j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l .

2 0 2 0;9(1):847–856

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

www.jmrt.com.br

Original Article

Effect of limestone powder substitution on

mechanical properties and durability of slender
precast components of structural mortar

Alessandra Tolentino Souza ∗ , Thiago Ferreira Barbosa, Lucas Andrade Riccio,

White Jose dos Santos ∗
Department of Materials Engineering and Construction. Federal University of Minas Gerais. Antônio Carlos Avenue. 6627 – Pampulha -
Class 3320 - UFMG’s Engineering Building ZIP Code: 31.270-901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The use of structural mortars on slender components is already widely spread. However,
Received 15 September 2019 due to the current demand, the high consumption of cement is the primarily responsible
Accepted 11 November 2019 for carbon emissions and for cost increase. The objective of this research is to study the effect
Available online 21 November 2019 of partial substitution (0 %, 9 %, 16 %, 23 % and 30 %) of cement by limestone powder focusing
on slender precast structures, natural sand, Portland Cement CP-V, limestone powder and
Keywords: a polycarboxylate superplasticizer were used. It measured mini-cone slump flow test, mass
Limestone powder addition density at fresh and hardened state, water absorption index, porosity, modulus of elasticity,
Partial substitution compressive strength and electrical resistivity. It is noticed that the substitution content
Durability significantly influences the properties also the durability parameters are more affected than
Structural mortar. mechanical properties. The restrictive property was the water absorption index, allowing
the cement substitution by limestone powder up to 11 % to maintain mortar properties
according to standards.
© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the
CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

the industries are progressively using and reusing materi-

1. Introduction als that are more efficient and that can be used sustainably
[2,3].
Civil construction demands a profusion of products and raw
In this line of work, there is the structural mortar that is
materials, which extraction and management generate envi-
characterized as high compressive resistance, also known as
ronmental impacts, such as erosion, siltation of water bodies,
micro concrete [4,5] high performance micro concrete [6] or
ground water and water source contamination [1]. Therefore
high-performance mortar [7]. As presented in NBR 11,173 [8], it
consists on a mortar compound of minimum of 25 MPa of com-
∗
pressive resistance, which has steel meshes. They are pieces of
Corresponding authors.
small thickness, made of mortar and reinforcement, of limited
E-mails: alessandratsouza@gmail.com (A.T. Souza),
thiagovaga@yahoo.com.br (T.F. Barbosa), lucasriccio@gmail.com opening steel mesh throughout the cross-section. Structural
(L.A. Riccio), white.santos@demc.ufmg.br (W.J. Santos). mortars require strict control over its execution because of
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2019.11.024
2238-7854/© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
848 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 2 0;9(1):847–856

the mesh application, small piece thickness and covers [9].

