Journal of Building Engineering xxx (xxxx) 106495

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Journal of Building Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jobe

Evaluation of the thermo-physical, mechanical, and fire resistance

performances of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3)-based
lightweight rendering mortars
Ahmed M.Seddik Hassan a, H. Shoukry b, *, Priyadharshini Perumal c,
Mahmoud M. Abd El-razik b, Reda M.H. Aly d, Abdullah Mossa Y. Alzahrani d
a Department of Architectural Construction Technology, Faculty of Technology and Education, Beni-Suef University, Egypt
b Building Physics Institute (BPI), Housing and Building National Research Center (HBRC), 87 El-Tahrir St., Dokki, P.O. Box 1770, Cairo, Egypt
c Fibre and Particle Engineering Research Unit, Faculty of Technology, Oulu, Finland
d Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif, 21944, Saudi Arabia

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Limestone-calcined clay cement (LC3) is one of the potential green or low-carbon binders for re-
Green binder placing ordinary Portland cement (OPC), leading to sustainable infrastructure development. Im-
Rendering proving the thermal properties of the building's rendering mortar is an effective solution to re-
Lightweight aggregate duce the building's energy consumption. In this study, LC3 has been prepared by replacing
Thermal conductivity
60 wt% of OPC with a blend of limestone (LS) powder and metakaolin (MK) with LS: MK of 1:2
Compressive strength
(wt%). Three mixtures of LC3-based lightweight mortars were prepared in which the binder was
Fire resistance
combined with three types of expanded/exfoliated insulant lightweight aggregates (LWAs), in-
cluding expanded perlite (EP), expanded clay (EC), and exfoliated vermiculite (EVM), with aggre-
gate volume contents of 75%. Compressive strength, in-direct tensile strength, bulk density, ther-
mal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, specific heat, volume of permeable voids, and capillary wa-
ter absorption, have been assessed. The effect of fire on the compressive strength and microstruc-
ture has been studied to explore the thermal stability of the prepared mortars. The newly devel-
oped LC3-mortars possessed densities below the specified limit for lightweight rendering mortars
(i.e., ≤1300 kg/m3) accompanied with good thermal insulation performance. The mortar incor-
porating EP showed the lowest thermal conductivity (≈0.2 W/m.K), the highest thermal mass
(≈2.3 MJ/m3. K) and the lowest compressive strength (≈6.76 MPa). The EVM mortar showed the
highest strength retention efficiency; a residual strength of about 79.4% was obtained after stan-
dard fire exposure for an hour. The integration of LWAs into the LC3 binder matrix is helpful in
improving the structural integrity upon fire exposure. The simultaneous improvement of thermal
and mechanical properties in addition to fire resistance with the potential to reduce carbon foot-
print summarize the major innovation presented in this study.

1. Introduction
With the growing energy crisis and focus towards sustainable living, it is important to create energy efficient thermal insulation
systems for indoor thermal comfort. Climate change affects the weather conditions across the globe that creates the need for external

* Corresponding author. Housing & Building National Research Center (HBRC), Building Physics Institute, Cairo, Egypt.
E-mail address: hamadashoukry@yahoo.com (H. Shoukry).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2023.106495
Received 22 November 2022; Received in revised form 21 March 2023; Accepted 5 April 2023
2352-7102/© 20XX

Note: Low-resolution images were used to create this PDF. The original images will be used in the final composition.
A.M.Seddik Hassan et al. Journal of Building Engineering xxx (xxxx) 106495

