EFFECT OF COMPOSITION CaCO3/POLYURETHANE

(PU) ON CONTACT ANGLE OF THE SURFACE AND

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF MORTAR

Nazein, Deya Wazellin, Mhd Fachrozy, Shintia Purnama Jingga, Ratnawulan*

1
Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas
Negeri Padang, Jl. Prof Hamka, Padang 25131, Indonesia

*ratnawulan@fmipa.unp.ac.id

Abstract. Infrastructure development, especially in the field of construction material

technology, one of them is mortar. The water content greatly determines the energy
performance and durability of the mortar. Water can enter building materials or mortar
through rain. Damage caused by moisture is common, especially in areas with high moisture
content. To solve this problems, a hydrophobic or water-repellent mortar was created, one of
which was by using a hydrophobic additive, namely CaCO3/PU. The purpose of this research
was to determine the effect of the composition of CaCO3/PU on the surface contact angle and
mortar strength. This research uses spray coating method. The hydrophobic layer was made
with various compositions of 5%, 10% and 15% and the carbonation temperature used was
60oC using an oven. This research resulted in optimum contact angle at 15% PU variation of
120.8936o and optimum compressive strength of 187,68 kg/cm2 at 10% CaCO3 immersion.
Keywords: hydrophobic, contact angle, compressive strength, CaCO 3, Polyurethane,
and mortar.

1. Introduction
Infrastructure development and the need for housing spurred the discovery of the field of structural
engineering, particularly in the field of construction material technology, one of this is mortar. Mortar
is a mortar consisting of fine aggregate (sand), adhesive (clay, lime, Portland cement) and water. The
function of this mortar is as a binder matrix or filler part of a construction[1].
The water content greatly determines the energy performance and durability of the mortar. Water
can get into building materials or mortar through rain, damage caused by moisture often occurs,
especially in areas with high moisture content so that it can cause mortar to crack quickly and not
withstand the weather. So to overcome these problems, a water-repellent (hydrophobic) mortar was
created. In this study the authors used mortar as a sample which was coated with a hydrophobic layer
which aims to create a water-repellent (hydrophobic) mortar[2].
Hydrophobic properties are also found in lotus leaves, which have a surface characteristic of a
waxy layer forming nano-sized protrusions [3]. Surface hydrophobicity can be determined from the
air contact angle (WCA), the angle between the air droplet and the surface of the object on the contact
line. If the air contact angle on the surface of the material is more than 90°, then the surface of the
material is called a hydrophobic surface [4]. The hydrophobic surface has a contact angle of >90°[5].
hydrophobic properties are influenced by surface roughness, surface contact angle and chemical
composition on the surface of the material [6]. In this study, the authors determine the hydrophobic
properties of the mortar by measuring the contact angle that has been dripped with water on the
surface of the mortar[7]. To see the optimum contact angle produced, variations are usually carried
out on a material[8]. The resulting contact angle increases with increasing composition. In this study,
the authors used Polyurethane as a hydrophobic layer which can increase the contact angle from
44.045° to 120.8936°, but with the use of too much composition it can reduce the strength of the
mortar.
The results showed that the use of polyurethane can produce a hydrophobic surface with a contact
angle of >90°. Polyurethane is in the form of an oil layer and is dissolved using THF at 70°C[9]. The
manufacture of a hydrophobic layer on cement has been carried out by Wang et al, by varying the
PDMS and resulting in an optimum contact angle of 157.3° at a variation of 1.2% of the cement
weight[10]. In addition, Atla et al also conducted research on the manufacture of a hydrophobic layer
of calcium carbonate by varying the temperature and obtaining the optimum contact angle at
60°C[11].
Based on the literature review, the use of Calcium Carbonate and Polyurethane as a hydrophobic
coating proved effective because it produces a contact angle above 90°. Research on the application of
hydrophobic coatings to mortar is still rarely done. So from these problems the author raised a study
entitled "The Effect of CaCO3/Polyurethane (PU) Composition on Surface Contact Angle and Mortar
Strength".
2. Methods
This research is an experimental study using the spray coating method which aims to determine the
effect of the composition of CaCO3/PU on the surface contact angle and mortar strength. This
research was conducted at the Civil Engineering Building Materials Laboratory UNP, UNP Chemistry
Laboratory and Material Physics and Biophysics Laboratory, FMIPA UNP. The materials used in this
study were silica sand, cement, aquades, polyurethane, CaCO3, and tetrahydrofuran (THF). The tools
used are measuring cups, beakers, magnetic stirrer, compressive strength tester machine, oven,
camera, XRD, and FTIR.
2.1 Sample Preparation Stage
2.1.1. mortar manufacture
Cement mortar is made using PCC type Portland cement, silica sand, and aquades whose
composition and method of manufacture are based on Portland Cement SNI 2049:2015. The first step
is to put 250 ml of water, 500 grams of cement into the mixer machine, then stir the cement and water
for 30 seconds by running the mixer at low speed. Then add the silica sand and stir again for another
30 seconds. Turn the mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds, then stop the engine and clean the top of
the mixer for 15 seconds . After that, repeat the stirring again for 60 minutes at medium speed. After
the mixing is complete, immediately print the mortar with a mold size of 5x5 cm, put the cement paste
into the mold by filling it halfway first and compact the cement paste 32 times, after that fill the
cement paste again until it is full into the mold and then flatten it using a ruler. Then store the mold at
room temperature for 24 hours. The mold that has been stored is removed to be opened so that a cube-
shaped mortar is obtained.
2.1.2. Preparation of Cement Mortar Immersion Solution
The solution used for immersion mortar is made by mixing 100 grams of CaCO 3 and 3000
mL of water. then put the mortar into a bucket containing the solution and soak it for 3 days before
being given a hydrophobic layer.
2.1.3. Preparation of hydrophobic coating
The hydrophobic layer was prepared by preparing 5%, 10%, and 15% PU added with 15 mL
of tetrahydrofuran (THF), then stirred using a magnetic stirrer at 250 rpm for 5 minutes. After the
polyurethane is dissolved, the next layer of mortar with a solution of polyurethane by spray coating
surfaces of the mortar. After entering the mortar into the oven at a temperature of 60 0C for 60
minutes, when finished, test the contact angle by dripping air on the surface of the mortar.
2.2 Analysis Stage
The contact angle analysis obtained from the measurement results of the CaCO3/PU layer can
be calculated by the following formula:

(1)
Then the resulting data is described in the form of a graph. The effect of composition on the
contact angle can be determined by plotting the data at X and Y coordinates using Microsoft Excel.
Analysis of the results of the compressive strength of mortar with a compressive strength tester
machine can be calculated using the formula:

. fc’= x 102 (2)

where:
fc' = Compressive strength (Kg/cm2)
P = Maximum load force (N)
A = Surface area (cm)
3. Results And Discussion
This study used a variation of the composition of CaCO3/PU 5%, 10%, and 15% which aims to
see the effect on the contact angle and compressive strength of the mortar. Sample characterization
using XRD to see the crystal size. The sample used is a mortar coated with a layer of
CaCO3/Polyurethane (PU). The following are the results obtained from the research that has been
carried out.
3.1 Contact Angle Measurement Results
The contact angle measurements obtained with variations in the composition of Polyurethane (PU)
5%, 10%, and 15% are shown in Figure 1 below.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1. Result of Contact Angle (a) PU 5% (b) PU 10% (c) PU 15%

Figure 1 above shows an image of the contact angle generated from variations in the composition of
Polyurethane which is then processed using the Image-J software application. The resulting contact
angle values are shown in Table 1.
 Table 1. Mortar Contact Angle Measurement Value

Composition Contact Angle (o)

Polyurethane (%)
0 44.045
5 100.1184
10 103.9513
15 120.8936
Table 1 above shows the contact angle values resulting from variations in the composition of
Polyurethane. The results showed that the optimum contact angle value was obtained at the 15%
Polyurethane composition, which was 120.8936o and the minimum contact angle was obtained at the
5% Polyurethane composition, which was 100.1184o. Of the 3 variations of the Polyurethane
composition used, the resulting contact angle is hydrophobic because it is above 90o. The effect of the
Polyurethane composition on the contact angle will increase with the increase in the Polyurethane
composition.
3.2 The Result Mortar Compressive Strength
The results of the measurement of the compressive strength of the mortar were carried out after 3
days of immersion using a CaCO3 solution. Which has been coated and in an oven at a temperature of
60oC, the compressive strength values are obtained as shown in Table 2 below.
Table 2. Mortar Compressive Strength Value

Composition Compressive Strength of

Polyurethane (%) Cement Mortar (Kg/cm2)

0 127,296
5 146,88
10 157,488

15 187,68

3.3 FTIR Characterization Result

 PU 5%

PU 10%

PU 15%

Figure 2. FTIR characterization result

Absorption peak in the wave number region of 3389.90 cm -1 comes from the O-H the presence of
Polyurethane. while for the functional group of Polyurethane there are C=C and CH groups and it can
be seen that C=C with wave numbers 1641.10 cm -1 and CH wave numbers 774.17 cm-1 and 1417.67
cm-1 (CH: 750 cm- 1 - 2937 cm-1)
4. Conclusion
Based on this research, the material that was varied was Polyurethane with percentages of 0%, 5%,
10%, 15%, and used 15 ml of THF to dissolve Polyurethane. The results obtained with variations in
the composition of polyurethane can increase the hydrophobic properties of a material, where the
optimum contact angle is 120.8936 and the optimum compressive strength is 187.68 kg/cm2.
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