Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Nordic Climate
Author(s): Achille Fontaine
Source: Bulletin of the Association for Preservation Technology, Vol. 17, No. 2, Masonry (1985),
pp. 48-66
Published by: Association for Preservation Technology International (APT)
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1494135
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APT XVIINo. 2 1985
Achille Fontaine*
*Achille Fontaine est presentement coordonnateur des etudes de genie au bureau regional de Quebec de Parcs
Canada. Depuis plus de 15 ans, M. Fontaine a mis au service de la conservation des nombreux ouvrages de Parcs
Canada son ing6niosite ainsi que sa vaste expertise technique. Parmises plus importants projets se retrouvent
notamment, la stabilisationdes fortificationsde Quebec par injection de coulis de ciment qui a debute en 1970,la
stabilisationdes vestiges des Forges du St-Mauriceainsi que du Fortno 7 a Pointe Levis.
Achille Fontaine is presently coordinator of engineering studies at the Quebec regional office of ParksCanada.
Duringthe lastfifteen years,Mr.Fontainehas contributed his ingenuityand technical expertiseto the conservationof
numerous ParksCanadahistoricstructures.Amongst his principalprojects are the stabilizationof Quebec fortifica-
tions by cement grouting that commenced in 1970,and ruinsstabilizationof les Forgesdu St-Mauriceand Fortno. 7,
Pointe Levis.
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
E TAT ACTUEL
REMPART OUEST
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
d'orages.
35- PLUIE 53.4 m.
Lasev&ritede I'actiondu gel est souvent mesur~e (2.1
//'RAIN po)
par le nombre de cycles de gel-degel, maiscomme on le 30
0.-
PLU IE
FREEZ. RAIN 5.2"mm.
VEIRoG.
(.2 po)
verraplus loin, le taux de refroidissementest un facteur
predominant dans cette d tWrioration;c'est pr'cis&-
-
25
0 6- .-.... .
ment ce qui rend le climat de Quebec aussi severe. Le
nombre de cycles de gel-degel peut Atrele meme qu'a -4.1.--
A la fig. 3, nous indiquons la temperature, les vents 3. Au beau milieude I'hiverun importantrefroidissementse produit
et les precipitations.On est en plein hiver,tout est geld, le le" fevrier, suivi d'un rechauffementla journee suivanteet de
congele, le 1erfvrier, un beau vent de I'ouestsud-ouest, 53.4mmde pluie au troisieme jour. Un refroidissementdes plus
latemperaturebaissea un tauxde 0,80C a I'heure(1,5 F), drastiquesse produitdurantles deux prochainsjours. Un tel cycle
de gel-degel en conditionshumidesest extremementdommagea-
le lendemain,
' le vent tourne de I'est,haussede tempera- ble pour le mortier.
ture, 18 heures de la pluie verglalante, il pleut toute la In the middle of the winter,a severe cooling occurs followed by a
journee du 3 fevrier, 53,4 mm (2,1 po.), tout est inbibe, warm-upperiod the next day and 53.4mmof rainon the thirdday.
A drasticcooling then occurs for the next two days.Such intense
contract,, le vent passe de I'esta I'ouest,refroidissement freeze-thaw cycles in humidconditions areextremelydetrimental
jusqu'a pres de -20 C (-40 F) pour deux jours, apres quoi to the mortar.
la temperature remonte. Un cycle de gel et degel en
presence de precipitations comme celui-ci est fort
dommageable a la structure de materiaux poreux.
Lorsquela magonnerie est gelee, les materiauxsont con-
tractes, les fissures sont ouvertes au maximum pour In closing, the importanceto the durabilityof mortar
laisser la douche d'eau froide qui ne tarde pasa of a few factorssuch as the stone layingdirection and the
pnentreren glace au contact des paroiscongelees.
se transformer depth of repointingwill be reviewed.
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
Deicing Salts
In addition to this severe climate, the fortified city is
I'eau et du froid, la destruction du mortier se fait pro- located on top and on the hill side of the "Cap Dia-
gressivementde I'exterieurde la magonnerie.Toutefois, mant". Everysnow-fall is accompanied with tons of de-
le mortier de surface 6tant expose a I'air,ii a plus de
chances de s'egoutter avant que le froid intense ne sur- icing saltswhich flow down steep streets untilthey reach
vienne. IIest donc souvent moins deteriore. On observe the flank street "des Remparts"retained by the north-
east fortificationwall. Under certain circumstances,fis-
que c'est I'adherence qui fait defaut en premier lieu. sured pavement, sidewalk displacement, the solute fil-
L'eau de ruissellement s'infiltre ainsi plus rapidement
ters into the masonry wall causing severe mechanical
par ces fissures entre le mortier et la pierre, les dom-
mages par le gel s'ensuivent. Lad&compositiondu mor- damage.
tier permet une plus grande admission d'eau, encore As a matterof fact, stabilizationof the fortification
plus de glace et encore plus de dommages en profon- startedfifteen yearsago in thisareawith the retainingwall
deur a toute la structureelle-meme. S'ilarriveque I'ap- of the C6te de la Canoterie.The mortarhad deteriorated
port d'eau est aussi en provenance de la face arrieredu to such an extent thatonly brownsand and a few tracesof
mur et c'est le cas pour les murs de soutenement des lime were left.
fortifications,les dommages en sont multiplies.