heating/cooling systems to maintain the indoor thermal comfort [1–3]. It means additional energy requirement in building insulation
to avoid energy losses in the heating/cooling systems. According to Building Energy data referred by Cao et al. people spend 90% of
their life indoors with some kind of mechanical heating and conditioning, making building sectors as largest energy consumers in the
world [4]. According to the weather data, a building needs either heating or cooling air conditioning for a comfortable mode. Thus,
results in the need for better thermal insulation systems to keep the energy requirements down [5]. Maintaining the thermal proper-
ties of the building envelop at lower energy level is challenging if the material has lower insulation properties leading to high thermal
losses [6]. Hence, wise choice of the materials plays important role in maintaining lower energy consumption, especially in the pre-
sent climatic conditions due to global warming [7]. Thermal resistance of a material explains the capacity to resist heat flux and thus
the effective insulation behavior [8].
The skin of the building envelope i.e., the coating of the external walls, plays a major role in providing the primary or initial scari-
ficial layer of protection against climatic issues [9]. Conventional rendering mortars used for wall coating are made of mixture of one
or more binders, aggregate and water [10]. Though these mortars have some thermal insulation properties, not effective enough in
providing adequate thermal comfort at minimum energy [9]. Replacing the aggregate in the rendering mortar with lightweight alter-
natives such as expanded clay/polystyrene, perlite, vermiculate, silica aerogel, rubber, and so on, will positively affects the insulation
properties of the material [11,12]. Addition of insulating LWAs would also benefit in reducing the structural dead load by minimizing
the thickness of the rendering mortar layer and thereby cost of the construction [13].
While examining the use of LWAs for rendering mortar, it is also important to chose material that are safe and does not affect the
occupants health. In many cases, rendering mortars are exposed to the occupants and so it is important to consider the source of the
raw materials and their end of life criteria. Presence of porous structure is known to be beneficial in such cases to adsorb the pollu-
tants and improve the indoor air quality [14,15]. Expanded clay, perlite and vermiculate outperforms many other LWAs in this crite-
ria due to their high temperature production methodology that makes them expand in volume [16–19]. Fire resistance is an added
benefit with the incorporation of such LWAs in the system [20,21]. However, it is important to consider the type of binder material
used in this application concerning the issuse with present cement production and environmental concerns [15,22,23]. Earlier re-
search focuses on reducing the binder content by replacing them with fine industrial side streams such as construction and demolition
waste [23] or by using supplementary cements as alternative binders [22], even going for non-conventional binder systems such as
geopolymers [24].
In the present study, lightweight fine aggregates (EP, EC, and EVM) were studied as a potential alternative for natural sand to eval-
uate the thermal performance of the resulting rendering mortar. From earlier research, it is evident that using these LWAs enhances
the thermal resistance while incorporating into lime-pozzolan blends or other supplementary cement systems. However, mechanical
performance of these composites were not appreciable [17,26]. Limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) was tried as an alternative
binder material for the lightweight renders with the focus on enhancing the mechanical performance and influencing the sustainabil-
ity factor. So far, there is no extensive experimental or analytical studies to understand the use of LC3 binders with lightweight aggre-
gates for mortar or concrete applications. To the best of authors knowledge, there is no existing study about the interaction effect of
sustainable LC3 binder with LWAs on the thermal insulation or fire resistance properties. There are only two earlier research focusing
on lightweight LC3 mortar by incorporating fly ash cenospheres as aggregate to produce engineered composites and using pore form-
ing agents like metallic aluminium for making foam based lightweight building blocks [25,26]. Therefore, this study is noval in inves-
tigating the thermo-physical, mechanical and fire resistance properties of LC3 based mortars incorporating three types of different
LWAs.

2. Experimental program
2.1. Materials
The materials used in this study include CEM I 52.5 N ordinary Portland cement (OPC), kaolinite clay, limestone powder, and
lightweight aggregates. The kaolinite clay and LS are adequately available in Egypt. Kaolinite was calcined at 600 °C for a period of
2 h to provide highly reactive metakaolin (MK). The chemical composition and physical properties of OPC, MK, and LS were deter-
mined using X-ray fluorescence, as illustrated in Table 1.
Three types of LWAs, including EP, EC, and EVM, were used to lighten the LC3-rendering mortar. The physical properties of LWAs
as compared to natural sand are illustrated in Table 2. Before casting the test samples, LWAs were sieved using a sieve No. 4. Fig. 1
shows their grain size distributions, along with the lower and upper acceptable ranges of grading according to ASTM C33 [27]. The
grading of all aggregates is within acceptable standard limits. The micro-morphologies and pore structures of LWAs have been investi-
gated by SEM, as introduced in Figure (2). EP showed a cellular-like structure with micro air voids; EVM possessed exfoliated layers
with interlayer micro air gaps; and EC exhibited spherical and elongated-shaped pores.

