Materials Science Forum Submitted: 2017-07-12

ISSN: 1662-9752, Vol. 909, pp 286-290 Accepted: 2017-07-26

doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.909.286 Online: 2017-11-16
© 2017 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland

Properties of Modified Lime-Based Plasters for Renewal of Historical

Buildings Exposed to Accelerated Carbonation Test
Lucie Zemanová1,a, Jaroslav Pokorný1,b, Milena Pavlíková1,c
and Zbyšek Pavlík1,d
1
Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Materials
Engineering and Chemistry, Thákurova 7, 166 29 Prague 6, Czech Republic
a
lucie.zemanova@fsv.cvut.cz, bjaroslav.pokorny@fsv.cvut.cz, cmilena.pavlikova@fsv.cvut.cz,
d
pavlikz@fsv.cvut.cz

Keywords: lime plaster, diatomaceous earth, hydrophobic agents, carbonation, pozzolana reaction,
plaster properties.

Abstract. This paper deals with determination of basic physical, mechanical, thermal and water
transport properties of lime–based plasters whose composition was modified by the addition of
diatomaceous earth. To eliminate possible deterioration of original lime plaster by natural weathering,
the hydrophobic admixtures on the stearate and oleate basis were added into the plaster mixtures and
boiled linseed oil as a painting was applied. All studied material parameters were tested after 28 days
of wet curing and after exposition to accelerated carbonation. The results of examined properties of
developed plasters gave promising outcomes for the use of hydrophobised materials in renewal of
historical buildings. Based on the obtained data, plaster made of lime hydrate, diatomite, and
combination of water repellent agents can be recommended for renovation purposes.

Introduction
The renewal of historical buildings comprises not only demand on material historical authenticity, but
also on its compatibility. Exterior surface layers play very important function in protection of building
constructions against environmental action and in prolonging their service life. Since eighties,
restoration of historical facades and renewal of historical buildings have become the most pursued
activities from the point of view of historical monuments care [1].
Historically, the original plasters were based on lime that provided plaster mix of perfect plasticity
and workability. On the other side, the pure lime plasters exhibit limited durability, which is caused
due to the easy decomposition of calcium carbonate, the product of carbonation process. However, the
original materials cannot be replaced in an identical way, because nowadays the technology of lime
production achieved a very high level so that very pure lime is produced. The addition of pozzolans to
the lime plaster mixture was frequently analysed until now and considered mostly as a perspective
way how to improve the plasters mechanical properties and durability [2].
Because most of the historical buildings suffer from harmful moisture and salt action, water and
salt transport properties of plasters are of the particular importance. Since the lime plasters are known
to have high values of liquid water transport parameters, an application of water repellent admixtures
seems to be a logical solution for achievement of the increase in their service life [3].
In this paper, newly developed lime-based plasters modified with pozzolana active admixture,
namely diatomaceous earth (diatomite), were studied. The influence of hydrophobisation agents was
also explored. For this purpose, set of plaster mixtures with inner hydrophobisation and another set of
modified plasters, which were painted with boiled linseed oil, were prepared. For comparative
purposes, reference pure lime plaster was examined as well. For the tested plasters, complete set of
basic physical, mechanical, hygric and thermal properties was experimentally accessed. Since the
properties of lime-based plasters are highly associated with carbonation that affects hardening and
formation of final plaster structure, the accelerated carbonation test was done to get information on
changes in material porous structure and related parameters with respect to its practical use.

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 Materials Science Forum Vol. 909 287

Experimental
Studied Materials and Samples Preparation. All studied plasters were prepared from lime hydrate
CL 90-S produced by limekiln “Čertovy schody”, the Lhoist Group, Czech Republic. It consists
mainly of Ca(OH)2 (97.4 %). The rest are admixtures and impurities, nominally CO2 (0.8 %), MgO
(0.6 %), and SO3 (0.1 %). The silica aggregate produced by company Filtrační písky, s.r.o., Chlum u
Doks, Czech Republic was mixed from three sand fractions with granulometry PG1 (0.063/0.5 mm),
PG2 (0.08/1 mm) and PG3 (1/2 mm) respectively, determined with laser diffraction particles size
analyser Analysette 22 (Fritsch). The silica sand normalized according to EN 196-1 was prepared in
portion 1:1:1. Firstly, the reference plaster mixture (VO) was prepared from lime hydrate, sand and
water. Subsequently, a 15 mass % of lime hydrate was replaced with diatomite earth (VOD), produced
as filtered diatomite F4 Borovany by company LB MINERALS, s.r.o, LASSELSBERGER group.
The hydrophobic agents were used in two different ways, namely as an inner admixture, the mixture
of Ligastar CA 800 (calcium stearate) and Ligaphob N 90 (sodium oleate) (ST/OL), company EXCEL
MIX CZ, s.r.o. and as a surface treatment, natural boiled linseed oil (NBL), company Painteco CZ,
s.r.o. The inner admixtures were applied in the ratio 1/2 (stearate/oleate), it means 1 g of stearate and
2 g of oleate to 100 g of binder. The composition of tested plasters is presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Composition of tested plasters
Plaster Lime Silica Diatomaceous ST/OL NBL Water
mixture hydrate sand earth
[g]
VO 100 300 - - - 100
VOD 85 300 15 - - 100
VODI 85 300 15 1+2 - 100
VODII 85 300 15 - Yes 100