Pourexpliquer la deterioration des mortierssoumis Mechanisms of MortarDeteriorationCaused by
aux cycles de gel-degel, les chercheurs ont propose Freeze-thawAction
differents m&canismesen considerant que les princi- Most of the nordic countries have done researchon
paux facteurs determinant la durabilite du mortiersont this subject. It is known that in the combined presence
les caracteristiquesdes vides, la qualite de la pate et les
conditions d'exposition. of water and cold, mortar destruction occurs progres-
sively from the exterior towards the interior of the
De ces trois facteurs, les caract'ristiques des vides masonry. However since the mortar surface is exposed
sont encore les plus complexes a analyser.Lesvides d'air to the air, it has more chance to dry before the cold
dans un melange peuvent etre introduitsnaturellement comes. It is therefore less deteriorated. It is observed
avec I'aircontenu dans le sable et dans le ciment, avec that it is the adherence that fails first. The running water
I'airdissous dans I'eaude gachage ainsi qu'avec I'action filters faster through the cracks at the interface of the
du malaxage.Lesvides d'airpeuvent aussietre introduits stone and the mortar; mechanical damage will then
par I'additiond'agents d'entrainement d'air composes ensue. This deterioration of mortar will consequently
le plus souvent d'huiles vegetales ou animales, ou de allow a more extensive water infiltration, followed by
resines naturelles.On croit generalement que les bulles more ice and indepth damage to the whole structure. If
d'air naturellessont peu nombreuses, de dimension re- the water supply is also available from the back of the
lativement6lev'e (de I'ordredu millimetre)et de granu- wall, as it is for the fortification retaining walls, the dam-
lometrie peu etalee, tandis que les bulles d'airentraine age will be multiplied.
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
au moyen d'un adjuvant sont plus petites, plus nom- Researchers proposed different mechanisms to
breuses et de granulom6triebien etalee. explain the mortar deterioration caused by the frost
action. They considered that the principalfactorswhich
Pores capillaireset canaux capillaires determine the durabilityof mortarwere: the void char-
La formation de canaux capillaires est un autre acteristics, the paste quality and the exposure
conditions.
phenomene complexe relie aux caracteristiques des
vides. Lapate de ciment, lorsqu'elle fait prise, ou lors- Out of these three factors,the void characteristicsare
qu'il y a hydratation,doit 6liminer les exces d'eau qui ne the most difficultto analyse.The void content naturally
sont pas requispour la reactionchimique avec le ciment. included in a mix can come from the sand or the cement
IIy a alorsproduction de pores capillairesde dimensions air content, the dissolved air in the mixingwater or the
beaucoup plus faibles que celles des vides d'air, qui mixingaction itself.The airvoids can also be introduced
juxtaposees entrainent la formation de canaux capil- by the air entrainment admixtureswhich consists most
lairesparoius'evacuent ces exces d'eau. Lorsquele mor- often of vegetable or animaloils or of naturalresins.It is
tier auradurci, ces canaux permettrontaux eaux d'infil- also believed that the naturalair bubbles are fewer in
tration de pen6trer a I'int6rieurde la masse de mortier. number but of a relativelylarge size and of a narrowly
On comprend que lorsqu'arrivele gel, I'eaua I'int6rieur graded granulometry;whereasthe airentrainedbubbles
de ces conduits passe a I'etatsolide avec une augmenta- are smaller, more numerous and of a well-graded
tion de volume d'environ9%,les conduits subissentainsi granulometry.
des pressions de glace considerables que les parois ne
peuvent tout simplement pas supporter et il en resulte CapillaryPores and Canals
un dommage permanent.
The capillary canals are another intricate pheno-
Dommages au mortier en fonction des vitesses de menon related to the void characteristics.The cement
refroidissement paste, as it sets or as it hydrates, has to eliminate the
excess water which is not required for this chemical
L'explicationdes effets du gel a partirdu principede reaction. A production of capillarypores much smaller
I'expansion de la glace est assez simple. Cette theorie than the air voids then begins. These pores juxtapose
n'est toutefois pas suffisante pour justifier les fortes and subsequently create capillarycanalsthrough which
accumulations de sels cristallisesque I'on retrouve a la the excess water is discharged. As the mortarwill have
face de la magonnerie, comme on peut I'observera la set, these canals will allow the running water to pene-
fig. 4. En I'appliquant d'une fagon generale aux trate in the mortar.Therefore when frost occurs, the
mat&riauxde construction poreux, le Conseil national water inside these canals will become solid, with a 9%
de Recherches du Canada a pousse I' tude beaucoup increase of volume. The resulting ice pressure will per-
plus loin. La recherche dans ce domaine est tres manently damage the mortar by collapsing the canal
avancee; les documents produitspar monsieurG.G. Lit- walls.
van depuis 1972 repondent a la plupart des questions
soulevees sur les gels rapideset intensifsdans le mortier
comme dans la pierre ou la brique. MortarDamage in Relation to the Cooling Rate
Prenons comme exemple un pore ou une cellule Generally, the frost action is explained from the
dans le mortier.Lacellule contient une certaine quantite simple principle of ice expansion. However this theory
d'eau. Avec une baisse rapide de la temperature sous le does not provide a satisfactoryexplanationto the impor-
point de congelation, la structureou la coque du pore va tant accumulation of crystallizedsalts that is found on
se contracter suivant le facteur de contraction ou d'ex- the surface of the masonry (Fig. 4). The National
pansion thermique du mortier. Cette contraction de la Research Council of Canada has extended its study to
coque va engendrer une reduction de son volume, et examine frost action on porous building materials.The
forcement une augmentation de la pression int&rieure, research papers produced by G.G. Litvansince 1972
puisque le volume est plus petit pour le meme gaz et la answer most of the questions on fast and intense freeze
action on mortaras well as brickor stone.
