An Experimental Study on Quaternary Lime Pozzolana Based Mortar

Abstract Lime mortar is the traditional construction material mostly used before 20th century as a primary binding material. In this study the performance of hydrate lime mortar is studied by addition of pozzolana materials such as micro silica, fly ash and metakaolin. Hydraulic lime contains a lower volume of silica and aluminates, pozzolanic materials are incorporated at various percentages to enhance mortar performance. Two distinct mortar ratios of 1:3 and 1:1 are prepared. In the 1:3 ratio, one part quaternary lime binder is mixed with three parts sand, while in the 1:1 ratio, one part quaternary lime binder is mixed with one part sand. Within the binder composition, 30% Hydrated lime and 10% metakaolin, micro silica is varied from 10% to 50%, and fly ash is varied from 50% to 10%. Based on the percentage replacement of pozzolanic materials, ten mixes are proposed and studied. Fresh mortars are evaluated to determine the water-to-binder ratio for each mix. The mechanical and microstructural properties of all mortars are investigated. Compressive strength is determined at 14, 28, and 56 days for all ten mixes. Among the 1:3 ratio mortars, the L3 mix shows optimum strength compared to other mixes, while in the 1:1 ratio mortars, the R2 mix exhibits optimum strength. Overall, 1:1 ratio mortar shows higher compressive strength than 1:3 ratio mortars. Microstructural analysis of the optimum strength mortars is carried out using SEM, EDS, and X-ray analysis.