Influence of Lime on Strength of Structural Unreinforced Masonry: Toward Improved Sustainability in Masonry Mortars

Meera Ramesh, Manuel Parente, Miguel Azenha and Paulo B. Lourenço ()
Additional contact information
Meera Ramesh: Ryan Biggs Clark Davis, New York, NY 12065, USA
Manuel Parente: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, ISISE, ARISE, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Miguel Azenha: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, ISISE, ARISE, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Paulo B. Lourenço: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, ISISE, ARISE, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-19

Abstract: The choice of a sustainable construction material needs to take into account not just the environmental impact of the material, but according to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the UN, one also needs to consider ease of access, the utilization of locally available materials, and the durability and reliability of the construction itself. Mortared masonry has been used around the world for several hundred years as an accessible type of construction. In masonry mortars, lime and cement are often integrated together for combined advantages: enhanced workability, breathability, and better environmental performance due to the former, and higher strength and shorter setting duration due to the latter. However, despite being extensively studied for their effects on the mechanical properties of mortar, not much is known about the impact of varying lime and cement ratios in the binder on the mechanical performance of masonry as a whole. Variations in the properties of mortars do not always have a significant impact on the mechanical behavior of masonry structures. Therefore, this article details an experimental campaign to measure the compressive strength, E-modulus, flexural strength, and shear bond strength of masonry samples containing two distinct lime–cement mortars (1:2:9 and 1:1:6 cement:lime:sand) and one cement mortar (1:0:5). The results show that more than the presence of lime in the mortar, the strength of the mortar influenced the flexural strength of the masonry ranging from 0.1 to 1.2 MPa. No discernable correlation was observed between the presence of lime in the mortar and the cohesion in the masonry (0.29 to 0.41 MPa). The values of the compressive strength (6.0 to 7.2 MPa) and E-modulus (3.8 to 4.5 GPa) of the masonry decreased and pre-peak ductility increased with an increase in the quantity of lime in the mortar. The recommendations of Eurocode 6 for the flexural strength of the initial shear bond strength were found to be conservative for different mortar strength classes, and significantly unconservative for compressive strength (by 50% to 70%).

Keywords: compressive strength; flexural strength; shear bond strength; E-modulus; brick masonry; lime–cement mortars (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/21/15320/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/21/15320/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:21:p:15320-:d:1268012

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().