m~me eau. Ceci se produit au moment m~me oi l'eau,
avec la baisse de temperature, devrait se changer en Let's take for example a pore or a cell in mortar. The
glace, et occuper comme on le sait un plus grand cell contains a certain amount of water. As the tempera-
volume. L'eau subit alors une forte pression qui a pour ture decreases rapidly below the freezing point, the cell
consequence de faire baisser sa temperature de con- structure or shell will shrink as determined by the coeffi-
g6lation, I'eau devient alors un "fluide" surrefroidi que cient of thermal expansion (or contraction). This con-
la pression tend A faire 6vacuer de la cellule. traction will then result in a volume reduction, and con-
Si le taux de refroidissement n'est pas trop radical, le sequently, an increase of the interior pressure, since the
rejet de I'eau peut se produire graduellement vers I'ex- volume is smaller for a same amount of gas and water.
thrieur et laisser A la surface du mur des traces de sels This occurs at a moment when the water, with the
cristallis~s qui, avec la r~p~tition des refroidissements, temperature drop, would change into ice, and then take
deviennent des accumulations ind~sirables. up more volume. Therefore the water will be under a
higher pressure which consequently decreases its freez-
Si au contraire, le taux de refroidissement est trop ing temperature. The water then becomes an under-
rapide pour permettre A I'eau de s'~vacuer, ou encore, cooled fluid which will migrate under that pressure out-
et c'est le cas des fortifications, si le cheminement est side the cell.
53
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
I.•I
4.w1
F4T: f
7%4C
""
"
"' •
"•i: v
:..
1iU
:i.
55
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
FEVRIER-84 MARS 84
M"OIS
MONTH FEBRJARY84 MARCH 84
JOUR 2 4 6 8 0 12 4 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 1 3 5 7 9
OF o0
60- SONDE i A 76 mm (3po DE
. LA PAROI INTERIEU RE
PROBE 3I AT 76 mm. (3 in.
55- FROM ILrTERIOR SURFACE
m --
., /
... ,
25-
k....---__
4ONDE2A 4 po
100mm-
LA PAROI EXTERIEUFIE
_5
-]54
10 FEVRIER 84
TEMPERATURE
GRADIENT STATION No 3
FEBRUARY 10 84
Redoute Dauphine. Lafig. 8 exprime graphiquement les penetrates into the masonry combined with its severe
lectures de temperature du poste no 3 du 1erf'vrier 1984 exposure to frost action has resulted in extensive dam-
au 9 mars1984. Troissondes sont plac6es au poste no 3 age to the structure.Only fifty years after the gate con-
dans un forage horizontal au 4e 6tage dans le murest. La struction, the ceiling vaults of the pedestrian passage
temp&raturea I'int&rieurde la Dauphine est d'environ were so damaged, that it had to be restructuredwith a
220C (720F). layer of reinforced concrete (Fig.6).
Lessondes nos 1 et 2 nous fournissent une informa-
tion pr&cieuseau niveau de latransmissiondu froid dans Deicing Salts
la malonnerie de pierre calcaireoir le mortierest forte- As we mentioned at the beginning of this article,the
ment desagr6g&. Quebec fortifications and particularlythe North-East
A la figure 8, nous observons que la variation de Rampart,intersect with the naturaldrainage path of the
deicing saltsused to maintainthe old fortifiedcitystreets
temperature a I'interieurdu mur est moins forte que in winter. The North-Eastrampartitself retainsthe "rue
celle de I'air;cette variationest mod&r~epar la distance
a la face exterieure. On observe aussique latemperature des remparts"(rampartstreet) (Fig.7).
reaction dans le mur est decalee. Malheureusement, les The number of freeze-thaw cycles increase with the
lectures de temperature n'6tant relevees qu'a tous les 2 use of salts. When the temperature is very cold in this
ou 3 jours d'intervalle, il n'est pas possible de preciser le area, frost can occur every night because the salt con-
56
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APT XyII No. 2 1985
decalage entre la temperature de I'airet la temperature centrationdoes not sufficientlylower the freezing point.
reaction dans le mur. Generalement ce decalage est It is a new cycle every time the concentration of the
d'environ 1 ou 2 jours, tout dependant de la profondeur solution is too weak to prevent freezing or when the
de la sonde dans la maronnerie. Un point fort interes- temperature is cold enough.
santa mentionner toutefois est qu'en huitjours,la sonde
no 1 a passe trois fois le point de congelation. On Accordingto Litvan,the mechanicaldamagecaused
observe aussi que le gradient de temperature dans le by the saline solution in porous materialis more severe
mur indique au 10 fevrier que pros de la moitie de la than that caused by water alone. Thisis easily confirmed
looking at a few masonryworks exposed to salt condi-
magonnerie est gelee. tions in the cold season. It also appears that lime is
On peut conclure d'apres ces observations au 10 slightlysoluble in water at cold temperatures,thus con-
fevrier1984que prosde la moitie du murest exposee aux tributingto the disintegrationof mortarafter150yearsof
severe climate exposure.
cycles de gel-degel.