Table 1 – Fine aggregate characterization.
They need qualified work force [10] and control at mix design
Cement Limestone Powder Aggregate
and materials proportions [1]. Among its properties, it is pos-
sible to highlight the fluidity and workability at fresh state, D10 (␮m) 1.2 1.3 100
and compressive strength and elasticity modulus at hardened D50 (␮m) 12 2.5 400
state [10]. Because of these qualities the self-compacting mor- D90 (␮m) 50 27 1100
tar spreads going through the small spaces between the steel Dmax (mm) – – 2.4
FM – – 2.222
meshes reducing porosity and defects in the concrete and
γr (kg/dm3 ) 3.060 2.674 2.591
mortar structures [11–13]. γu (kg/dm3 ) – – 1.496
Structural mortars can be used in thin-walled [14], rein- SSA (m2 /g) 9.63 10.16 –
forced concrete shells [15] and thin reinforced concrete roofing Porosity (%) 0.930 0.900 –
[16]. Their thickness can vary from 5 to 8 cm and because of Dp (nm) 0.008 0.003 –
this the reinforcement corrosion must be analyzed carefully
FM - Fineness Module; γr – Specific gravity; γu – Bulk Density; SSA -
due to the thin cover thickness [13–16]. Generally the slen-
Specific Surface Area; Dp - Pore Diameter.
der precast structures is dictated by the fire resistance rating
requirements. And the reinforcement is determined by wind
load, earthquake or the fire stability load of 0,5 kPa associated
to ductility factor [14,15].
Most studies on prefabricated thin slabs are related to
size dimensioning and little is studied about the associated
building materials [13–16]. Due to the relation between the
environmental issues and the high demand of environmen-
tal friendly products, researches are being made focusing
on improving the results obtained by this product, whether
to reduce costs, attenuate environmental impacts or even
improve interesting features for its application [17]. To achieve
these results, mineral additions are used, such as limestone
powder addition, micro silica, fly ash, Nano silica and Nano
titanium [12,13]. Limestone addition is characterized as an
inert material; inert or inactive additions are type I and gener-
ally are used to enhance viscosity of self-compacting concrete
[18].
Partial substitution of cement by limestone powder, as
studied by Nepomuceno, Oliveira and Lopes [13], presented
20 %, 40 % and 60 % substitution, showed that it can
Fig. 1 – Particle size (Limestone powder and cement).
enhances rheological properties of cohesion, avoiding parti-
cles segregation [13]. Varhen [15], on his study, approaches
the substitutions of fines, cement and filler, for 2 %, 60
% and 80 % by limestone, and the study highlights the
positive effects on cohesion of self-compacting concrete. 2. Materials and experimental program
However, it also highlights the viscosity increase, which
could have a negative effect when pumping the concrete. 2.1. Materials
This type of substitution has been positive on inhibiting
the temperature rise and preventing hydraulic retraction This study used Portland Cement CPV-ARI, because it is widely
cracks [13], it provides lower hydraulic retraction indexes used in structural mortar precast industry and because it has
when compared to mixtures without addition [18]. It is a small addition (5 % of limestone powder), allowing a better
important to highlight the cost reduction at materials acqui- evaluation of the influence of his substitution, Its characteris-
sition and the environmental benefits attached to the lower tics are presented in Table 1, Fig. 1 and 2. Limestone powder
consumption of Portland cement [18]. As for the mechan- passing in Mesh 100 (opening 0150 mm) characteristics are in
ical properties, it is found that limestone powder content Figure 1, 2 and Table 1. The water used was from a public water
above 15 % does not participate in hydration reactions, supply, in accordance with NBR 15900-1 [21]. Fine aggregate
resulting in a non-densified matrix, due to the increased from natural quartz were used, its characterization followed
pore size, lower compressive strength and tensile strength ABNT NM 248 [22], and the results are in Table 1 and Fig. 3.
[19,20]. Table 2 shows the chemical composition of cement and
Therefore, the objective of this research is to evaluate the limestone powder. Mortar composition also has polycarboxy-
effects of partial substitution of cement by limestone powder, late superplasticizer described as a liquid admixture of normal
paying attention to durability characteristics and to mechani- cure, indicated for pre-cast industry, high initial strength
cal resistance of structural mortar focusing on slender precast concretes, high performance concretes and self-compacting
structures. concretes.
 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 2 0;9(1):847–856 849

Fig. 2 – Limestone powder (a) and cement (b) at SEM (scanning electron microscopy).

Table 3 – Materials mass proportions.

Sample Cement LimestonePowder Sand Water Admixture

1 1.00 0.00 0.015

2 0.91 0.09 0.014
3 0.84 0.16 2.12 0.45 0.013
4 0.77 0.23 0.012
5 0.70 0.30 0.011

it. The mixture continued being blended for 5 more min-

utes;
d) After the last mixture procedure, the mortar rested for
2 min and after this period, the samples were molded,

For water/fine ratio, or water/ (cement + limestone powder)

