Experimental investigation on physical and mechanical properties of lime mortar: Effect of organic addition

Influence of organic addition in the lime matrix on its mechanical and physical properties has been investigated. Results revealed that addition of organics in the lime matrix enhances the mechanical properties of the mortar significantly as it improves the binding strength between two consecutive lime particle in the mortar. Physical property results reveal loading of organics in the lime mortar decreases the pore size due to formation of weddellite element in the lime mortar, which fills the gap between two consecutive lime particle in the mortar. Results also reveal that the addition of organics does not reducing total porosity due to formation of large numbers of smaller size pores in the lime mortar. However, addition of organics enhances the strength of mortar. Curing studies reveal that mortar with higher curing days enhances the compressive strength of composites while lower curing reduces the performance of mortar due to lower carbonation rate. X-ray diffraction and FT-IR analysis has been used to confirm the new element formation in the organically modified lime mortar due to interaction of protein and carbohydrate with lime particle.