Monitoring Programof Temperatureand Humidity
Lesreleves d'humidite nous confirment une migra- in Masonry
tion de I'humiditevers la paroi froide, c'est-a-dire une
gradation du taux d'humidite croissant de la sonde Thismonitoringprogramwas startedbythe Quebec
interieure a la sonde exterieure.' Nous avons done ici Regional Office in February1983 in order to determine
toutes les conditions favorables la formation de len- the exposure conditions of the fortificationmasonry.
tilles de glace qui detruisent la structure d'un mortier For the preliminarytest, 25 probes in total were
sans resistanceau gel-degel. installed in the non-insulated exterior walls of the
Redoute Dauphine. Three probes were installed at sta-
Devant ces r'sultats fort int&ressants,un pro- tion no. 3 in a horizontaldrillingin the east wallat the 4th
gramme d'enregistrement de la temperature fut mis en floor level. Fig. 8 shows the temperature readings of
marche aux murs de fortifications. Dix sondes ont ete station no. 3 from February1st, 1984to March9th, 1984.
placees au bastion St-Jeandans la magonnerie ainsi que The building interior temperature was approximately
dans le remblaia I'arrieredu mur. Lafig. 9 nous fait voir 220C (720F).
en r'sum I' volution du gel du 20 fvrier 1985au 11 avril Probes nos. 1 and 2 provide very useful information
1985 a la face droite de ce bastion. On constate que le
mur ne gele pas sur sa pleine epaisseur aux niveaux regardingthe cold transferin limestone masonrywhere
the mortaris in an advanced stage of deterioration.
inferieurs. Lacourbe de la limite inferieure du sol gele
est caract&ristiquedu phenomene de la chaleur latente, As shown in Fig.8, it is observed that the tempera-
appelee aussichaleur de cristallisation.Cette chaleurest ture variationwithin the wall is less severe than the air
degagee lors de la production de lentilles de glace. Elle temperaturechanges; the variationis also moderated by
diminue la penetration du gel dans le sol, de meme que the distance from the exterior face. It is also observed
dans le mur; on observe " ce point de vue que le com- that the response temperature within the wall is out of
portement de la malonnerie est semblable a celui d'un phase. Unfortunately, since the temperatures are
sol capillairepermeable. Laligne de gel se deplace gra- recorded by hand at two to three day intervals,it is not
duellement vers I'int&rieurdu mur ou du sol formant possible to state precisely how much out of phase the
ainsi une membrane de glace qui s'epaissit a mesure temperature response is to the change in air tempera-
qu'elle est repoussee par le froid et alimentee parsuffi- ture. Generally, they appear to reach their peak within
samment d'eau. one or two days, depending on the probe depth in the
masonry. One interesting point, though, is that the
On comprend donc I'importance primordiale temperature recorded by probe no. 1 passes the freez-
d'eliminer I'apportd'eau a I'arrieredu mur,si I'on veut ing point three times in eight days. Also worth mention-
' la formationde lentilles de glace si dommagea-
eliminer ing is that on February10th, the wall temperature gra-
bles la magonnerie. C'est pour cette raison que nous dient indicates that half of the masonry wall is frozen.
.
le mat&riau I'arri:re We can therefore conclude that on February10th, 1984,
remplaons gIlif du mur par un
gravier filtrant h granulom~trie contr6l1e, avec drainage half the wall is exposed to freeze-thaw cycles.
accessible A la base du mur. The monitoring of the humidity confirms a migra-
tion of the humidity towards the cold front, i.e. a grada-
Une autre manifestation de la chaleur latente et de tion of the humidity level increasing from the interior
sa membrane de glace est que le gel continue Adescen- probe to the exterior probe. Therefore all the favorable
dre lors du d~gel. Ce ph~nom~ne est confirm& A la conditions for ice lenses formation are present. These
sonde no 3 alors qu'on y enregistrait une baisse de tem- ice lenses, as we know, are extremely detrimental to a
p&rature appreciable au moment oi la temperature non-frost resistant mortar.
ext&rieure 6tait &la hausse pour une p~riode de dCgel.
Enfait, lorsque le d~gel se produit dans un sol ou dans la In view of these interesting results, a temperature
magonnerie, cette membrane impermeable qui emp&- monitoring program was set up in the fortification walls.
chait la chaleur latente de sortir, fond 6galement, per- Ten probes were installed at the St-Jean bastion in the
mettant &la chaleur de sortir en certains endroits et au masonry as well as in the backfill material.
froid de pin~trer plus profond~ment, d'oj I'expression The frost-time evolution from February 20th, 1985 to
courante A Quebec que le gel descend lors du d~gel. April 11th, 1985 at the left face of this bastion is shown in
57
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APT XVIIN. 1985
TableauI
Etudedes proprietes d'un mortieren fonction du %
air occlus, Laboratoirede ConstructionInc.
Table I
Study of the MortarPropertiesin Relation
to Air Entrainment,Laboratoirede ConstructionInc.
Quantite de I'adjuvant:
%en poids du total des
liants hydrauliques 0 0.045 0.090 0.135 0.18 0.225
Admixtureqty: weight %
of the hydraulicbinders
-- % air occlus:
%air 7.6 9.1 10.7 12.5 21.4
- Air entrainment,e % 16.0
Compression - Resistance
Cubes de 2 po. d'arete
(51 mm)
Compressivestrength
2 in. (51 mm) cubes
2) A 28 jours
2)28 jours en Ib/po.ca
b/poca 2030 1850 1780 1715 1615 1585
28 days, PSI
en MPa
en days,
MPa 14.0 12.8 12.3 11.8 11.1 10.9
28 MPa
Densit6 relative
Relative 1.88 1.79 1.765 1.755 1.695 1.65
Rel ative density
densi ty
Absorption en %
(24 hres - eau froide) 12.4 12.6 12.65 12.7 12.6 12.8
Absorption, %
(24 hrs - cold water)
58
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APT XVIINo. 2 1985
Tableau II
Etudede 3 adjuvants- essais comparatifs,Laboratoire
de ConstructionInc.