Fig. 3 – Particle size distribution of sand.
2.2. Experimental program
The percentages of limestone powder substitution were
related to cement’s mass, being them, 0 %, 9 %, 16 %, 23 % and
30 %, generating materials proportions expressed in Table 3.
Materials mixture were done following the steps bellow:
a) Insertion of aggregate, cement and cement substitution on
mortar mixer, They were mixed for 1 min;
b) Adding 80 % of water content and then the mixture contin-
ues for 1 more minute in order to homogenize the mixture;
c) The second part of water containing 20 % of the remaining
water was slowly added with the superplasticizer mixed in
ratio, the proportion adopted were 045 by mass. Nepomuceno
[13] registered experiments with mortar with water/cement
ratio around 0,60, obtaining compressive strength over 40 MPa.
Thus, this research has the intention to reach and to prove the
standards determinations [8], with water/cement ratio over
045 (keeping the kneading water and reducing the cement
content), and with this, reducing the production cost, which
is generally associated to cement’s high cost.
The admixture content used on dosage was adjusted
according to fluidity and cohesion of samples, because struc-
tural mortars need to fill the mesh obstructions, completely
filling all gaps of the mold. This research used the parameters
recommended to self-compacting structural mortars [8,11,13].
Mini-cone slump flow test and Mini v-funnel test were done
to verify the fluidity. Mini-cone slump flow test experiment
followed the recommendations of Rao [11] and Nepomuceno
[13], they state that Gm, for self-compacting structural mor-
tar must be between 5.3 and 5.9, and Dm must be between
251 mm and 263 mm, Mini v-funnel test is the determination
of time (t – seconds) of mortar’s sample flow through a funnel
structure, “V” shape. With flow time, it is possible to calculate
Rm parameter. The range, that best achieve the desirable char-

Table 2 – Chemical composition of materials used.

Material SiO2 Al2 O3 Fe2 O3 CaO MgO TiO2 P2 O5 Na2 O K2 O MnO LOI

CPV-ARI 21.3 4.26 2.36 65.4 2.68 0.27 0.22 0.16 0.88 2.21 5.62
Limestonepowder 5.79 1.44 0.69 55.7 0.53 0.07 0.16 <0.1 0.19 34.66 35.39
850 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 2 0;9(1):847–856
Table 4 – Experimental program.
Experiments Age(days) Number of
Specimens
Specific mass at fresh state [26] 0 3
Elasticity Modulus [24] 28 4 porosity, both according to NBR 9778 [27] and capillary absorp-
Compressive strength [23] 28 4 tion according to NBR 15,259 [28]. These properties were
Specific mass at hardened state [27] 28 4
Digital microscope images 28 4
Porosity [26] 28 4
Water absorption index [27] 28 4 microscope with 1000x magnification were used to analyze
Eletric Resistivity [25] 28 4 superficial images of the mortars with limestone substitution
Mini-cone slump flow test [11,13] 0 3
Mini v-funnel test [12] 0 3
acteristics of flow and viscosity, is between 1.14 and 1.30 s−1
[12].
The experiments were conducted to analyze the specified
characteristics in Table 4, regarding durability and mechan-
ical properties of slender precast components of structural
mortar. Some experiments were done following standards
and other experiments following technical and scientific
researches as resistivity, last one listed in Table 4, according to
the sources mentioned, the mechanical and durability aspects
of structural mortar were evaluated, focusing on obtaining a
self-compacting structural mortar [8].
Cement and limestone powder were characterized: the
particle size analysis was performed on a Sympatec laser
diffraction particle size model Helos 12LA, computerized on
the 50 mm lens; Specific Surface Area (SSA) and porosity
was evaluated in the fine fractions of the waste with Quan-
tachrome Nova 1200e equipment, Quantachrome NovaWin
software version 11.02. The adsorbate used was nitrogen (N2 )
on an analysis period of 24 h for each sample. The spe-
cific surface area was calculated by the multipoint method
in the BET adsorption isotherm, and the NLDFT method by
the desorption isotherm to calculate porosity. The Malvern-
Panalytical X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, MagixFast from
Geosol was used to determine the chemical composition of the
samples, which were prepared by lithium tetraborate fusion.
The Ignition loss was achieved by decomposing the samples
by calcination in muffle furnace at 1000 ◦ C. Specific density
was analysed on a Quantachrome, SPY-3, and helium gas
pycnometer. The Quanta FEG 3D FEI Scanning Electron Micro-
scope coupled to a DES no. Images were obtained with 5 kV
secondary electron detector and 10 mm working distance. Dis-
persive Energy Spectroscopy (DES) analyses were performed
with 15 kV acceleration voltage and 10 mm working distance
with carbon metallization 15 nm thick.
Compressive strength test followed NBR 7215 [23] rec-
ommendations, it was evaluated with 28 days on 5 × 10 cm
samples with the aid of EMIC press, which has a load appli-
cation of 0.5 MPa and 10 Kgf of precision. Dynamic Elasticity
Modulus (Ed ) were measured with forced resonance, accord-
ing to ASTM C 215 [24], with MKII Erudite equipment, samples
had 10 cm diameter and 20 cm height.
The direct current of electrical resistivity test was mea-
sured by Santos [25] method, It was generated for each sample
by an applied potential difference between two electrodes
positioned on the surface of saturated samples. The equip-
ment used for this experiment were digital function generator
FG- 8102 of Politerm from Laboratory of materials characteri-
zation of civil construction and Mechanics of UFMG.
For the remaining experiments, samples (10 × 20) cm2 ,
cured by 28 days, were used. Specific mass were measured
according to NBR 12,278 [26], water absorption index and
obtained measuring the amount of water that penetrates the
sample, using a weight balance with 0.01 g precision. Digital
to better evaluate the matrix behavior and the association of
aggregates with composites. The images were taken from the
ruptured section of porosity and water absorption samples
after these tests. The images chosen for each mixture were
the most representative regarding the pore distribution and
shape.
3. Results and discussions
The intention of this research was to evaluate self-compacting
structural mortars (SCM) studding its durability characteristics
and mechanical properties [8]. Measurements and experi-
ments were made to evaluate if the cement substitution by
limestone powder influences the properties. Samples should
behave between the follow parameters:
- Specific mass at fresh state must be greater than or equal to
1.800 g/m3 ;
- Water absorption index must not overcome 8 %, when deter-
mined according to NBR 9778 [27];
- The characteristic compressive strength must be greater
than 25 MPa.
3.1. Compressive strength and modulus of elasticity
Cement replacement by limestone powder decreased the com-
pressive strength, not only by increasing porosity but also
by decreasing hydration products, as limestone is an inert
material (Fig. 4). However, it is possible to see in Fig. 4 that
all mixtures achieved results above 40 MPa [12,13]. Compres-
sive strength reduced by 33.71 % on 30 % limestone addition.
It was a significant reduction, although it is a lesser impor-
tant property for a structural mortar as water absorption.
As the cement is replaced by limestone powder, the matrix
showed irregular particle size distribution, which explain the
increased cohesion of the compound impairing workability,
grain to grain rolling, and packaging, resulting in more voids
and lower compactness [29]. And that is possible because the
limestone powder diameter is smaller (Fig. 1 and 2) and the
specific surface area is larger (Table 1) than on cement.
In addition, admixture content suffers a reduction, reach-
ing 26.67 % on 30 % of limestone powder replacement, due
to the smaller specific area (Table 1) of the limestone in rela-
tion to the cement, reducing the water consumption for the
same plasticity. Similarly, the cement/ water ratio suffered
an expressive increase from 0.45 to 0.64, an increase of 42.86
%. This increase is explained because of the settlement of
water/fine ratio established at the beginning of the study. It
 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 2 0;9(1):847–856 851

Fig. 4 – Compressive strength (fc ), water/cement ratio (w/c) Fig. 5 – Elasticity modulus (Ed ) results versus percentage of
and Agent content reduction (%Ad ) versus percentage of substitution.
substitution.

