [3] Hanifi Binici, Hasan Kapln and Salih Yilmaz Influnce of Marble and Limestone Dusts as Additives on some Mechanical Properties of Concrete Academic Journals Scientific Research and Essay Vol.2 (9), pp. 372 379, September 2007 http://www.academicjournals.org/SRE ISSN 1992-2248 [4] Ali Nazari and Shadi Riahi The effect of aluminium oxide nanoparticles on the compressive strength of self-compacting concrete Magazine of Concrete Research, Volume 64, Issue 1 September 2011 pages 71-82 ISSN 1751-763X