Table II
Studyof 3 Admixtures- ComparativeTests
Laboratoirede ConstructionInc.
- % air occlus:
AAir 16.0 16.0 16.3 18.4 19.1
-
-ir entrainment,%%
entrainment,
Compression - Resistance
Cubes de 2 po. d'arete (51 mm)
CompressiveStrength
2 in. (51 mm) cubes
RelRelative
ative density 1.695 1.70 1.72 1.84 1.73
densi ty
Absorption en %
(24 hres
(24 hres - eau
eau froide)
froide) 12.6 12.0 12.8 12.5 12.6
Absorption, %
(24 hrs - cold water)
59
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
Fig.9. As we can see, the wall does not freeze across its
.. ..................... full width at the lower levels.
. . .
010
The bottom line of the frozen soil is characteristicof
the latent heat phenomenon, also called crystallization
?
...:
, :: heat.Thisheat comes fromthe formationof the ice lenses.
It lowers the frost penetration in the soil as well as in the
wall; from this point of view the masonrybehaviour is
similarto a frost-susceptiblesoil (capillaryand perme-
6_ _
able). The frost line moves graduallyinward,creatingan
20 FEVRIER 85 '3 MARS 85 ice membranethat thickens as it is fed by enough water
7FEBRUARY 20. 85 MARCH '3. 85
and as the cold penetrates.
SFROID 4 CHAUC
COLD WARM
Eliminatingthe water supply from behind the wall
I---- W- ESCARPE
ESCARP
became cruciallyimportantif the detrimental ice lense
.. ...c.
.......
formation was to be eliminated. It was for this reason
that the frost susceptible backfill was replaced by a
graded granularfilter material.An accessible drain was
also installedat the bottom of the wall.
APRIL
4 85 j [ Another sign of the latent heat phenomenon and
. .
A...RIL. the action of the ice membrane is that the frost will
continue to penetrate during the thaw season. A sub-
stantialdecrease of the temperature, recorded at probe
no. 3, as the exterior temperaturewas warmingup, con-
SMACONNERIE ZONE GELEE * SONDE MERE firms this observation. In fact, as thawing occurs in the
masonryor in the soil, the impermeable ice membrane
MASONRY FROZEN AREA PROBE PIED FEET
PROBE4-.
that prevented the latent heat from coming out, is also
melting locally, thus allowing the heat to be released in
; 20 85
=EB .RCY
certainareasand which also allowsthe frostto penetrate
AP__
85
_ .
more deeply elsewhere. Quebec people say "le gel de-
APR:I 4 81r
.
A
.
scend lors du degel". (Frostis going down during the
9. Comportement thermique &I'interieurde la magonnerie et du thaw season.)
remblaien p&riodesde gel et de degel. Notez qu'au 13 mars,le
mur n'est pas totalement geld. Improved Freeze-thaw Durabilityof Mortarby
Thermalbehaviourin the masonryand in embankmentin freeze- Air-entrainment
thaw period. Note that on March13th the wall is not completely
frozen. Although the deterioration mechanismcan be sim-
ple complex, it always comes down to a question of
or
internal pressure. All researchersagree that a sufficient
quantity of well distributed air voids provides a relief
Ameliorationde la resistance au gel-degel du mortier valve against hydraulicpressures. It is not necessary to
par I'additiond'air entraine have a lot of air, but there has to be a large number of
Que les m&canismesde deteriorationsoient simples closely spaced bubbles.
ou complexes, il s'agittoujours de pressionsinternes, et In 1970,when ParksCanadastartedthe stabilization
tous les chercheurs conviennent qu'une quantite suffi- of the fortifications,the principalproperties of the dif-
sante de vides d'air bien distribute contribue a agir ferent combination of lime and Portlandcement were
comme une soupape de soulagement contre les pres- known. Air entrainment was used in masonrycement,
sions hydrauliques,pas n&cessairementbeaucoup d'air, not only to improve workabilityof the plasticmortarbut
mais des bulles en grand nombre et peu eloignees les also to improve the freeze-thaw durability.Thisdurabil-
unes des autres. ity had already been tested in laboratory.
Lorsqu'en 1970 ParcsCanada commence la refec- In restoration work, however, traditional lime mortar
tion d'une partie des fortifications,on connait les prin- mixes without air entrainment admixtures were generally
cipales proprietesdes diversescombinaisonsde la chaux recommended. Influenced by this trend the following
et du ciment portland. L'airentraine est utilise dans les mix was used:
ciments A magonnerie, non seulementpour la mania-
bilite du mortier plastique, mais pour la resistance aux Medusa Cement 1-1/2
cycles de gel-degel, resistanceque I'onavaitdemontr~e Masonry Cement 1/2 (1/4 Portland
par des essais acc6lres en laboratoire. cement and 1/4 lime)
En restauration,par contre, on pr&coniseI'utilisa- Lime 1
tion des melanges traditionnels de mortier A la chaux Sand 5
sans addition d'airentrain&.Suivantcette tendance des This provided a 60%cement, 40%lime mix with good
mortiershistoriques, on opte pour le melange suivant:
compressive strength, low air content (6%naturally) and
Ciment Medusa 1-1/2 resistance to up to 80 freeze-thaw cycles (which is low).
60
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
Ciment a magonnerie
1/2 (1/4 ciment Fifteenyearslater,this mortaris alreadyshowing deterio-
Portlandet ration in many areas.
