Addition of cement to lime-based mortars: Effect on pore structure and vapor transport

The main focus of this work is to determine the effect of cement addition, a common practice in many restorations, on the pore structure of lime-based mortars. A second target is to establish correlations between microstructure and water vapor transport across the mortar, which is a key characteristic of building decay. In order to achieve these objectives, we prepared a set of mortars consisting of air-hardening lime with a progressively increasing cement content, as well as a mortar containing hydraulic lime. Several different techniques, most notably mercury intrusion porosimetry and scanning electron microscopy in the backscatter mode, were used to investigate the pore structure. The results from these procedures led to the conclusion that porosity and pore size are progressively reduced as cement content increases. Moreover, an excellent correlation between pore radius parameter and the vapor diffusion coefficient was established. Hydraulic lime mortar exhibited textural parameters and diffusivity values halfway between those of the different lime/cement mixes studied.