The components were mixed for four minutes. The fresh mixtures were casted to specific moulds
in order to prepare specimens for the planned tests. The specimens were cured at 20 °C and high
relative humidity of approx. 98% for 28 days. Additionally, fine water spraying of samples was
carried out periodically in order to ensure proper curing of plasters and to limit their drying shrinkage.
Samples were then exposed to CO2 environment in Autoflow Automatic CO2 incubator GT 2000
(NuAire) at 25±5 °C and 70±10 % of relative humidity. To perform accelerate carbonation, 5%
concentration of CO2 was applied (the average CO2 concentration in the centre of Prague, Czech
Republic, was 500 ppm). To ensure our safety during the experiment, CO2 concentration in the
laboratory was monitored with CO2 sensor ZG 106. The values of CO2 concentration in laboratory
have risen up to 650 ppm. Finally, all samples were dried at 60 °C in a vacuum oven until their
constant mass was achieved. A set of plaster samples modified by diatomaceous earth was coated
with natural boiled linseed oil in all sides.
Basic Physical Properties. Studied plasters were characterised by their basic physical properties
such as bulk density, matrix density and total open porosity. The bulk density was measured
according to EN 1015-10 by weighing sample dry mass and determination of its volume by a digital
beam calliper. The matrix density was analysed using automatic helium pycnometer Pycnomatic ATC
(Porotec). The total open porosity was calculated on the basis of knowledge of the bulk and matrix
density values. The relative expanded uncertainty of applied testing method was 5%.
Mechanical Properties. Among the mechanical properties, compressive strength, flexural
strength and dynamic Young’s modulus were measured. The strength tests were realised according to
standard EN 196 – 1. The flexural strength was tested on standard prisms having dimensions of 40 ×
40 × 160 mm. The broken halves from the flexural strength tests were consequently used for
determination of the compressive strength, whereas the loading area was 40 × 40 mm. The uncertainty
288 5th Asia Conference on Mechanical and Materials Engineering

of the both testing methods was 1.4 %. The dynamic Young's modulus was measured by the pulse
ultrasonic method (ASTM C597 – 16), using a DIO 562 device (Starman’s Electronics).
Thermal Properties. The measurements of thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity
were conducted on a transient impulse method principle using device ISOMET 2114 (Applied
Precision) equipped with surface circular probe [4]. The dried plaster samples in the form of cubes
with side dimension of 70 mm were used for the measurement. The thermal conductivity
measurement accuracy was for values in the range 0.02–2.0 W/mK 10 % of reading. For the
volumetric heat capacity in the range 4.0 × 104–4.0 × 106 J/m3K, the measuring accuracy was 15 % of
reading. The dry volumetric heat capacity was recalculated to get the specific heat capacity in J/kgK.
Water Vapour and Liquid Water Transport Parameters. The cup method (ASTM 96) was
used for determination of water vapour transmission properties. The measurement was done at
isothermal conditions in a controlled climatic chamber at 25±0.5 °C and 50 % relative humidity. The
samples sizes of 95 mm in diameter and 20 mm thick were water vapour-proof insulated with epoxy
resin, then sealed in cups containing burnt CaCl2 (simulation of 0–5 % relative humidity) and
weighed periodically until steady state values of mass gain were achieved. Finally, water vapour
diffusion resistance factor was calculated. Ability of particular plasters to transport liquid water was
analysed using 1–D free water uptake experiment [4]. Specimens sizes of 40 × 40 × 20 mm were
water and vapour–proof insulated with epoxy resin on four lateral sides. The face side of each sample
was immersed 1-2 mm into water on top of a water reservoir, allowing samples to suck water from
free water surface. The sample mass was measured in the specific times interval. The water
absorption coefficient was calculated from the linear part of the dependence of the increase of tested
sample’s mass on the square root of suction time according to EN 1015-18. From the known weight of
dry and fully saturated sample, the saturated moisture content value was finally calculated.