1/4 chaux)
Chaux 1 APT,MortarConference, Boston, 1973
Sable 5
In 1973, an APTconference was held in Boston on
soit 60%de ciment, 40%de chaux, un melange resistant" mortar.The following is an extract from the air entrain-
en compression, faible en airocclus (6%)et resistant 80 ment section: "the incorporationof minute airspaces in
cycles de gel-degel. Quinze ans plus tard, ce mortier mortarwas discussed as a satisfactoryway of increasing
demontre deja des signes de faiblesse en bien des the plasticityof wet mortar(probablythrough a reduc-
endroits. tion in internalfriction)and of improvingthe frostresis-
tance of the dried material by providing space for ice
Conference de I'APTa Boston en 1973 expansion". The addition of air entrainment to the
" cement paste provides the air micro-bubbles which
En1973,une conference de I'APTse tenait Boston
surle mortier.Au chapitrede I'airentrainS,la discussion make the mix more unctuous and thus allows a reduc-
a porte sur I'incorporation de ces miniscules espaces tion of the mixing water. The mortarthen contains bil-
d'air dans le mortier comme un procede satisfaisant lions of reservoirsor small cells that will equilibrate the
pour en accroitre la maniabilite (probablement en ice pressure as the frost comes.
r'duisant la friction interne) et sur I'ambliorationde la The fundamental principle is well established, the
resistance au froid du materiaudurci en fournissantde
great concern is about the amount of airentrainmentto
I'espacepour I'expansionde la glace. L'ajoutd'un agent be recommended, since an excess could significantly
d'entrainement d'air a la pate de ciment fournit ces reduce the bond strength.
micro-bullesd'airqui rendent le melange plusonctueux
et permettent ainsi de reduire I'eaude gachage. Lemor- We can see that if the aircontent is low, the airvoids
tier contient alors des milliards de reservoirs ou de are too spaced to serve the decompression purpose; the
petites cellules qui serviront a r6tablir I'equilibre des excess water does not have time to reach these refuges.
pressions de la glace lorsqu'arriverale gel. On the other hand if the air content is high, the air
Le principe fondamental etait donc bien etabli; on bubbles are very nearone another, the cell wallsare thin
se preoccupait alors du pourcentage d'air souhaitable, and the whole mortarstructure is too weak. It is there-
15%maximum,en sachant qu'un exces pouvait reduire fore importantto makesure that the aircontent is within
the allowable limits. It was also recommended to use
consid&rablementla force d'adherence. On verraque si lime and cement which has been factory processed for
le pourcentage d'airest faible, les bulles d'air sont trop
air entrainment to ensure the proper proportioning of
espacees pour servira la decompression et I'expansion the admixture. Therefore, in 1973, a masonry cement
de la glace fait ses dommages avant d'atteindre les
chambres de detente. Si au contraire, le pourcentage factory process was already recommended for restora-
d'airest trop 6leve, les bulles d'airsont tres rapproch~es, tion works.
les parois de mortiersont trop minces et toute la struc- One participant to that conference, Mr. Rogers,
ture du mortier est trop faible. IIimporte donc de s'as- afterwardsmade an interesting comment. It is included
surerque le pourcentage d'airocclus est a I'interieurdes in the proceeding. He said that "air entrainment may
limites extremes. Pour plus de s&curite,on recomman- increase the water retention of mortar by breaking up
dait meme d'utiliserde la chaux ou du ciment auxquels the capillarypaths along which water flows out of wet
I'airauraitete ajoute au cours du procede de fabrication mortar"'. As explained previously, the excess water
RESISTANCE AU GEL ET DEGEL EN FONCTION DU % AIR OCCLUS ABSORPTION EN % EN FONCTION DU % AIR OCCLUS
THE EFFECT OF AIR ENTRAINMENT ON FREEZE THAW RESISTANCE THE EFFECT OF AIR ENTRAINMENT ON ABSORPTION
Co
w s15Oo
15
IooZ
! oX
1 1-== ' 14
W5Z S
'~1
LUN
ww
-
Zo "
ww ___-"_0
__
-U P: 50
a-0
x
w
w
w
Qm K)
z:) 5 10 !5 20 25
_z 10) % AIR OCCLUS
1 5 10 15 20 AIR ENTRAINMENT
%
25
J %AIR OCCLUS
a: AIR ENTRAINMENT%
11. L'absorptionne varie pratiquementpas avec I'augmentationde
10. Lepourcentage d'airocclus recommandable' Quebec seraitde I'airentraine.
16% ?2 %. The absorption remains almost constant as the air content
The recommended air content for mortaris 16%? 2%. increases.
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
en usine, plut6t que de risquerd'ajouter un exces d'air coming out of the mortaras it sets, leaves behind capil-
sur le site de la construction. Ainsi,a Boston, en 1973,on lary canals. The addition of air entrainment provides
etait deja favorableau ciment a malonnerie prepareen micro-bubblesthat breakup the capillarypaths. Further-
usine pour des ouvrages de restauration. more, the use of airentrainmentreduces the quantityof
Un des participantsa cette conference, M. Rogers, mixing water. Therefore there should be less excess
fit une observationfort interessanteapres cette rencon- water and less capillarycanals.
tre: "l'airentraine peut augmenter la retention de I'eau The capillary canals are detrimental to the bond
du mortieren detruisantles conduits capillairespar oui strength. Indeed, they weaken the interfaceof the mor-
s'&chappe I'eau du mortier"1. Tel qu'explique tar and stone by allowing water penetration in the mor-
pr&c'demment, la pate de ciment 'limine les exc's tar where the bond strength is critical. Therefore the
d'eau lorsqu'elle fait prise; il y a alors formation de elimination of the capillarycanal should improve the
canauxcapillaires.L'additionde I'airentraine incorpore bond strength. Unfortunately,we have not come across
des micro-bulles qui brisent ces canaux. De plus I'air any literatureon this hypothesis.
