Effect of aggregate gradation on lime mortars rheology

Abstract

The influence of basalt, limestone, and quartz aggregate and their various gradation on rheological properties of air lime mortars with constant water/binder ratio and binder/aggregate ratio is monitored in this work. It was found that the rheology of fine-grained lime mortars is influenced not only by the shape of the aggregate, but also by its granulometry, especially by the content of fines. The lime mortars with basalt, limestone or quartz aggregate are shear-thinning non-Newtonian liquids. Their shear stress, yield stress, and flow index decrease with increasing aggregate fraction. The viscosity of lime mortars is markedly influenced by the amount of lime matrix. The lime mortars with quartz and limestone aggregate are rheopectic suspensions.