Influence of interfacial material pore structure on the strength of the brick/lime mortar bond

Abstract

This paper builds on previous work investigating the flexural bond strength, initial shear strength and compressive strength of fired clay brickwork built using hydraulic lime mortars. It has been shown that whilst flexural bond strength and initial shear strength of the brickwork generally increased with mortar strength, flexural bond strength was significantly impaired by both low and high brick water absorption. This paper describes a study of the pore size distribution of the surfaces of brick and mortar at the brick/mortar interface using Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry. The paper identifies critical pore sizes at the brick surface which would appear to govern resultant bond strength. © RILEM 2012.