Table 1
Chemical composition and physical properties of binder raw materials (mass %).

Material SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO Na2O SO3 L.O·I. Specific gravity Surface area, m2/g

OPC 21.72 5.79 3.18 63.50 0.48 0.12 2.69 2.49 3.15 0.31
MK 51.35 39.80 0.17 0.44 0.030 0.08 0.03 8 3.01 12
LS 0.2 0.09 0.02 57.78 0.11 0.09 0.04 41.62 2.67 0.53

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A.M.Seddik Hassan et al. Journal of Building Engineering xxx (xxxx) 106495

Table 2
Physical properties of aggregates.

Property EP EC EVM Sand

Color White Brown Golden yellow Reddish yellow

Moisture Content,% max 0.5 0.39 0.37 2.18
Specific Gravity 0.18 0.28 0.34 2.65
Thermal Conductivity, W/mK 0.035 0.071 0.12 0.25

Fig. 1. Grading of sand and LWAs.

Fig. 2. Micro morphologies/pore structures of LW aggregates (a) EC, (b) EVM and (c) EP.

2.2. Sample preparation and identification

The LC3 binder was prepared by blending 40 wt% of OPC with 40 wt% of MK in addition to 20 wt% of LS. Three groups of LC3
lightweight mortars were prepared, in which EP, EC, and EVM were added as a volume replacement of the binder at a ratio of 75%.
These groups were denoted as EP, EC, and EVM, respectively. OPC-based sand mortar was prepared with cement: sand ratio of 1:3
and W/C of 0.485 as a reference mix for comparison; this group was coded “Ref".
Table 3illustrates the mix design of the proposed LW mortars expressed in kg/m3 (see Table 4).

Table 3
Mix design of mortars expressed in Kg/m.3.

Mix Binder Aggregate type Water

OPC MK LS Sand EP EC EVM

Ref 551 0 0 1515.2 0 0 0 267.24

EP 155.97 155.97 77.98 0 270 0 0 325.01
EC 155.97 155.97 77.98 0 0 420 0 389.90
EVM 155.97 155.97 77.98 0 0 0 510 420.22
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A.M.Seddik Hassan et al. Journal of Building Engineering xxx (xxxx) 106495

Table 4
Density and mechanical strength of lightweight mortars incorporating various types of LWA.

Reference Binder LWA type Density, kg/m3 Compressive strength, MPa Tensile strength, MPa

[35] Lime-SF (50:50 wt%) EP 680 5.9 0.59

[9] OPC: hydrated lime (54:46 wt%) EPS 1356 3.15
EVM 1311 2.4
[36] OPC: nano clay (98:02 wt%) EP 1220 0.36
[40] OPC EP 1432 1.86
[43] FA:lime:gypsum (40:30:30 wt%) EP 610 1.40
[44] OPC:SF (85:15 wt%) EVM 780 3.9

Table 5
Thermo-physical properties of prepared mortars.

Mix Bulk Density, kg/m3 Thermal conductivity, W/m.K Thermal diffusivity, mm2/s Specific heat, MJ/m3.K

Ref 2250 ± 20 0.89 ± 0.01 0.67 ± 0.01 1.27 ± 0.10

EP 832 ± 11 0.21 ± 0.01 0.20 ± 0.01 2.3 ± 0.10
EC 1075 ± 12 0.33 ± 0.01 0.24 ± 0.01 1.85 ± 0.10
EVM 1210 ± 15 0.39 ± 0.01 0.26 ± 0.01 1.81 ± 0.10

Table 6
Comparison of thermal transmittances and reduction in heat flow into building.

