SHOULD
AIR-ENTRAINED
MORTARS BE USED?
What is air content?
Masonry mortar consists of
sand, water, hydraulic cement,
and workability agents. In fresh-
ly mixed mortar, water, cement,
and workability agents combine
to form a fluid paste that sur-
rounds the sand particles. Dur-
ing the mixing process, some air
voids are generated in the paste
portion of the mortar system.
The term “entrained air” refers
to the system of microscopic air
bubbles purposefully generated
in the mortar by the addition of
air-entraining agents. In addition
to these microscopic air bubbles,
some larger and irregular voids
called “entrapped air” result from
the mixing process. Entrapped
air is generated whether or not
air-entraining agents are added
to the mortar system.
Air content, as measured by
ASTM test methods for plastic
mortar, includes entrained and
entrapped air; it is a measure of
the volume of air voids as a per-
centage of total mortar volume.
Typical air-content levels for air-
entrained mortars range from
about 10% to 20%, while the air-
content levels for non-air-en-
trained mortars range from about
3% to 10%. The air content of ma-
sonry mortar is influenced by the
mortar materials, mixing proce-
dures, water content, ambient
temperature, and air-entraining
additions.
The property method for speci-
fying a n dm i x i n g mortardescribed
in ASTM C 270 limits the allow-
able air content for the various
types of cement-lime and mason-
ry cement mortars. The maxi-
mum allowable air content in ce-
ment-lime mortars of Types M
and S is 12%. In cement-lime
mortars of Types N and O, the
maximum is 14%, unless struc-
tural reinforcement is incorporat-
ed in the mortar, which lowers
the limit to 12%. In contrast, the
maximum air content allowed in
masonry cement mortars of Types
M, S, N, and O is 18%, when
structural reinforcement is incor-
porated in the mortar.
ASTM C 270 permits air-en-
training agents to be added, if
specified, as long as these limits
are not exceeded. This topic has
stirred up considerable contro-
versy in the industry. While some
masonry professionals say that
air-entrained mortars should be
used under certaincircumstances,
others argue that they should not
be added because they can be
detrimental to masonry perfor-
mance. Moreover, there has been
much debate—but little agree-
ment—on what the specific air-
content limits should be.
Masonry specialist John Me-
lander of Skokie, Ill.-based Port-
land Cement Association and ma-
sonry consultant Colin Munro of
Batavia, Ill., are on opposite
sides of this issue. We’ve asked
them to explain their reasons
and respond to each other’s com-
ments.
Yes: Controlled levels of air entrainment
are beneficial
By John Melander
All mortar characteristics
that affect the construction,
durability, and structural per-
formance of masonry ele-
ments are of primary interest.
Although some observers see
certain performance charac-
teristics as more important
than others, no single charac-
teristic should be emphasized
to the exclusion of others.
Air content is a physical
property of mortar, not a per-
formance characteristic.
However, controlled levels of
air entrainment can enhance
the performance of both freshly
mixed (plastic) and hardened
mortar—by improving workabili-
ty, increasing water retention,
providing longer board life, im-
proving durability, and reducing
water absorption.
Plastic mortar
An important benefit of air en-
trainment is improved workabili-
ty of plastic mortar. The mason
usually can distinguish between
air-entrained mortars and non-
air-entrained mortars by the way
the mortar spreads on unit bed-
dingsurfaces, s l i d e so f f the trowel,
and extrudes from mortar joints
as units are pressed into position.
In addition, entrained air bub-
bles break up capillaries, improv-
ing the water retentivity of the
mortar. Air entrainmentalso gives
mortar a longer board life. Tests
using the modified concrete pen-
etrometer indicate a correlation
between early stiffening of mor-
tars and lower air-content levels.
Highly plastic, workable, wa-
ter-retentive mortars make unit
placement easier and adapt bet-
ter to irregular unit surfaces,
providing intimate contact be-
tween mortar and unit. The mor-
John Melander is the masonry
specialist for the Portland Ce-
ment Association. Involved in
the masonry industry for more
than 20 years, he is a member
of ASTM, The Masonry Society,
the Masonry Standards Joint
Committee, and the Construc-
tion Specifications Institute. He is air reduces the amount of
second vice-chairman of ASTM
committee C 12 on Mortars for
Unit Masonry and chairman of
subcommittee C 01.11
on masonry cement.
tar must retain these workable
characteristics for a reasonable
length of time to facilitate the
construction process.
The need for mortar with good
workability, good water reten-
tion, and adequate board life is
obvious to the mason. Since high-
quality workmanship is so impor-
tant t ot h e structuralperformance
andserviceability o ft h ec o m p l e t e d
masonry, these properties should
be given greater consideration by
the specifier as well.
