Masonry mortar must meet requirements for compressive strength, water retention, and air content. The more absorptive the units, the wetter the mortar must be. The FLOW TABLE PROCEDURE is intended for laboratory use only.
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3 Ways to Measure Mortar Consistency_tcm68-1375847.pdf
Masonry mortar must meet requirements for compressive strength, water retention, and air content. The more absorptive the units, the wetter the mortar must be. The FLOW TABLE PROCEDURE is intended for laboratory use only.
Masonry mortar must meet requirements for compressive strength, water retention, and air content. The more absorptive the units, the wetter the mortar must be. The FLOW TABLE PROCEDURE is intended for laboratory use only.
mortar consistency How to maintain quality control from batch to batch
THE FLOW TABLE PROCEDURE
1. Place the mold at the center of
the flow tabletop.
2. Remove the mold after filling it
with mortar.
3. Measure the diameter of the
pancake that results after the table is dropped 12 inch 25 times in 15 seconds.
method, the Conway penetration procedure.
removes the mold and immediately
drops the flow table a height of 12 inch 25 times in 15 seconds. Then the technician measures the average diameter of the mortar pancake that results. The flow is the increase in average base diameter expressed as a percentage of the original base diameter (the diameter of the mold, which by specification is 4 inches). If mortar is specified using the property specifications of ASTM C 270, Standard Specification for Mortar for Unit Masonry, it must meet requirements for compressive strength, water retention, and air content. To perform these tests, the laboratory mortar by specification must have a water content to yield a flow of 110% 5%. So, before the lab mortar is tested for strength, water retention, or air content, its flow must first be measured
asonry mortar used in the
field usually is mixed to a consistency that would cause the average concrete technician to reject it for being too wet. But masonry mortar must be more fluid. It is placed between masonry units that quickly suck out this excess water. In fact, the more absorptive the units, the wetter the mortar must be (within reason). How do you measure exactly how wet the mortar is? How do you check the consistency of the mortar to make sure its the same from batch to batch? The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has developed two standard methods for measuring the consistency of unhardened mortar: the flow table procedure (ASTM C 109) and the cone penetration procedure (ASTM C 780). ASTM is now considering standardizing a third
The flow table procedure
The flow table procedure for measuring mortar consistency is intended for laboratory use only. The test procedure is described in ASTM C 109, Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Hydraulic Cement Mortars. The flow table itself is described in ASTM C 230, Standard Specification for Flow Table for Use in Tests of Hydraulic Cement. To perform the test, the lab technician places a standard bronze or brass mold at the center of the flow tabletop. He fills the mold in two layers, tamping each layer 20 times with a tamper. With a trowel, he cuts off the mortar flush with the top of the mold. One minute after mixing the mortar, he
with the flow table. A mortar with a
flow of 110% approximates the drier mortar that might be found in a wall soon after being laid. The flow table apparatus must be secured to a 25- to 30-inch-high concrete pedestal that is leveled on the floor. Newly purchased equipment can cost more than $2,000 and weigh at least 350 pounds.
THE CONE PENETRATION PROCEDURE
The cone penetration procedure
The consistency of mortar in the field can be measured using the cone penetration procedure. This test also can be used to determine the board life of the mortar and in quality control to monitor the batch-to-batch uniformity of the mortar. The cone penetration procedure is described in ASTM C 780, Standard Method for Preconstruction and Construction Evaluation of Mortars for Plain and Reinforced Unit Masonry. Instead of the flow table, this test uses a cone penetrometer, which is a modified version of the Vicat apparatus used in ASTM C 187 to measure the consistency of hydraulic cement. To perform the test, the field technician fills a standard 400-milliliter metal cylindrical container with mortar. He fills the container in three layers of equal volume, spading each layer 20 times with a spatula. After this is done, he taps the side of the container to remove any entrapped air and cuts the mortar off flush with the top of the container. Then the technician slides the container underneath the plunger of the penetrometer so the plunger rests on the edge of the container. He tightens the set screw just enough to hold the plunger and moves the indicator to the zero point on the scale. After centering the container under the plunger, he releases the plunger with a quick definite turn of the screw. When the plunger comes to rest or at the end of 30 seconds, he reads the depth of penetration in millimeters on the scale. The wetter or more plastic the mortar, the deeper the cone penetrates. Although erratic cone penetration readings indicate poor control during batching and mixing, they do not indicate if the cement, sand, or water additions are improper. Other tests must be performed to identify the batching or mixing procedure that is causing the problem.
1. Fill a standard 400-ml
container with three layers of mortar, spading each layer with a spatula.
4. Center the full container under the
plunger of the penetrometer.
2. Tap the sides of the
container to remove entrapped air.
3. Cut the mortar off flush
with the top of the container.
5. Turn the set screw to drop the
plunger, then read the depth of penetration on the scale.
THE CONWAY PROCEDURE
The cone penetration test is rather
simple. It uses a small amount of mortar. And the equipment is portable and costs less than $500. Yet some technicians think that, at times and with certain mortars, the results of cone penetration tests are not as reliable as those of tests done in the laboratory on a flow table.
The Conway penetration procedure
1. Fill a 16-inch-diameter ring with mortar.
2. Remove the ring after leveling
off the mortar.
3. Set a 1-inch-thick solid metal
disk on the mortar and push it into the mortar with a hand penetrometer calibrated for mortar.
4. Read the force required to push
in the disk on the penetrometers scale. This force is a relative measure of the mortars consistency.
ASTM is now studying another
method of measuring mortar consistency as an alternative to the C 780 test method. Called the Conway penetration procedure, this method was first recommended by Tim Conway of Santee Cement Company. If the Conway method is adopted either it or the cone penetrometer may be used. The Conway test uses a concrete penetrometer that is available commercially but recalibrated for mortar. To perform the test, the technician places a 16-inch-diameter ring on the masons mortar board and fills it with mortar. He levels off the mortar flush with the top of the ring then removes the ring. The technician next sets a specified 234-inch-diameter, 1-inchthick solid metal disk on top of the mortar. Then he pushes the disk into the mortar with the hand penetrometer and reads the force required to do this on the penetrometers scale. This is done at three different locations in the mortar sample. The force read on the penetrometer scale is a relative measure of the mortars consistency. The more force thats required to push the disk into the mortar, the stiffer the mortar. Because of this, the technician also can use the test to measure board life. As the mortar stiffens, the force required to push in the disk increases. The technician can perform the test on the same mortar every 15 minutes and plot the readings on a line graph to determine the rate of stiffening. The Conway test also may be performed on mortar as it sits inside a mixer, as long as the mixer is stopped. The equipment costs about $200, but a large mortar sample is needed, making a large mixer necessary.
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