Rendering mortar type Thermal transmittance (2 cm mortar out + 20 cm masonry clay brick + 2 cm mortar in), Reduction in heat flow into building, %
W/m2K

Conventional 2.65 –
EP 1.91 27.92
EC 2.20 16.98
EVM 2.29 13.58

The mortar ingredients (OPC, MK, LS, and EP/EC/EVM) were first dry mixed in an electric mixer for a period of 5 min at a moder-
ate speed (50 rpm) until homogeneity was obtained, then water of standard consistency was poured. After that, the fresh blend was
mixed for another 5 min.(see Tables 5 and 6).
Immediately after being mixed, the fresh mixtures were placed in 5 × 5 × 5 cm cubes to form the specimens for compressive
strength, indirect tensile strength, capillary water absorption, volume of permeable voids (VPV), and fire resistance testing; also,
prisms with dimensions of 4 × 4 × 16 cm were cast for thermal properties analysis.
In order to attain a good packing, the moulds were vibrated on a vibratory table for 1 min, and then the specimens were kept un-
der laboratory conditions for 24 h. The samples were then demoulded and kept under tap water for curing for a period of up to 28
days before testing.

2.3. Testing and analysis

To assess the workability of the fresh mortars, the flowability test has been conducted by using the mini-slump/flow table follow-
ing the method specified in BS EN 1015-3.
The mechanical performance of the prepared LW mortars was assessed by measuring both the compressive and indirect tensile
strengths. The compressive strength test was carried out at 28 days of curing on 5-cm cubic specimens in accordance with the stan-
dard specification ASTM C109 [28]. Three specimens were tested from every group, and the average value was reported.
The splitting test was adopted to investigate the indirect tensile strength, in which a load is applied along the centre of two oppo-
site sides of a 5-cm cube by means of narrow steel strips [29]. The tensile stress required to cause the splitting of the cube, was deter-
mined by using the following equation:

Ts is the tensile strength (MPa), P is the failure load (N), and L is the length of the cube (mm). The bulk density of the prepared 5-cm
cubic samples was determined in the oven-dry state according to ASTM C642-13 [30]. In order to assess the thermal comfort para-
meters of the prepared LW mortars, the thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat test were measured using ther-
mal properties analyzer adopting the transient line heat source method according to ASTM D5334 [31]. The capillary water absorp-
tion and volume of permeable voids (VPV) tests were conducted on 5-cm cubic specimens after 28 days of hydration in accordance
with EN 1015–18 and ASTM C642, respectively [32,33].
The microstructure of the hardened LW mortars was investigated before and after fire exposure by scanning electron microscopy
SEM (Model: FEI-Inspect S). Fresh fractured surfaces were used for investigation to get typical real characteristics. The fire resistance
performance of the developed LC3-based lightweight mortars was evaluated by determining the Compressive strength after standard

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fire exposure according to the temperature-time curve reported in ISO 834 [34] up to an hour and the residual strength was calcu-
lated relative to the 28-day compressive strength of non-fire exposed mortar. Photos of test samples before and during fire exposure
are presented in Fig. 3. The standard fire curve along with the actual or applied furnace temperatures are shown in Fig. 4.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Flowability
Fig. 5 shows the variation of flow spread (%) of LC3-mortars incorporating EP, EC, and EVM relative to the ordinary sand mor-
tar. As it is clear, the incorporation of LWA into the LC3-matrix exhibited decreased flow (spread), i.e., its workability reduced.
This is attributed to the porous structure and absorptive nature of LWA [35]. The EVM-blended LC3 mortar showed the lowest
flow spread. A reduction of about 33% in the spread has been obtained as compared with the ordinary sand mortar. This is due to
the superior water retention of EVM [36]. The reduced workability leads to an increase in the demand for water to maintain the
normal consistency of mortar. Therefore, in order to attain a constant degree of workability among the various LC3 mortars with
LWA, the w/b ratio was increased from 0.485 for Ref to 0.59, 0.70, and 0.76 with incorporating EP, EC, and EVM into the LC3

Fig. 3. Photos of test specimens before and during fire exposure.

