AGGRIGATES, BINDERS, MORTARS

and CONCRETE
MATERIALS

BUILDING
Mr Ompatile
 AGGRIGATES, BINDERS, MORTARS and CONCRETES

AGGRIGATES

is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel,
crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete. Aggregates can be sub classed into categories of fine
aggregates - that with dimensions less than 5 mm, and coarse aggregates - that with dimensions
greater than 5 mm.

BINDERS

A binder is any material or substance that holds or draws other materials together to form a
cohesive whole.

MORTARS

Mortar is a mixture of cement, sand & water. When we add water to the mixture it becomes a
paste. When the cement & water come into contact they start a chemical reaction

Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between
them.

The first mortars were made of mud and clay.

Portland cement mortar (often known simply as cement mortar) is created by mixing Ordinary
Portland cement (OPC), hydrated lime, and aggregate (or sand) with water

Polymer cement mortars (PCM) are the materials which are made by partially replacing the
cement hydrate binders of conventional cement mortar with polymers. The polymeric admixtures
include latexes or emulsions, dispersible polymer powders, water-soluble polymers, liquid resins
and monomers.

Lime mortar is a type of mortar composed of lime and an aggregate such as sand, mixed with
water. It is one of the oldest known types of mortar, dating back to the 4th century BC.

The speed of set can be increased by using impure limestone in the kiln, to form a hydraulic lime
that will set on contact with water.

Concrete and Mortar

Both concrete and mortar are materials composed of a cement plus an aggregate. The two terms
are very simply defined. A concrete is a material where the majority of the aggregate has
dimensions greater than 5 mm. A mortar is a material having aggregate with dimensions less
than 5 mm