also increased the void, left by anhydrate water, increasing

porosity (21.93 %) and reducing compressive strength up to
33.71 %.
It is important to notice that Nepomuceno [13] obtained
similar results of compressive strength for self-compacting
mortars, around 50 MPa with water/cement ratio between 0.45
and 0.55. Poggiali [30] registered mortars with water/cement
ratio of 0.50, using 10 % of cement substitution for sug-
arcane ash, obtaining compressive strength around 45 MPa.
Therefore, this research obtained higher values using an
inert material, with lower cement consumption and higher
water/cement ratio. This increase is justified by the adjust-
ment of cement particles and limestone powder adjustment
(Fig. 1 and 2). It is noteworthy that results could be optimized
by maintaining water/cement ratio and using a more efficient
proportion of high-performance water reducing admixtures
[31].
Fig. 6 – Specific mass at fresh state (γf ) and Specific mass at
Dynamic modulus of elasticity (Fig. 5) is an important
hardened state (γh ) results versus percentage of
property for slender structures, because larger the dynamic
substitution.
modulus of elasticity is, greater the structure’s difficulty in
absorbing deformation. Slender precast components of struc-
tural mortar with lower water/cement ratio generally have a
higher elasticity modulus due to less pores quantity [32,33]. for this property is 1.89 g/cm3 for slender precast compo-
The results of the five samples (Fig. 7) showed that elastic- nents of structural mortar. All mixtures meet the specified
ity modulus varies between 27.32–31.62 GPa, varying up to conditions for specific mass, whether fresh or hardened,
13.71 % in relation to the reference sample. This is supported so it is not a parameter for delimitation for these mor-
by literature [34], which states that smallest elasticity mod- tars.
ulus is associated with the increase of incorporated air, in Increasing the specific mass at fresh state is generally asso-
other words, with higher porosity results and lower values of ciated with increasing content of water reducing agent [31],
mechanical properties. however it is possible to observe by correlating Fig. 6 and Fig. 4
that the largest admixture reduction generated a reduction
3.2. Specific mass on specific mass, thus, the most important parameter in this
study is the increased water/cement ratio, increasing porosity
NBR 11173 [8] does not specify whether the specific mass and reducing specific mass at hardened state. In fresh state,
analyzed should be at fresh or hardened state, because of the presence of admixture is more intense on mortars rich in
that, both situations were analyzed as seen in Fig. 6. The cement, which generated mortar densification [31] increasing
bibliography [8] indicates that the lowest limit parameter specific mass.
852 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 2 0;9(1):847–856
Fig. 7 – Open porosity (P) and water absorption index (Ai)
results versus percentage of substitution.
It can be seen in Fig. 6 that the specific mass at hardened
state’s behavior is similar, Variation up to 2.87 % for specific
mass at fresh state and up to 8.82 % for specific mass at hard-
ened state, which shows how the two properties are closely
linked to air content incorporated during mixture procedure
and with pores generated by water that didn’t hydrate. The
water outflow at hardening of samples favored density drop
of all mixtures [35], being an average decrease of 6 %, decreas-
ing the range of hardened density results compared to specific
mass at fresh state.
3.3. Water absorption by immersion, porosity and
digital microscope image
With the results, expressed on Fig. 7, it is possible to observe
that as the percentage of limestone powder replacement
increases, it also increases the voids in the mixture, increas-
ing the water absorption by immersion of the material, which
can be harmful to the structural mortar’s durability. A substi-
tution of up to 30 % of cement generated an increase of up
to 25.53 % on water absorption by immersion. According to
NBR 11173 [8], the water absorption index of the slender pre-
cast components on structural mortars should not be higher
than 8 %, as this condition guarantees steel mesh protection in
slender reinforced structures. Up to 9 % (sample’s results) and
around 15 % (curve approximation) are an adequate replace-
ment of cement by limestone, attending the upper limit of 8
% of water absorption.
Porosity results (Fig. 7) show that with the increase of
water/cement ratio there is an amount of water added in the
mixture, which after the cement hydration reaction becomes
pores, because it is vaporized, thus, increasing the mor-
tar’s porosity. It is noticeable that greater the replacement
of cement by limestone powder, greater the porosity of the
material. Samples with substitutions of cement up to 30 %
had porosity increase up to 21.93 %, a significant value for
the material’s durability. According to Neville and Brooks [29],
it can be considered as porosity parameter, for high initial
Fig. 8 – Capillary absorption results versus time.
Note: Each curve corresponds to a content (0 %, 9 %, 16 %, 23
% and 30 %) of cement replacement by limestone powder,