Fig. 4. Standard time-temperature curve and the actual furnace temperature.

Fig. 5. Flow spread of LC3 mortars incorporating various types of LWA relative to ordinary sand mortar.

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A.M.Seddik Hassan et al. Journal of Building Engineering xxx (xxxx) 106495

mortars, respectively as illustrated in Table (3). Previous studies reported an additional water demand for mortars incorporating
LWA [9,35,38].

3.2. Mechanical performance

The compressive and tensile strengths of LC3-based lightweight mortars as compared with the ordinary reference mortar mea-
sured at 28 days of curing are presented in Fig. 6. As expected, there are reductions in compressive and tensile strengths with the in-
corporation of LWAs into the LC3 binder matrix. The EP-mortar possessed the maximum reduction in strength; reductions by about
84.46 and 76.60% relative to ordinary mortar were obtained for compressive and tensile strengths respectively. Among the prepared
LC3-lightweight mortars, EVM showed the best mechanical performance. Even with the remarkable reduction of the compressive
strength, all the LC3 mortars satisfy the requirement of the standard EN 998–1 for the highest category (IV) of rendering mortar [37],
whose compressive strength at 28 days shall be ≥ 6 MPa. As confirmed by many previous studies, the degradation of mechanical per-
formance is attributed to the creation of high number of air voids and cavities in the structure of mortars incorporating LWA [38–40];
in addition, due to their porous/cellular structures, the use of LWAs increases the water/binder ratio in the paste, this result in in-
creasing the capillary pores [9]. BS EN 998-1 didn't prescribe acceptable limit for the tensile strength of rendering mortars; however,
based on the results of similar composite reported in previous studies, the obtained tensile results can be considered significant/ade-
quate values [9,41]. The achieved compressive and tensile strengths of the developed LC3 mortars are somewhat better than those re-
ported for lightweight mortars made with plain and blended cements and lime-pozzolan green binders as illustrated in Table (4). In
recent research, the 28 day-compressive and tensile strengths of lime-silica fume green mortar incorporating 75% EP were reported to
be 5.9 and 0.59 MPa respectively [35]. The relatively enhanced mechanical performance of LC3-based lightweight mortars can be at-
tributed to the high strength and structure quality of LC3 binder and the adequate bonding between the LC3 host matrix and embed-
ded LWA [42]. In addition, due to the pozzolanic reaction of MK and the formation of carboaluminates by the reaction between alu-
minates from MK and LS, the incorporation of LC3 significantly reduced the content of calcium hydroxide (CH); therefore, the new
additional hydrates, including the C–S–H/C-A-S-H and mono/hemic carboaluminate (Mc/Hc) phases, improved the phase assem-
blage of the LC3 binder system and compensated for the strength loss of LWA-blended LC3 mortars [26].

3.3. Residual strength after fire exposure

The exposure to fire significantly affects the physical and chemical properties of construction materials and influences their me-
chanical properties. Compressive strength of the LC3-based lightweight mortars was determined after fire exposure according to the
standard temperature-time curve up to an hour and the residual strength was calculated relative to the 28-day compressive strength
of non-fire exposed mortar. Fig. 7 presents the compressive strengths of the LC3 mortars before and after fire exposure, along with the
residual strength percentages. Due to the complete failure of the ordinary OPC sand mortar upon fire exposure, it possessed 0% rela-
tive residual strength. The LC3-mortars exhibited considerable residual strengths. The maximum residual strength was found for the
EVM mortar, it maintained about 79% of its initial strength. Although, the EP mortar exhibited the highest strength loss, significant
compressive strength retention of about 47% has been achieved. At high temperature, the cement-based structures exhibit losses of
free and chemically bound water, phase changes, cracking, spalling, etc., which are irreversible processes [45]. It is well known that;
at temperatures up to 150 °C, cement paste loses most of the free or physically bound water [46]. In addition; between 400 °C and
600 °C, the decomposition of portlandite (Ca(OH)2) in the binder matrix resulting in the release of water vapour. The incorporation of
porous aggregate in the cement matrix provides escape routes for water vapour migration, which helps in reducing the internal pres-
sures/stresses inside the structure and preventing the cracking and spalling phenomena; i.e., improving the structural stability [47].
These results agree with previous studies that investigated the elevated temperature performance of cement mortars incorporating
EVM, it was concluded that EV could be an effective solution for enhanced elevated-temperature resistance, contributing to lower
strength reduction rates.

Fig. 6. Compressive and tensile strengths of LC3-based lightweight mortars relative to OPC mortar at 28 days of curing.

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Fig. 7. Residual strengths after fire exposure of LC3-based lightweight mortars.

It is well known that the thermal compatibility between aggregates and cement paste is one of the important factors affecting the
behavior of mortar and concrete subjected to high temperatures [48]. LWAs-blended LC3 mortars performed better than OPC-sand
mortars because of the higher quality of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between LC3 and EP, EC, and EVM as confirmed by SEM
analysis. In addition, the transformation of quartz at 570 °C leads to an expansion of approximately 5.7% in volume, which increases
the internal cracks and deterioration of the sand-mortar structure [49]. The thermo-physical properties, including thermal conductiv-
ity, thermal diffusivity, specific heat, and thermal expansion, considerably affect the thermal response of cement and concrete struc-
tures. The enhanced specific heat of the newly developed lightweight LC3 mortars means a large quantity of heat is required to raise
the temperature of the mortar by one Celsius degree; in addition, the reduced thermal diffusivity points to a reduced thermal response
rate and may be favorable to the structural integrity of fire-exposed cementitious materials [50]. All these characteristics explain the
significant residual strength or the strength retention upon fire exposure of LWAs-blended LC3 mortars.
Photos of the prepared mortar specimens taken after fire exposure for an hour (1 h) are shown in Fig. 8. Complete failure of the or-
dinary OPC-sand mortar has been observed. EVM and EC specimens were free of any visual damage, spalling, or cracks. Some fine
cracks were obvious on the surface of the EP-mortar. The explosive spalling of cement-based structures is one of the major concerns.
Due to the dense microstructure as well as the low permeability, it is difficult for the water vapour to escape outside, and conse-
quently, an increase in the pore pressure in cement paste will be attained, which account for the explosive spalling. Porous struc-
turesmight contribute to spalling resistance by preventing the buildup steam pressure.

Fig. 8. Photos of the prepared mortar specimens taken after fire exposure.

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3.4. Volume of permeable voids (VPV) and capillary water absorption (Aw)
The capillary water absorption coefficients versus the permeable voids volume for all of the prepared mixtures are shown in Fig. 9.
The ordinary OPC reference mortar showed the lowest VPV as well as Aw; this is attributed to its relatively dense structure. LC3 light-
weight mortars showed remarkably increased VPV and hence, Aw compared with ordinary mortar. Variations in Aw can be assigned to
the differences in pore structure (pore size and distribution) of the various LWAs. EP-blended mortar exhibited the highest VPV and
Aw; however, EVM possessed the lowest. Although, LC3 mortars possesses distinctly higher water absorption, their Aw coefficients are
less than the prescribed or recommended standard limit as per EN 998; this is attributed to the high closed cells content of the used
LWAs. LWAs contain open and closed cells; the open cells can be infiltrated with water which is responsible for the increased Aw; how-
ever, the closed cells are incapable of holding water. The cement-lime mortars yielded higher resistance to water vapour transport,
which limits their use on masonry suffering from excessive moisture content [51]. On the other hand; owing to their higher VPV, the
developed LC3 mortars can be considered highly permeable for water vapour, which is helpful to release water from moist masonry
and the newly repaired structures.

