ABSORPTION TESTS OF BINARY AND TERNARY MORTAR

MIXTURES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH COMPRESSIVE

STRENGTH
Nemesio Daza 1, Yoleimy Ávila 2, Andrés Guzmán 3, Joaquín Abellán-Garcia4
1
Gemas; Universidad Simón Bolívar; nemesio.daza@unisimonbolivar.edu.co
2 CERIS—Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de
Lisboa; GIEG, Universidad del Norte; yoleimy.pereira@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
3 GIEG; Universidad del Norte; faguzman@uninorte.edu.co
4 GIEG; Universidad del Norte; jabellan@uninorte.edu.co

Abstract: International standards do not offer sufficient guidelines to characterize mortar mixtures that
incorporate by-products as supplementary cementitious materials (SCM). Some SCM allow improving
properties, such as capillary absorption and mechanical performance in mixtures. The method proposed in
this research allows establishing the absorption capacity of the mortar through an experimental setup based
on the porosity of the specimens. This research found a relationship between absorption and compressive
strength, validating the inverse relationship between both properties preparing the path for new
standardizations for the SCM used.

Keywords: Mortars, supplementary cementitious materials, capillary absorption, compressive strength.

1. INTRODUCTION
As per ASTM C1403 [1], the water absorption rate by capillarity of mortar mixtures is determined with 5 inches
side cubic specimens. The regulation provides a methodology applicable to mixtures made from cement (OPC),
sand, and water, with a slump flow of 110 ± 5 mm. However, it is not stated if this standard works in the same
way in mortar mixes made with low w/c ratios (i.e., 0.485) and incorporating SCM. This limitation can also be
observed in EN-1015-18:2003 [2]b test method. The study of capillarity in binary and ternary mortar mixtures
(sand, water, cement, and SCM) should be subjected to regulation to provide an appropriate characterization of
these types of mixtures compared to traditional mortar mixtures. This requirement is mainly because MCS
inclusion significantly affects the compressive strength results. These results, considering existing guidelines,
should be consistent with the theory that mentions an inversely proportional relationship between capillarity and
compressive strength of mortar mixtures. The absorption of water by capillarity in mortar mixtures allows
inferring about the durability of the material [3]. In aggressive environments (i.e., sulfate attack, carbonation), a
high absorption capacity is directly proportional to the number of interconnected pores, which would facilitate the
internal migration of agents that weaken the structure. This research studied the relationship between water
absorption by capillarity and compressive strength in binary and ternary mortars made with nitro-phosphogypsum
(NPG) and water treatment plant sludge ash (SC, from sludge calcined at 600°C 2h) as SCM, with a w/c ratio of
0.485.

2. PRINCIPLE OF THE METHOD

The measurement of capillarity absorption (AT) of 5-inch cubic mortar specimens was estimated according
to Eq. (1). WT y W0 are the final and initial masses of the specimen for each instant in time T; L1 y L2
correspond to the submerged superficial lengths of the sample. Eq. (2) corresponds to the calculation of the
relative percentage of absorption %AT, where As represents the capillary water absorption of the mortar at 24
h. Also, the compressive strength measurement in MPa (𝜎) was measured with a compression testing
machine, as established in ASTM C109 [4].
𝐴 𝑇 = (𝑊𝑇 − 𝑊0 )/(𝐿1 × 𝐿2 ) (1)

%𝐴 𝑇 = (𝐴 𝑇 − 𝐴𝑠 ) × 100% (2)

Finally, a trend line was drawn between the capillary absorption capacity and the compressive strength of
the mortar specimens.

3. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP AND MAIN RESULTS

For each of the considered dosage mixtures, at least six specimens were executed: three used for the absorption
test and the other three for the compressive strength tests, both tests conducted at 28 d. After the specified time,
the absorption specimens were dried in the oven at a temperature of 100°C (Figure 1) until weighings at two-hour
intervals showed an increase in mass loss of less than 0.2%. Fulfilling the above, they were removed from the

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 Proceedings – Extended Abstracts –
of the 3rd Conference on Testing and Experimentation in Civil Engineering, Caparica, 21-23 June, 2022

oven and cooled at room conditions for 2 h (24 ± 8°C and relative humidity of less than 80%). Thereafter, the
specimens were placed on 3 mm diameter separators into a container, ensuring a distance between the lower face
of the specimens and the surface of 3 mm and immersion of 3.0 ± 0.5 mm (Figure 2). Once the assembly was
done, the container was sealed to prevent water evaporation (Figure 3). Specimens were weighed after 0.25 h ±
0.5 min, 1 h ± 2 min, 4 h ± 10 min and 24 ± 15 min; before each weighing, surface water was removed. Then, the
measured weight was recorded. After each weighing, specimens were put back into the water setup assembly until
the minimum immersion height of 6 mm was obtained according to the previous specifications.

Figure 1. Oven drying of Figure 2. Test setup. Figure 3. Covering to avoid water
specimens. evaporation.

As presented in Figure 4 and Figure 5, it was established that there is an inversely proportional relationship
between capillarity and compressive strength for the typologies elaborated, fulfilling the primary research
question. In these figures, PC represents the control mixture, M1 is the dosage that uses NPG as partial
replacement of OPC (10%); M2 and M3 used a fixed rate of NPG (5%) and different rates of SC (5% and 10%
respectively) as OPC replacement. Finally, M4, M5, and M6 mixtures use only SC for partial substitution of 5%,
10%, and 15% in weight of cement, respectively. This curve could be used as a preliminary step for future research
and broaden the scope of current standardizations.

PC M2 40 M4
1.50 PC
M3 M4 35 M3
M5 M6 M5
1.20 M1
30 M2
25
(MPa)

M6
As (g/cm2)

0.90 20
15 M1
0.60
10 R² = 0.8055
0.30 5
0
0.00 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 As (g/cm2)
Time (h)
Figure 4. Absorption ratio by dosage. Figure 5. Compressive strength vs. absorption (28 d).

REFERENCES
[1] ASTM International, ASTM C1403- 15: Standard Test Method for Rate of Water Absorption of Masonry
Mortars. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International, 2015. [Online]. Available:
https://compass.astm.org/EDIT/html_annot.cgi?C1403+15
[2] Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación, UNE-EN 1015-18:2003: Methods of test for mortar
for masonry - Part 18: Determination of water absorption coefficient due to capillary action of hardened
mortar. AENOR, 2003.
[3] Y. Gao, X. Cui, N. Lu, S. Hou, Z. He, and C. Liang, “Effect of recycled powders on the mechanical properties
and durability of fully recycled fiber-reinforced mortar,” J. Build. Eng., vol. 45, p. 103574, Jan. 2022, doi:
10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103574.
[4] ASTM International, ASTM C109/C109M - 20b: Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of
Hydraulic Cement Mortars (Using 2-in. or [50-mm] Cube Specimens). West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM
International, 2020. doi: 10.1520/C0109_C0109M-16A.

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