Hardened mortar
Durability studies indicate that
minimum air-content levels of
about 10% to 16% are needed to
provide hardened mortar with
the greatest resistance to freeze-
thaw deterioration. When mason-
ry is used as an exterior cladding
over highly insulated backing
walls, thecomplete exterior wythe
of masonry is subjected to a sig-
nificant number of freeze-thaw
cycles during a typical winter
season in northern and moderate
climates. Depending on exposure
of specific building elements,
many of those cycles may also
entail saturated or near saturat-
ed moisture conditions. Air-en-
trained mortars increase re-
sistance to freeze-thaw deteri-
oration in such applications.
Air entrainment also re-
duces water absorption in
hardened mortar. Entrained
water required to achieve a
workable consistency and
breaks up capillaries that
tend to form as mixing wa-
ter evaporates or is absorbed
by the units. Having fewer
and shorter capillaries, the
hardened mortar is less ab-
sorptive.
The improved resistance of air-
entrained mortars to freeze-thaw
deterioration may be partly due
to the reduced absorption these
mortars exhibit in the hardened
state. A side benefit of lower wa-
ter absorption is a reduction in
the absorption of waterborne
contaminants, such as dirt or dis-
solved compounds.
Munro: The most important
thing mortars can do is provide a
water-resistant masonry system.
Therefore, I think there is a single
performance characteristic of
mortar that should be empha-
sized over others: You need strong
bond to maximize resistance to
water permeance. When you have
good, tight, intimate bond, you
will have walls that don’t leak.
It’s true that higher air en-
trainment improves workability.
That’s because the more air you
beat into the mortar, the less it
weighs per volume. Masons like
high-air-entrained mortars be-
cause they are lighter in weight.
Masons are less likely to com-
plain about sore wrists at the end
of the day. However, I’m more con-
cerned withmasonryperformance.
The most important thing is to
have mortars that bond tenacious-
ly and uniformly.
Likewise, it’s true that air en-
trainment increases water reten-
tivity and board life. But I don’t
worry about board life. If mor-
tar sits on the board for a long
time, the mason isn’t doing his
job.
I concede that high-air-en-
trained mortars do a little better
infreeze-thaw resistance, b u tt h e r e
isn’t even a t e s tm e t h o d t ot e s tm o r-
tars for freeze-thaw. Freeze-thaw
is not important unless you have
water saturation of the section; it
doesn’t mean a thing unless the
wall leaks and gets saturated.

Never in brick walls:

The higher the air content, the leakier the wall
By Colin Munro

There is no doubt in my Colin Munro is a masonry I think this is a good num-

mind that excessive air en-
trainment of mortar is one
of the main causes of leaky
brick walls. The higher the
air content, the greater the
capacity for a brick wall to
leak. I’m not as concerned
about air content in mortar
used in concrete masonry
walls because exterior block
walls must be coated with a
water repellent or painted.
Air causes bubbles to
form in the set mortar.
When the air content is
high, the bubbles begin to form
chains. It’s the chaining of these
bubbles I object to because this
creates passageways for water in-
filtration at the interface of the
brick and the mortar.
Another problem is that high-
air-entrained mortars don’t es-
tablish sufficient bond with the
units. Consider that most mason-
ry leaks occur at the mortar-unit
interface and that 20% of a wall
i sm o r t a r. F o re x a m p l e ,i n 1 square
foot of brick wall consisting of
standard-size brick and 3⁄8-inch
joints, there are 156 lineal inches
of brick-mortar intersection and
624 square inches of mortar con-
tact with brick.
ASTM C 270 allows masonry
cement mortars to have an air
content of 18%. This means you’re
consultant based in Batavia, Ill.,
ber. You shouldn’t allow air
with 35 years of experience in
many facets of the masonry indus- content to exceed—atthe
try, including research, teach-verymaximum—10%.
ing, technical consultation, But high as they are,
manufacturing, marketing, and even the ASTM limits are
contracting. He is chairman of n o t o b s e r v e d . I have seen
ASTM committee C 15 on Manu- masonry cement mortars
factured Masonry Units and a
member of American Institute of Ar- with air contents as high as
chitects, Construction Specifications 42%, which is crazy. This
Institute, and American Con- happens most often in cold-
crete Institute. He serves on weather conditions because
the board of directors of The of a chemical reaction in
Masonry Society. the mortar.