entraine reduit la quantite d'eau de gachage. IIdevrait
donc y avoir moins d'exces d'eau et par consequent
moins de canaux. Air EntrainmentTestingby ParksCanada
Ces canaux capillaires nuisent a I'adherence. En In 1978,ParksCanadagave a contractto Laboratoire
effet ils affaiblissentI'interfacedu mortieret de la pierre de Construction, Inc.2to study the effect of air entrain-
en permettanta I'eau de s'infiltrerdans le mortiera un ment in typical mixes. The mix B-1, which consists of 1
endroit qui est critique pour I'adherence.Cette elimina- Portland cement, 1 slaked lime, 5 sands and variable
tion devrait donc ameliorer I'adherence. Malheu- quantity of Darexair entrainmentadmixture,is studied
reusement, il ne semble pas exister plus de litterature in Table 1. In Table 2 the same B-1 mix is used but with
discutantcette correlation. different brandsof admixtures.The resultsare also com-
pared to a mortar made of factory-processed masonry
Essaissur I'airentraine faits par ParcsCanada cement and sand.
En 1978, Parcs Canada mandate le Laboratoirede To obtain a percentage of air content of approxi-
Construction Inc.2pour une etude des effets produits mately16%,the amount of hydraulicbindervaried from
par I'entrainement d'air dans des melanges types. Au 0.135%to 0.18%.Test resultsindicated that:
tableau I,on etudie le melange B-1:un ciment portland, - the percentage of air content increases with an
une chaux eteinte et cinq sable, auxquel on ajoute increase of admixture;
I'agentd'entrainement d'airde marque Darexen quan- - the compression strength decreases when the air
tites variables. Au tableau II, on conserve le m me content is increased; for the average recommended
melange B-1en utilisantdes agents d'entrainementd'air value of aircontent (17%),the decrease in compres-
de marques differentes, puis on compare au melange sive strength is in the order of 20%;
conventionnel du ciment a malonnerie et du sable tout - the relative density of mortar decreases approxi-
simplement. mately 10%for a 17%air content mix.
On a constate que pour obtenir un pourcentage
d'aird'environ 16%,on doit utiliserdes quantites d'ad- It was also observed that the mixing water is
reduced by approximately15%.
juvant variant de 0,135%a 0,180%du poids des liants
hydrauliques. But the most interestingobservationswere that:
Comme on peut s'y attendre: - the freeze-thaw durabilityincreasesrapidlyand con-
- le pourcentage d'air occlus augmente avec la quan- siderably with an increase in air content (Fig. 10).
Note that the mix B-1,which has no admixtureincor-
tite d'adjuvant ajoute;
- la resistance a la compression du mortier diminue porated, has a 7.6%air content naturally.Its disinte-
avec I'augmentationde I'airocclus; pour 17%d'air, gration startsafter only 10 cycles. This mix unfortu-
une valeur recommand~e, la perte de resistance est
nately has been used too often in our severe climate.
- The imbibition coefficient, the absorption in %,stays
de I'ordre de 20%; almost the same with the increase of air content
- la densit6 relative du mortier d&croit avec I'air de
(Fig. 11).
I'ordre de 10% pour 17% d'air dans le melange.
On notera aussi que:
- Masonry Cement
la quantite d'eau de malaxage n&cessaire diminue:
environ 15%. The most important result of this comparative study
is that the mortar which is made out of factory process
Mais le plus int~ressant, c'est:
masonry cement has similar properties to the mortar that
- que la resistance aux cycles de gel et d~gel successifs was made out of an equal quantity of lime and cement
augmente rapidement et consid~rablement avec la with an air entrainment admixture providing an 18%air
teneur en air occlus (fig. 10). Notons que le melange content. None of the masonry cement manufacturers
B-1 auquel on n'a pas ajout6 d'adjuvant ne contient would reveal their recipes; they confirmed that they are
que 7,6% d'air occlus naturellement. Sa d~sagr~ga- sensibly equally proportioning the quantities of lime
tion commence apr~s 10 cycles. Ce melange fut mal- and cement with an air entrainment admixture.
62
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
63
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
structure du mortier apparaissentlorsque le refroidis- and from 00 to 400 (40C to -180C and -180C to 40) in a 2 to
sement se produit rapidementet que I'eaun'a pu s'eva- 4 hour time frame); none of these conditions have ever
cuer du mortier.Dans I'essaide I'ASTM,I'&chantillon est been encountered at the Quebec fortifications.These
tres petit pour representer la malonnerie massiveet, de tests are nevertheless used to establish the frost-thaw
plus, il a six faces pour evacuer son eau, donc un tres durabilityof the concrete paste.
court cheminement; par contre, le refroidissement se
As mentioned previously, mechanical damage to
fait tres rapidement alors que dans le mur, I'evacuation
the mortarstructurewill appear if the cooling happens
de I'eauet le refroidissementsont de plus en plus lents a too rapidlyand the water cannot egress fromthe mortar.
mesure qu'on s'eloigne de la face exterieure. On s'aper- In the ASTMtest, the cube sample is very small to be
?oit ainsi que I'intensitedu refroidissementau labora-
toire tend a se balancer avec la longueur du chemine- representative of the massiveness of masonry and in
ment d'evacuation dans les fortifications.Dans certains addition, the water has six faces to egress from, thus, a
cas, on se rend compte que le traitementdu mortierdes very short path. On the other hand, the sample cooling
Fortificationsest tout autantsinon plus severe que celui happens very fast. As for the wall, the water egress and
the cooling is slower as the distance from the exterior
des &chantillonsdans le laboratoire. surface increases.Incomparingthe laboratorysampleto
the fortificationmortarone can see that the intensityof
Autres facteurs importantsde la durabilitede la the cooling rate in the lab tends to balance with the
malonnerie des fortifications length of the migratingpath in the fortification.In most
1) Pose de la pierre cases, we realize thatthe site exposure of the mortaris as
severe, if not more, as the laboratorytests.