resistance mortars with compressive strength higher than
40 MPa, an average value of 12 %. None of the substitution
got higher values, proving to be a durable material, even with
the increased water absorption. This result is corroborated
by Fig. 8 and 9, which show that capillary water absorption
index has a direct relationship with porosity and its inter-
connection. Greater the probability of interaction between
the pores, greater will be the permeability of the mixture
[30]. The low degree of permeability is important in pro-
tecting the meshes against water percolation and aggressive
agents that may compromise the durability of the system
[30].
It is observed in Fig. 9 that mixtures with higher content
of limestone powder addition have larger amount of pores
with smaller diameter allowing interconnection between the
pores, increasing water absorption by immersion, capillarity
and porosity. Samples with 16 %, 23 % and 30 % substitution
have smaller and irregular shaped pores around the larger
pores, while reference mixture and 9 % of substitution sam-
ples, the pores have a bigger diameter and they are spherical.
Some water reducing agent have the side effect of incorpo-
rating air [1,36], and in this study it is possible to see the
generation of spherical pores, as in Fig. 9. Irregular pores are
usually from particle size mismatch (Fig. 1 and 2), in other
words, the aggregate, limestone powder addition and cement
ratio generated voids because of the lack of some particle sizes
to fill these pores [37,38].
The larger specific surface area of limestone particles
demanded more water and as the amount of water was
the same, the cement hydration was compromised (excess
of water), thus the paste did not wrapped the aggre-
gates well due to the formation of water slides around
it, and it also emerged many pores because of the excess
of water [38]. According to Tutikian [14] and Peng [37],
refinement of pores structure, seen in Fig. 9, is a con-
sequence of the filler effect caused by limestone powder.
In general, the images verify the water absorption and
 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 2 0;9(1):847–856
Fig. 9 – Digital microscope for each percentage of
substitution.
porosity results, since few intercommunicated pores were
found. However, mixtures with higher substitutions create
pore connection, which increase porosity and water absorp-
tion, thus reducing the durability of reinforced mortars
[39,40].
Thus, its notice that the elasticity modulus (Fig. 5) was
less influenced by the substitution than other properties; such
as compressive strength (Fig. 4), porosity (Fig. 7,9) and water
absorption (Fig. 7), which showed similar behavior (gain in
compressive strength, is inversely proportional to porosity
increase, and also the increase in water absorption is directly
proportional to porosity increase, but all properties presented
linear behavior as the percentage of substitution increases).
853
Fig. 10 – Electrical resistivity (R) and Capillarity coefficient
results versus percentage of substitution.
3.4. Electrical resistivity and capillary filtration
coefficient
Electrical resistivity results were very satisfactory as it is an
important parameter for corrosion assessment of reinforced
concrete structures (Fig. 10). Whiting [41] described that the
very high probability of corrosion range corresponds to resis-
tivity less than 5 k.cm, high corrosion range is 5–10 K.cm,
moderated to low corrosion range is 10–20 K.cm, and low
corrosion range is above 20 k.cm, for Santos [20], resistiv-
ity is related to fluid permeability, ion diffusivity through the
material pores and cement paste hydration. Lubeck [42] states
that resistivity is highly sensitive to several factors related to
concrete composition, such as water/cement ratio, consump-
tion and type of cement, type of aggregate mineral additions
and admixtures, as they promote changes in size and pore
distribution, internal humidity and pH, among other factors.
Therefore, the increase in pores caused by the growth of
water/cement ratio, and saturation of specimen before the
experiment makes easier to electricity be conducted through
the saturated pores, thus reducing electrical resistivity. How-
ever, as shown in Fig. 10, all mortars proportions obtained
results in low corrosion ranges, above 20 k.cm, with low
corrosion tendency.
Mehta [43] demonstrated that resistivity is an important
parameter to evaluate corrosion in reinforced concrete struc-
tures as it is often caused due to alkalinity (carbonation), with
alkalis influence on porosity percolation or significant amount
of Chloride’s ion penetration. In this work, it is noticeable the
influence of pore permeability, defined by capillary coefficient
(Fig. 10), which shows that the samples with lower permeabil-
ity (9 % and 15 % substitutions by limestone) show greater
resistivity, even higher than reference sample, demonstrating
that at this percentages the structural mortar mix tends to
be more durable. It is evident that the substitution content
identified in item 3.3 (15 %) proves to be a good option for the
electrical resistivity parameter as well.
854 j m a t e r r e s t e c h n o l . 2 0 2 0;9(1):847–856