Another problem associ-
ated with highly air-en-
eliminating 18% of the mortar trained mortars is excessive
contact with the masonry unit. sand, because these mortars can
Think of all the opportunities tolerate higher sand content
for leaks to occur in a masonry without losing workability. Mor-
building. tars that contain excessive sand
When we talk about high-air- are porous, weak in compression,
entrained mortars, we’re talking and have low durability. Over-
about masonry cement mortars sanded mortars are not uncom-
because we typically don’t air- mon in residential construction.
entrain portland cement-lime
mortars. I don’t know anybody Melander: Never say “never.” I
who specifies air-entraining in am convinced that, within the
portland cement-lime mortars; I range of air contents established
never see it in the specs. If you do by accepted ASTM standards,
not use high-air-content mortars, there is no consistent relationship
your chances of producing walls between the air content of mortar
that don’t leak are much better. and the water penetration of brick
The ASTM C 270 limits on air masonry walls. This statement is
content are much too high. Port- based on my review of the pub-
land cement-lime mortars inher- lished literature on the subject
ently have an air content of about (Ref. 1) and on evaluation of both
7%, entrapped during production. air-entrained and non-air-en-
trained mortars under laboratory
and field conditions.
The primary causes of water
penetration problems in masonry
construction are inadequate de-
sign and poor workmanship (Ref.
2). These problems are not solved
by using either air-entrained or
non-air-entrained mortars; how-
ever, because good workability
and adequate board life help the
mason achieve good workman-
ship, these factors have broader
implications than happy masons
and alleviating sore wrists.
Furthermore, higher bond
strength does not imply greater
resistance to water penetration.
Bond strength is a measure of the
force required to break mortar
and units apart. In contrast, wa-
t e rp e n e t r a t i o nr e s i s t a n c ei s a func-
tion of having contact between
mortar and unit that allows no
continuous pathway from the ex-
terior to the interior.
Macro-voids resulting from poor
techniques of placement, moving
units after placement, or the use of
stiff mortar are the primary causes
of such pathways. Chaining may
occur with entrapped air voids,
but evenly spaced microscopic
air bubbles (entrained air) tend
to break up capillaries, reducing
absorption of the hardened mor-
tar. The percentage of entrained
air simply does not equate to
open pathways for leakage.
The potential bond strength of
mortar-unit assemblies does de-
crease as air content is increased,
but excellent bond strengths can
be readily obtained using air-en-
trained mortars. The mortar’s ce-
ment content, the units’ surface
texture, and curing conditions
have a much greater impact than
air content on bond strength. For
example, a recent study indicates
that the cement content of mortar
has four times the effect on bond
strength that air content has.
In many areas of the country,
air-entrained mortars are used
successfully on a majority of the
masonry projects constructed.
Air-entrained hydrated limes,
air-entrained portland cements,
and air-entraining admixtures
are widely available, specified,
and used. Masonry cement mor-
tars are air-entrained, but air-en-
trained mortars are not limited to
masonry cement mortars.
Limiting the air content of mor-
tar to a maximum of 7% or 10%
effectivelyeliminatesair-entrained
mortars and the advantages they
offer. Current air-content limits
established in ASTM standards
are reasonable. The ASTM con-
sensus process assures that a bal-
ance of viewpoints and interests
are considered in establishing
those values.
ASTM C 91 limits the air con-
tent of masonry cements to a max-
imum of 21% for Type N and 19%
for Type S and Type M when test-
ed with standard testing sand.
Air content achieved with job
sands typically are 1% to 2% low-
er than that obtained with stan-
dard testing sand.
Lest readers be left with the
impression that 40% air contents
are commonplace with air-en-
trained mortars, in over 22 years
of reviewing test reports on mor-
tar air content, I have never seen
air contents that high.
There is an old adage that one
should practice moderation in all
things. We should apply this prin-
ciple when discussing the air con-
tent of mortars. There are benefits
to be realized in using mortars
having moderate, controlled air
entrainment. Let’s not penalize
the industry by ignoring those
benefits and erroneously insisting
that water penetration problems
can be solved by reducing the air
content of masonry mortars.
References
1. S.K. Ghosh and J.M. Melander, “Air Con-
tent of Mortar and Water Penetration of
Masonry Walls,” 1991, Portland Cement
Association, 5420 Old Orchard Rd., Skokie,
IL 60077.
2. J.M. Melander and S.K. Ghosh, “Factors
Affecting Water Penetration of Masonry
Walls,” Proceedings, 6th Canadian Mason-
ry Symposium, 1992, University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,
Canada, pages 439-448.
PUBLICATION #M940419
Copyright © 1994, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved