CANADA

S er THl

392 no. 82 c. 2

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH VALUES FOR TYPE N MORTARS

FROM

CONSTRUCTION SITES

J.I. Davison

January 1972

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH VALUES FOR T Y P E N MORTARS FROM CONSTRUCTION SITES

J. 1 Davison .
During the period mid- 19 66 to mid-1968, field studies were conducted a the Atlantic Regional Station, Division of Building Research, on three mat sonry construction projects involving tbree different Type N mortars. The studies were designed, 1) to obtain d a t a on mortars mixed on the job site, and 2) to experiment with certain new field t e s t s .
Compressive strength t e s t s on 2-in. cubes and 3 - x 6-in. c y l i n d e r s w e r e also included i the study. Procedures and requirements were the n same for both t e s t s . Recent demand f o r field control t e s t s for mortars, a result of increasing acceptance of the load-bearing m a s o n r y wall concept, has resulted i the inclusion of a field control t e s t for compressive n s txength in the recently published CSA Standard A224, Masonry Code of Practice, and the Canadian Structural Design Manual (Supplement #4 to During preparation of t h e s e the National Building Code of Canada 197 0). documents there was discussion about meaningful requir ernlent values and it may, therefore, be helpful to compare d a t a f r o m the field studies with the requirements f o r Type N mortar i the new standards. n

N E W F l E L D CONTROL TESTS F o r every s t o r e y t e s t s a r e required on five 2-in cubes of mortar random sampled from mortar boards currently in use. Cubes are molded, cured and tested in accordance with CSA A179-1967, M o r t a r f o r Unit Masonry. At 2 8 days the average compressive strength obtained from any five consecutive t e s t s is required to exceed 0. 80 of the value f o r the appropriate type of mortar as shown i the following table; no individual n t e s t shall be less than 0 . 6 7 of that value. Type of M o r t a r
Compressive Strength

2500 psi 1800 psi 750 psi

350 psi 75 p s i

These values, taken f r o m CSA A179, are identical t o those in ASTM (7270. For a type N mortar then, the average value for a 2 -in. cube m u s t exc e e d 600 (.80 x 750) psi, with none below 500 (. 67 x 7 5 0 ) psi.
FIELD STUDY

The mortars tested in the field study included, 1 ) a conventional 1: 1: 6 cement : lime putty : sand, 2 ) a packaged 1: 1: 6 masonry mortar mix

(said to be a blend of portland cement and hydrated 3jme plus additives], and 3 ) a 1:3 masonry c e m e n t : sand (interground portland cement clinker and limestone). Cylinders were included because o their general accepf tance on construction sites f o r concrete testing. It was considered t h a t the u s e of a familiar t e s t such as this would help facilitate the ultimate acceptance of mortar field testing, The studies w e r e designed t o provide data on the correlation between the 2-in. cube and the 3 - x 6-in. cylinder values.
Control values w e r e obtained from t e s t s on specimens molded with mortar containing materials from the job site and mixed in the laborat o r y by the s a m e procedures as those contained in ASTM C270 (The Canadian M o r t a r Specification was n o t issued until 1967, about mid-point in t h e study). Sand f o r all three jobs came from one source and met the grading requirements of CSA A82.56, Aggregate f o r Masonry M o r t a r .

M o r t a r from the job site was sampled either from the box at the mixer discharge or from the masongs board at the wall face. Specimens w e r e molded by conventional methods. All cubes containing f i e l d mortar f were molded in the lab. The proximity to the laboratory o all t h r e e jobs made it possible for mortar t o be brought: in for t e s t s wi& a minimal amount of delay. Some cylinders containing f i e l d mortar were also molded i t h e laboratory; t h e remainder w e r e molded on the job s i t e . A f e w n from the latter group were maved directly into the:lab (before the m o r t a x had received its initial s e t ) but most were left i a sheltered spot on site n overnight and maved into the lab the followbig day. During this period (approximately 24 hours) the only concession to the curing process w a s to place covers on the cylinders to reduce water evaporation f r o m the mortar. Except for the initial curing period of these site-molded cylinders, all specimens received normal laboratory curing. Compressive strength t e s t s w e r e conducted at 28 days. A total of 243 cubes and 1 6 1 c y l i n d e r s w e r e t e s t e d d u r i n g the t h r e e studies.
It must b e emphasized that the studies were not designed f o r a comparison of field strength values with a particular strength requirement. h fact, strength was n o t o real c o n c e r n on any of the projects. Perhaps f this enhances t h e value of t h e data. Because t h e r e w a s no pressure an the operator mixing the mortar to achieve a critical strength value, the data truly reflects a cross-section s f the condition o the end p r o d u c t r e f s ulting from the masonry construction pr actic e s on three small projects

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
1.

Cylinder -Cube Relationship

Type of Mortar
1 : l : 6 C :L: S 1 : 1: 6 M a s o n r y mortar mix 1: 3M.C.: 5

Cylinder S t r e n g t h as a % of Cube Value Control Field 94 88

The cylinder -cube relationship is considered f i r s t so that the correlation established can be used i later discussions, There was good correlation n for the conventional 1 : 1 : 6 cement-lime and the 1:3 masonry cement mortars. The lower correlation f o r the packaged 1: 1 : 6 masonry mortar mix is inexplicable. Observations indicated much better control during mortar preparation on this job and better correlation had been anticipated. It is also interesting to note the better correlation for site mortars than f o r Lab mortars i two of three instances. A lower limit of 80 per c e n t f o r n the cylinder -cube relationship would appear adequate for the 1 : 1 : 6 C : L: S and the 1 : 3 M, C. : S mortars.
2.
Average Compxessive Strength Values vs Requirements

Type of Mortar
I:1:6C:L:S 1 : 1: 6rnassnrymortar mix 1:3M.C. : S

Control

Cube

C ylirrder
1714 psi 940 p s i

Field Cube Cylinder

1824 psi
1415 p s i 1628 p s i

1269 p s i

1049 p s i
1614 p s i

1341 psi

1121 p s i 762 p s i 1364 p s i

All c o n t r o l values a r e average for six cubes and three cylinders.

1: 1: 41 C : L: S Mortar. - Values for field rnoxtars are average f o r 1 0 5 cubes and 70 cylinders (the 3 : 2 ratio was majntained throughout the study, three cubes and t w o cylinders being molded from each sample of field r n o x t a r ) . Average values w e r e far in e x c e s s of the required 7 5 0 psi for Type N mortar. There was wide variation in individual values, f r o m the low 672 psi (cylinder) to the high 1850 p s i (cube), All individual cube values exceeded 750 p s i with 6 of 7 0 cylinders below, U s i n g the 88 p e r cent relationship between cylinder and cube values (above] f o r field mortar, all six values, including the l a w 672 psi, exceed the required 660 C. 88 x 7 5 0 ) psi.

1 : 1 : 6 Masonry M o r t a r Mix. - Values f o r field mortars are averagc f o r 72 cubes and 47 cylinders. While average values are l o w e r than f o r the 1 : 1: 6 C: L:S mortar t h e y all exceed t h e 7 5 0 p s i r e q u i r e m e n t . Individual values ranged f r o m t h e low 523 p s i (cylindex) to the high 1400 p s i [ c u b e ) , T h r e e cube valves were under 750 p s i the lowest being 725 psi, but all w e r e well above the permissible 5 0 0 (. 57 x 7 5 0 ) p s i for individual tests. The cylinder-cube correlation f o r this mortar was 73 per c e n t and cylinder strength requirement would therefore b e 548 1 - 7 3 x 750) p s i . Thus, while 21 of the 47 cylinders were below 750 psi, only o n e was under 548 psi, and at 523 p s i i t was well above the minimum 3 65 (. 67 x 54 8) p s i for individual t e s t s .

1: 3 M.C.:S Mortar. - The job specification f o r this mortar r e quired an 850 psi compressive strength. Values f o r field mortar a r e a v e r a g e f o r 66 cubes and 44 cylinders. It should a l s o be noted that cylinders of f i e l d

mortar w e r e all molded nn the job, stored overnight and then moved into the lab. All values, cube and cylinder, average and individual, w e r e above the required 850 psi. There was considerable variation in individual values between the low 856 p s i (cylinder) and the high 2400 p s i (cube).
3.

Field Mortar v s Control M o r t a r

Type of Mortar
1: 1 : 6 C : L : S l : 1 : 6 masonry mortar mix P : 3 M.C.:S

Cornp. Strength of Field M o r t a r as a % o Control M o r t a r f

Cube 70 (105)* 74 (72) 99 ( 6 6 )

Cylinder 66 ( T O ) 81 (47) 102 (44)

*Figures in brackets represent the n u m b e r o specimens of f i e l d mortar f tested.

It will b e noted that this comparison is on t h e basis of a relatively l a r g e n u m b e r of field specimens v s a small number (six cubes and three cylinders) of control specimens. T h e r e a r e na obvious explanations for t h e variation in results. The b e s t correlation occurred for the m a s o n r y cement mortar where observations of the mortar m i x i n g operation indicated inferior site control. Many factors are t h u s concluded to have influenced t h e results and, as no particular effort w a s m a d e to control t t h e m , there is n o point i attempting to rationalize their effect. I is n interesting to note that t h e lowest correlation was 66 p e r cent (for c y l k d e r s of 1: 1: 6 C : L:S mortar).
CONCLUSIONS

Compressive strength values for 243 cubes and 161 cylinders of 1. three Type N field mortars all met the requirements i recently published n Canadian field t e s t s f o r mortars.
3 - x 6-in, Cylinders or 2-in. cubes specimens can be used for 2. c o m p r e s s i v e strength t e s t s on field mortars.

Field mrsr tar values are lower than control mortar values, rang 3. ing 7 0 to 99 per cent for cubes and 6 6 to 102 per cent for cylinders, Largest single factor in the strength reduction is the higher water content of field mortars. Manyvarisbles, including site control of mortar mixing, contribute to inconsistent:results.