Results and Discussion

The basic material properties of tested lime plasters are shown in Table 2. The presented results are
average from 5 measured values. Firstly, they are presented results after 28 days of wet curing, then
after exposition to accelerated carbonation (C).
Table 2. Basic physical properties of studied materials
Bulk density Matrix density Total open porosity
Material
[kg/m3] [kg/m3] [%]
VO 1 700 2 570 33.9
VO-C 1 820 2 650 31.3
VOD 1 680 2 570 34.6
VOD-C 1 740 2 630 33.8
VODI 1 530 2 480 38.3
VODI-C 1 600 2 570 37.7
VODII 1 710 2 570 33.5
VODII-C 1 810 2 630 31.2
The total open porosity accessed for samples cured at highly humid environment was found
affected by the addition of diatomaceous earth in a low extent only; the observed difference was
~2.0 % compared to the porosity of pure lime plaster. On the other hand, for plasters exposed to
accelerated carbonation test the difference was ~8.0 %. The use of inner water repellents led to the
increase in porosity of about 13.0 % in the comparison with pure lime plaster. The decrease in total
open porosity between 1–2 % (absolute values) observed for carbonated samples corresponds to
change between Ca(OH)2 and CaCO3. It is quite obvious the crystals of calcium carbonate sealed the
pore structure of tested plasters. In summary, all studied materials have proved high porosity what is
 Materials Science Forum Vol. 909 289

very positive factor from the point of view of their presumed application in renewal of historical
buildings. The high porosity of plasters guarantees fast water vapour transport, and so it’s fast
removal from the load bearing structures of reconstructed historical buildings.
The experimentally accessed mechanical and thermal parameters are presented in Table 3.
Table 3. Mechanical and thermal parameters of tested plasters
Flexural Compressive Dynamic Young's Thermal Specific heat
Plaster
strength strength modulus conductivity capacity
mixture
[MPa] [MPa] [GPa] [W/mK] [J/kgK]
VO 0.9 1.5 3.5 1.26 1 040
VO-C 1.6 2.7 5.8 1.20 1 005
VOD 0.9 1.7 3.9 0.97 980
VOD-C 1.2 2.6 5.6 0.99 998
VODI 0.3 1.5 1.4 0.65 907
VODI-C 0.5 1.4 1.7 0.73 954
VODII 1.0 1.6 3.7 1.26 1 038
VODII-C 1.7 2.7 5.6 1.18 1 001

The plaster modified with diatomaceous earth had slightly higher values of both compressive and
flexural strengths compared to pure lime plaster. Similar values were observed also in case of
modified plaster with boiled linseed oil painting. This clearly documents the pozzolana reactivity of
applied diatomite whose hydration products contributed to the plasters mechanical resistivity. The
mixture containing inner hydrophobic agents achieved the lowest mechanical resistivity among the
studied plasters. Although the mechanical resistivity of carbonated plasters was typically higher
compared to reference plasters cured at high relative humidity, one can assume that accelerated
carbonation will partially retard strength development in time, because carbonation and pozzolana
reaction are competitive processes [5].
Looking at the thermal properties data, the observed differences among investigated thermal
parameters corresponded to the porosity and mechanical parameters values. From the quantitative
point of view, the thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity data are in the range typical for
plasters of similar porosity.
The water vapour and liquid water transport parameters obtained for particular tested materials are
introduced in Table 4. The modified plaster exhibited slightly higher water vapour diffusion
resistance factor against the reference lime plaster, while the inner hydrophobisation influenced this
parameter negligibly taking into account the differences in porosity. From the quantitative point of
view, the obtained values of water vapour diffusion resistance factor of modified plasters are very
promising for application in restoration of historical buildings and renewal of the old materials. The
observed rapid water vapour transfer throw studied plasters will allow evaporation of water vapour
from the substrate, i.e. drying of moist building structures. On the other hand, the coating of plaster by
boiled linseed oil increased the water vapour resistance factor significantly. This may be considered
as a negative finding but it could find use as a protective layer in special applications, such as balcony,
balustrade etc.
Very positive effect of applied water repellent admixtures can be observed in case of the liquid
water transport. Here, the water absorption coefficient significantly dropped for plasters containing
both inner and surface water repellents. For these materials, the saturated moisture content values
were the lowest.
290 5th Asia Conference on Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Table 4. Water transport parameters of tested plasters

Water vapour diffusion Water absorption Saturated moisture
Plaster
resistance factor coefficient content
mixture
[-] [kg/m2s1/2] [mass %]
VO 9.40 0.221 17.60
VO-C 12.60 0.238 15.10
VOD 10.40 0.120 18.30
VOD-C 11.30 0.159 17.60
VODI 9.70 0.014 15.50
VODI-C 8.70 0.013 13.00
VODII 53.80 0.013 13.70
VODII-C 58.30 0.007 12.90

Conclusions
Properties of newly developed lime-based plasters modified by diatomite addition having clear
relation to their durability and applicability in renewal of historical buildings were accessed. In order
to eliminate the deterioration of pure lime plaster by natural weathering, the inner hydrophobic
admixture on the stearate and oleate basis was added into the plaster mix. The modified material
retained good water vapour transmission properties which are characteristic for the lime plasters. The
application of inner hydrophobisation and coating of boiled linseed oil resulted in significant decrease
in the water absorption coefficient which means a significant reduction of liquid water transport in the
plaster. Except of a practical application of tested plasters, the obtained data can find use in
computational modelling of coupled moisture and heat transport in building structures and
components.

Acknowledgements
The authors greatly acknowledge the financial support provided by the Czech Science Foundation
under project No. 15 10591S and by CTU in Prague under project No SGS17/166/OHK1/3T/11.

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