Les militairesposaient le gres a contre-lit. C'est-a-
dire, avec litsverticaux.Cette pose a contre-litsimplifiait Other ImportantFactorsfor the Durabilityof the
la finition des pierres de parement car la taille de la face FortificationMasonry
apparente de cette pierre s'effectuait alors suivant le
plan de clivage naturel. 1) Direction of stone laying
Par ailleurs cette pose a contre-lit confere une The militaryoriginallylaidthe sandstonesverticalto
durabilite additionnelle a la maonnerie. En effet, their bedding. Itwas done to simplifythe dressingof the
comme on peut le voir sur la fig. 12, cette disposition des visible face by cutting it along the naturalcleavrage of
litscontribue a canaliserles eaux de surfaceet d'infiltra- the stone. However,this feature has added to the overall
tion vers le bas, les empechant de penetrer profond- durabilityof the masonry.
ement dans la pierre, comme ce serait le cas si les lits As we can see in Fig.12, the bedding layout directs
etaient horizontaux. Avec le gel, la surface de la pierre the surfaceand runningwaterdownwards,thus prevent-
finit pars'&cailler;des lamelles minces se detachent, une ing a deep penetration in the stone, as would have been
erosion minime, comparativement a I'epaisseurde la the case with horizontal bedding. Withthe freeze-thaw
pierre. Endepit de ce rafraichissementde la surface, qui cycles some of the surface will eventually spall; thin
n'est toutefois pas generalise, on peut dire que la pose a flakes will break away; however, it would be a minimal
contre-lit de la pierre de parement contribue a la dura- erosion compared to the stone thickness. Despite this
bilite de la maonnerie des fortifications. surface refreshment, which is not generalized, we can
say that the vertical bedding of the facing stone con-
2) Rejointoiement en profondeur tributes to the durabilityof the fortificationmasonry.
Lorsquele mortier s'est desagreg6, les pierres pro- 2) Deep repointing
fondes du parement peuvent se detacher et subir des
mouvements de rotationdifferentiels,ce qui entrainent Once the mortar has disintegrated, the facing
la fissuration entre la pierre et le mortier de stones can potentiallyloosen and rotate in-situ,opening
rejointoiement. up cracksbetween the stone and mortar.
L'eaus'infiltre et cause des dommages tels que le The watercan then filterinto the masonryand cause
bombement de la face du mur. Avec ces pierres d'aussi damage such as the bulging of the wallfacade.Withsuch
grandes dimensions, on peut difficilement emp&cher le large stones, it is very difficultto prevent the stone from
d&collage au joint, mais il est possible de le minimiser en sticking out at the joint. It is however possible to mini-
faisant le rejointoiement suffisamment profond pour mize it with a repointing deep enough to provide a good
bien appuyer les pierres de parement les unes sur les bearing surface to the face stone, uniformly distributing
autres entrainant une distribution des charges plus uni- the load on each stone. The repointing mortar should
forme sur chacune des pierres. Le mortier alors utilis then have a good compressive strength, a reduced
doit avoir une bonne resistance en compression, un water/cement ratio and especially a high freeze-thaw
facteur eau-ciment r~duit et surtout une resistance durability. The running water may still filter through the
joint, but in a smaller quantity.
6lev~e aux cycles de gel-d~gel. L'eau de ruissellement va
encore s'infiltrer au joint, mais en plus faible quantit&.
Conclusions
Conclusions According to these studies, we have come to the
A la suite de ces etudes, nous arrivons aux conclu- following conclusions:
sions suivantes: 1. It is recommended to add air entrainment to a mor-
64
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65
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APT XVII No. 2 1985
Ref rences:
1. APTConference on Mortar,Boston, March1973,The Society for
the Preservationof New EnglandAntiquities(SPNEA), APTVol. VI
no. 1, 1974.
2. C6t6, Delphis, Influence de I'airocclus dans des m6langes de
mortier, Etudeeffectuee par le laboratoirede ConstructionInc
pour ParcsCanada,Quebec, 1978.
3. D'Amours,Guy, Etudede mortierde rejointoiement,Recherche
litteraire.Etatdes travaux,Rapportnon dite, Divisiondes services
de Restauration,ParcsCanada,novembre 1984.
4. H6gberg,Erik,"L'Effetdes agents aerateurssur les mortiers,"Tra-
duction du suddois,articleparudansNordiskBetong, 1958,Vol.3.
5. Lachance,Martin,Relationsentre les caracteristiquesdes vides et
la durabilit6des betons usuels soumis a de longs cycles de gel-
degel, these de maitrisees sciences, Universit6 Laval,Quebec,
1979.
6. Litvan,G.G., "Freeze-thawdurabilityof porous building mate-
rials,"ASTMSpecial TechnicalPublicationno. 691, Philadelphia
1980.
7. Voss, W.C., WatertightMasonry through Autogenous Healing,
NationalLimeAssociation,March1955.
66
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