scholarly journals Natural-Fibrous Lime-Based Mortar for the Rapid Retrofitting of Masonry Heritage

Author(s):  
Marco Vailati ◽  
Micaela Mercuri ◽  
Michele Angiolilli ◽  
Amedeo Gregori

The present work aims to characterize the mechanical behavior of a new composite material for the conservation and development of the vast historical and architectural heritage that is particularly vulnerable to environmental and seismic actions. The new composite consists of natural hydraulic lime (NHL) -based mortar, reinforced by sisal short fibers randomly oriented in the mortar matrix. The NHL-based mortar ensures the chemical-physical compatibility with the original feature of the historical masonry structures (mostly in stone and clay) aiming to pursue both the effectiveness and durability of the intervention. The use of vegetable fibers (i.e. the sisal one) is an exciting challenge for the construction industry since they require a lower degree of industrialization for their processing, and therefore, their costs are also low, as compared to the most common synthetic/metal fibers. Beams of sisal-composite sizing 160x40x40 mm3 with a central notch are tested in three-point bending, aiming to evaluate both their bending strength and fracture energy. Also, tensile tests and compressive tests were performed on the composite samples, while water retention test and slump test were performed on the fresh mix. Finally, the tensile tests on the Sisal strand were carried out to evaluate the tensile strength of both strand and wire. A final comparison with unreinforced mortar specimens shows that the proposed composite ensures great workability and good performances in term of ductility and strength and it can be considered a promising alternative to the classic fiber-reinforcing systems.

Fibers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
Marco Vailati ◽  
Micaela Mercuri ◽  
Michele Angiolilli ◽  
Amedeo Gregori

The present work aims to define the mechanical behavior of a new composite material for the preservation and enhancement of the vast historical and architectural heritage particularly vulnerable to environmental and seismic actions. The new composite represents a novelty in the landscape of the fibrous mortars and consists of natural hydraulic lime (NHL)-based mortar, strengthened by Sisal short fibers randomly oriented in the mortar matrix. The developed mortar ensures the chemical-physical compatibility with the original features of the historical masonry structures (especially in stone and clay) aiming to pursue the effectiveness and durability of the intervention. The use of vegetal fibers (i.e., the Sisal one) is an exciting challenge for the construction industry considering that they require a lower level of industrialization for their processing, and therefore, their costs are considerably lower, as compared to the most common synthetic/metal fibers. Samples of Sisal-composite are tested in three-point bending, aiming to estimate both their bending stress and fracture energy. Tensile and compressive tests were also performed on the composite samples, while water retention and slump test were performed on the fresh mix. At last, the tensile tests on the Sisal strand were performed to evaluate the tensile stress of both strand and wire. An original mechanical interpretation is proposed to explain two interesting phenomena that arose from the analysis of experimental data. The comparison among the performances of unreinforced and reinforced mortar suggests that the use of short fibers is recommendable as coating in the retrofitting interventions alternatively to the long uni or bi-directional fiber strands adopted in the classic fibrous reinforcement (i.e., FRCM). The proposed composite also ensures mix-independent great workability, excellent ductility, and strength, and it can be considered a promising alternative to the classic fiber-reinforcing systems. As final remarks, the use of fiber F1 (length of 24 mm) with respect to fiber F2 (length of 13 mm) is more recommendable in the retrofitting interventions of historical buildings, ensuring higher strength and/or ductility for the composite.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002199832110200
Author(s):  
H Ersen Balcıoğlu ◽  
Raif Sakin ◽  
Halit Gün

Fiber-reinforced laminated composite is often used in harsh environments that may affect their static stability and long-term durability as well as residual strength. In this study, the effect of heavy chemical environments such as acid and alkaline and retaining time for these environments on flexural strength and flexural fatigue behavior of carbon/epoxy laminated composites were investigated. In this context, carbon/epoxy was retained into an acidic and alkaline solution having 5%, 15%, and 25% concentration by weight for 1–4 months. Fatigue behavior of carbon/epoxy was determined under dynamic flexural load, which corresponds to 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, and 40% of static three-point bending strength of the test sample. SEM image of damaged specimens was taken to describe the failure mechanism of damage which occurs after fatigue. Also, to better understand environmental condition on the fatigue life, results were compared with results of carbon/epoxy laminated composites, which were not retained into any environments (unretained). The test results showed that the solution type, solution concentration, and retaining time caused noticeable changes in the static and dynamic strengths of carbon/epoxy laminated composites.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (13) ◽  
pp. 3979
Author(s):  
Anna Strąkowska ◽  
Sylwia Członka ◽  
Karolina Miedzińska ◽  
Krzysztof Strzelec

The subject of the research was the production of silsesquioxane modified rigid polyurethane (PUR) foams (POSS-Cl) with chlorine functional groups (chlorobenzyl, chloropropyl, chlorobenzylethyl) characterized by reduced flammability. The foams were prepared in a one-step additive polymerization reaction of isocyanates with polyols, and the POSS modifier was added to the reaction system in an amount of 2 wt.% polyol. The influence of POSS was analyzed by performing a series of tests, such as determination of the kinetics of foam growth, determination of apparent density, and structure analysis. Compressive strength, three-point bending strength, hardness, and shape stability at reduced and elevated temperatures were tested, and the hydrophobicity of the surface was determined. The most important measurement was the determination of the thermal stability (TGA) and the flammability of the modified systems using a cone calorimeter. The obtained results, after comparing with the results for unmodified foam, showed a large influence of POSS modifiers on the functional properties, especially thermal and fire-retardant, of the obtained PUR-POSS-Cl systems.


Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 685
Author(s):  
Tomáš Žižlavský ◽  
Patrik Bayer ◽  
Martin Vyšvařil

This article studies the influence of biopolymeric viscosity-modifying admixtures with water-retentive function on the physico-mechanical properties of natural hydraulic lime-based mortars and their adherence to the traditional fired-clay brick substrate. The use of admixtures increases the water/binder ratio, which in turn leads to a decrease in the strength of the mortars. The viscosity-modifying function improves the adhesive strength between mortar and pre-wetter brick by increasing the binder paste viscosity, while the water-retentive function along with increased water content may lead to a decrease in adhesive strength. On the contrary, water retention and increased water content are beneficial on a dry surface, while paste viscosity plays only a minor role. When subjected to temperature-varying cycles, the mortars are more prone to in-mortar failure during the pull-off test. The air-entraining function of some admixtures improves the frost resistance of the mortars; however, it would negatively affect the adhesive strength by incorporating pores into the contact zone between the mortar and brick substrate. This study showed that the use of some of the studied admixtures may improve the adhesion of mortar to the brick substrate.


2014 ◽  
Vol 624 ◽  
pp. 322-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Sassoni ◽  
Elisa Franzoni ◽  
Claudio Mazzotti

For determination of compressive strength of bedding mortar used in historic masonries, a promising moderately-destructive technique is double punch test (DPT). DPT consists of loading prismatic samples of mortar (about 4×4×1 cm3) by means of two circular steel platens (typically 2 cm diameter) and then calculating mortar compressive strength as the ratio of the failure load to the cross section of the circular platens. In this study, the influence of mortar sample thickness and mortar sample capping on the reliability of results obtained by DPT was systematically investigated. The influence of sample thickness was assessed by comparing DPT results obtained for samples with 5, 10, 15 and 20 mm thickness with compressive strength determined by testing reference 4 cm-side cubes. Different mortars were considered (cement, lime-cement, natural hydraulic lime), in order to investigate a wide range of mortar mechanical characteristics. The influence of surface capping was evaluated on a lime-cement mortar by comparing compressive strength determined on reference cubes with strength obtained by DPT on proper samples, without capping and after capping with rubber, gypsum and cement. The results of the study indicate that sample thickness substantially influences mortar compressive strength determined by DPT, which may vary by up to three times depending on sample thickness. A good estimation of the actual mortar compressive strength was obtained when samples with thickness similar to the loading platens diameter were tested, which suggests that choosing the size of the loading platens for DPT based on the thickness of mortar joints under investigation may be an effective way for obtaining reliable estimations. As for the influence of surface capping, in those cases where no mortar sample regularization is possible, because of the poor quality of the mortar, the results of the study indicate that sample capping actually seems necessary in order to avoid significant underestimations of mortar compressive strength. Considering the higher practicality offered by gypsum with respect to rapid-setting cement for surface capping, the use of gypsum seems preferable.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4(136)) ◽  
pp. 102-111
Author(s):  
Zbigniew Mikołajczyk ◽  
Katarzyna Pieklak ◽  
Aleksandra Roszak

Modern technical textiles, including knitted fabrics, are widely used in the construction industry. Regarding textiles in concrete reinforcement, methods based on shredded fibres, meshes, reinforcing mats, woven textiles and knitted DOStapes are frequently used as underlays of concrete constructions. Textiles are also used in the reinforcement of fibrous FRP composites. The research presented focused on producing composites made of MapeiMapefill concrete mass with reinforcement in the form of three variants of knitted meshes made of 228 tex polyamide threads, polypropylene threads of 6.3 tex and 203 tex glass threads, as well as identification of their mechanical properties. The mesh variant made of glass fibre is especially noteworthy, as its strength is more than three times higher than that of polyamide meshes. At the same time, a very small relative elongation of 3% is observed for this variant of knitted fabric, which is a desired property regarding the comparatively low stretching extension of concrete. In the process of making the composites, the adhesion of the concrete mass to the surface of the threads was analyzed. For this purpose, a "Sopro HE449" type agent was used. Composite beams were subjected to a three-point bending strength analysis on a testing machine. The results of strength measurements of the composites obtained prove that those with glass fibres demonstrate a threefold increase in strength compared to the original concrete beam.


Author(s):  
I. V. Zlobina ◽  
I. S. Katsuba

Experimental studies of the influence of external climatic factors, taking into account exposure, on the change in the bending strength of control and microwave – treated carbon and fiberglass samples in the cured state were performed. An increase in the limit stresses of three – point bending of experimental carbon fiber samples compared to the control ones was found by 7…12 %, and fiberglassby 4…7 %. It is shown that with an increase in exposure to 14 months, the strength of control samples of carbon and fiberglass decreases by an average of 10 %. At the same time, the strength of the prototypes is reduced only by 4.4 %. With an increase in the moisture content of both control and experimental samples, a decrease in their strength is observed. In this case, the linear correlation is average (from– 0.44 to – 0.615). It is established that for experimental samples, the influence of the amount of absorbed moisture on the strength is manifested to a much lesser extent. For carbon fiber, the reduction is 16.6 %, for fiberglass – 12 %.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104-112
Author(s):  
V.O. Startsev ◽  
◽  
E.V. Nikolaev ◽  
A.M. Vardanyan ◽  
A.A. Nechaev ◽  
...  

The residual stresses in carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), based on VTkU-2.200 carbon fiber and VSC-14 cyanate ester resin, modified by nanoscale additives (astralen) were studied. Natural exposure was performed in a moderately cold climate. The influence of nanoadditives on mechanical and physical CFRP’s properties after 9 months of climatic testing was studied using the following properties: three-point bending strength, compression strength, coefficient of linear thermal expansion, glass transition temperature and residual stresses parameters. The increase of residual stresses after climatic testing was revealed.


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