Table 5 – Result of properties at maximum substitution content.

Sample Obtaining Form Value found Limit

Water aborption (%) Ai = 6.531 t + 6.936 7.25 ≤8

Compressive strength (MPa) fc = −76.66 t + 66.971 58.54 ≥ 25
Modulus of elasticity (GPa) Ed = −14.552 t + 31.971 30.37 –
Specific mass at fresh state (g/cm3 ) γf = −0.7083 t + 2.4005 2.323 ≥
Specific mass at hardened state (g/cm3 ) γe = −0.2232 t + 2.1075 2.083 1.800
Porosity (%) P = 11.846 t + 14.702 16.01 –
Electrical resistivity (k.cm) Linear interpolation ≈ 50 –
Capillary coefficient (g/cm2 ) Linear interpolation ≈ 30 –

3.5. Optimal percentage of substitution
All properties were influenced by cement replacement and
because of this the incorporation of limestone powder should
be done with caution. Because of the parameters expressed
at the beginning of this chapter, it is clear that the limit-
ing property is water absorption by immersion, having an
upper limit of 8 % [8]. The others limitations: Compressive
strength (25 MPa) and specific mass (1.8 g/cm3 ) were lower
than the values found in this research, thus, the water absorp-
tion by immersion (Ai ) equation found by linear regression
(Excel trend line - Equation 1) was used to define the maxi-
mum percentage of substitution (t), being 16.29 % of cement
substitution. Since the standard deviation of water absorp-
tion results were around 5 % and considering a reliability of 95
%. When using Equation 2, the maximum substitution value
should be around 11 %.
Ai = 6.531t+6.936(1)
- Water absorption by immersion and porosity increased
about 23 % compared to reference mixture due to the excess
of water and grain adjustment of components of mixtures
samples;
- Compressive strength dropped more than 30 % due to hydra-
tion products reduction and increased porosity in matrix
and in aggregate/paste transition zone;
- Elasticity modulus, with the increased percentage of substi-
tution, varied by a maximum of 13 % and specific masses by
a maximum of 8 % compared to reference sample, without
substitution. Being more preponderant in those properties
the voids left by water evaporation and water reducing agent
reduction;
- Electrical resistivity had its behavior associated with pore
permeability, in other words, closer to capillary filtration
absorption and capillary filtration coefficient, demonstrat-
ing that up to 11 % substitution the structural mortar mix
would not show corrosion or degradation.

Mixed mortars must meet a mix design condition given by
equation 2 [1]:
Fd = Fk ±t(a/z)(n-1) , s(2)
Where: Fd corresponds to the mix design limit of certain
properties of the mortar;
Fk corresponds to the characteristic limit of a certain prop-
erty of the mortar;
t(a/z)(n-1) corresponds to a tabulated value (Distribution t)
for a significance level of 5 % (95 % confidence) and degree of
freedom (n-1);
“s” is the standard deviation of the sample evaluated by
linear regression of each property as a function of the con-
stituents’ materials; and
“n” stands for number of samples.
With the value of maximum percentage replacement, it is
possible to find the values of other properties by the equations
found and represented in each Figure, as shown in Table 5,
proving that properties with up to this value of substitution
(11 %) meet all properties’ requirements (Table 5), generating
a suitable structural mortar mix for slender structures.
4. Conclusions
references
This research aimed to present the behavior of structural mor-
tar when cement is partially replaced by an inert smaller
material paying attention to durability characteristics and to
mechanic resistance of slender precast structures. Given this
we can list the following conclusions:
It was concluded that even using a water/cement ratio
greater than 0.45, water absorption index, porosity, elastic-
ity modulus, electrical resistivity and specific mass provided
adequate results. Within the standards, proving that slen-
der precast components of structural mortar mix could be
more durable. Axial compressive strength was compromised
with the increased cement replacement, but despite that, it
remained higher than 40 MPa, allowing a mixture proportion
that could replace a portion of cement up to 11 %. The limiting
property of slender precast components of structural mortar
mix with cement replacement by limestone powder was water
absorption index, showing that durability parameters may be
more relevant than just controlling mechanical strength.
Conflict of interest
None.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements to UFMG, CAPPES, FAPEMIG, and CNPQ
support.
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