3.5. Microstructure analysis

SEM micrographs of the prepared mortars before and after standard fire exposure are presented in Fig. 10. The ordinary reference
mortar showed a compact microstructure with a dense interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between the OPC matrix and sand grains (see
Fig. 10a). Upon fire exposure, local deterioration of ITZ and micro-cracks throughout the cement matrix were observed (see Fig. 10b).
These remarkable structural defects represent the reason for complete failure during fire exposure. All the prepared LC3-lightweight
mortars showed uniform or homogeneous microstructure characteristics; in addition, adequate bonding or a dense interface has been
provided between EP, EVM, and EC and the LC3-binder matrix (Fig. 10c, e, and g). The formation of additional hydrates like carboa-
luminates in the LC3 system as a result of the reaction between MK and LS improved the bonding between LWAs and the LC3 host ma-
trix and contributed to the dense microstructure. Furthermore, the finer particles of LS filled the interstitial spaces and made the ma-
trix more compact. As it is clear from Fig. 10d, f, and h, LWAs led to a quite decrease in the extent of the pressure that build up in the
porous medium during fire and provided a great protection to the cement matrix; i.e., even with fire exposure the microstructure ap-
peared quite dense furthermore, No significant cracks, delamination and other damage types were seen on the mortars’ fracture sur-
face, except fine cracks are distinctly visible in the EP mortar, which can be attributed to the higher pore size of EP, which provides
lesser structural quality than the EC and EVM mortars.

3.6. Themo-physical properties

In addition to the bulk density, thermal conductivity and specific heat are the key themo-physical properties that affect the insulation
performance of a building and, hence the thermal comfort of the building's occupants. Table (5) summarizes the thermal properties of
the developed LC3 mortars measured in the dry state after 28 days of hydration. As compared with the ordinary reference mortar, the
LC3 mortars containing expanded and exfoliated LWAs possessed significant low densities in the range of 832–1210 kg/m3. The low-
est density was found for the EP-blended LC3 mortar (832 kg/m3). Although EVM mortar exhibited the highest density among the
LC3 mortars, the densities of all mixtures are well below the standard recommended criterion of EN 998–1 for lightweight mortar;
i.e., <1300 kg/m3. The incorporation of LWAs into the LC3-binder matrix led to distinctly reduced thermal conductivity and diffu-
sivity along with enhanced specific heat. Relative to ordinary mortar, reductions of about 74, 63, and 56% in thermal conductivity
accompanied by increments of about 81, 45.6, and 42.5% in specific heat were obtained for EP, EC, and EVM blended LC3-mortars,
respectively. Referring to the thermal insulation criterion according to EN 998–1; the EP-mortar is classified as class T2
(TC = 0.1–0.2 W/mK); i.e., thermal insulation mortar. Although, the TC values of EC and EVM are out of the thermal insulation
range; they possesses satisfactory values in terms of thermal insulation performance [39–41].
The obtained thermal conductivities seem to be significantly lower than those recently obtained by Becker et al., 2022 [9], who
developed lightweight thermal insulation mortars made from OPC-hydrated lime binder and incorporating silica aerogel, EPS, and
EVM (0.461–0.598 W/mK), and slightly higher than those obtained by Parracha et al., 2023 [52], for insulant mortars made from

Fig. 9. Capillary water absorption coefficients Vis permeable voids volume for LC3-mortars relative to OPC mortar.

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A.M.Seddik Hassan et al. Journal of Building Engineering xxx (xxxx) 106495

Fig. 10. SEM micrographs of the non-fire exposed (a, c, e, g) and fire exposed (b, d, f, h) Ref, EC, EVM and EP mortars respectively.

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A.M.Seddik Hassan et al. Journal of Building Engineering xxx (xxxx) 106495

OPC binder and EC aggregate (0.2 W/mK). The low thermal conductivity points to the enhanced thermal resistance which is responsi-
ble for reducing the heat transfer into buildings and hence improving energy efficiency in the hot weather regions. The high specific
heat values points to the enhanced thermal mass, which means that they need to be more heated to make them warm compared with
traditional plasters/mortars.
In order to examine the impact of the reduced thermal conductivities of the newly developed LW mortars on the heat flow into
buildings; the U-values or thermal transmittances are calculated and compared to conventional OPC mortar. When the LW mortars
are applied to the interior and exterior surfaces of a clay brick wall (TC = 0.90 W/m.K [53]) with a layer thickness of 2 cm, the ther-
mal transmittances of the new walling systems are calculated by using equation (1) [54] and introduced in Table (6).

(1)

Rt: Thermal resistance.

Rse: Exterior heat transfer resistance (0.06 K m2/W).
di: Thickness of layer no. i
λi: Thermal conductivity of layer no. i
Rsi: Interior heat transfer resistance (0.05 K m2/W).
Although all the new LW renders possessed a considerable improvement in the thermal performance, the maximum reduction in
heat flow (about 28%) is achieved by EP render, when compared with the conventional mortar. This is attributed to the reduced ther-
mal conductivity or the enhanced thermal resistance afforded by EP.

4. Conclusions
The development of an eco-friendly, lightweight rendering mortar with improved thermo-physical properties for a green and sus-
tainable construction was the main objective of the current research. LC3 was adopted as a greener binder alternative to OPC, and LW
aggregates were used in lieu of natural sand to lighten the LC3-based mortars. The following conclusions were drawn.
• For the first time, the basic technical feasibility of the integration of EP, EC, and EVM aggregates into the LC3-binder matrix
has been assessed. In contrast to previous studies, all the used LW aggregates showed simultaneous improvements in mechanical
and thermal properties.
• LC3-based EVM mortar showed the best mechanical and fire resistance performances; it possessed 28-day compressive and
tensile strengths of about 9.21 and 0.8 MPa, respectively. In addition, it exhibited the lowest water absorption (as low as
0.3 kg m−2. min−0.5) and the highest relative residual strength after fire exposure of about 79.37%.
• Due to their porous structures, all the newly developed mortars possessed reduced thermal conductivity and increased specific
heat. A very low TC of about 0.2 W/m K has been obtained for the EP mortar. In addition, EP has led to distinctly increased
specific heat 2.3 MJ/m3. K; i.e., 1.35 times that of conventional OPC- based sand mortar.
• Even with fire exposure, the newly developed LC3-based lightweight mortars showed quite dense microstructures, with
relatively fewer cracks, dislocations and other structural defects. This is attributed to the higher quality of ITZ between LC3 and
EP, EC, and EVM; in addition, the enhanced specific heat and reduced thermal diffusivity led to a reduced thermal response rate
that is favorable to the structural integrity of fire-exposed cementitious materials.
• The new LW renders possessed a considerable improvement in the thermal performance, the maximum reduction in heat flow
(about 28%) is achieved by EP render, when compared with the conventional mortar. This is attributed to the enhanced thermal
resistance afforded by EP.
• The proposed applications of the new mortars include rendering for building envelopes (external walls) and screed for
exposed roofs. This will result in reducing the internal heating loads and help in achieving the requirements of energy
efficiency codes in buildings.

Authorship contribution statement

H. Shoukry: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Supervision, Writing – review & editing. Ahmed M. Seddik Hassan: In-
vestigation, Methodology, Writing – original draft. Priyadharshini Perumal: Writing - Review & Editing, Data Curation. Reda M.H.
Aly: Visualization, Resources. Abdullah Mossa Y Alzahrani: Methodology, Formal analysis, Project administration, Funding acquisi-
tion. Mahmoud M. Abdelrazik: Data Curation, Writing – original draft, Validation.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.

Data availability
No data was used for the research described in the article.

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A.M.Seddik Hassan et al. Journal of Building Engineering xxx (xxxx) 106495

Acknowledgement
The researchers would like to acknowledge Deanship of Scientific Research, Taif University for funding this work.

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