Influence of the addition of carbon fibers on the properties of hydraulic lime mortars: comparison with glass and basalt fibers

In recent years, the use of hydraulic lime in conservation and restoration of historic buildings has increased due to the pathological processes involved in the use of Portland cement. This investigation deter­mines the properties of hydraulic lime mortars with added carbon fibers for their possible use in restoration of architectural heritage. The results obtained are compared with mortars to which glass and basalt fibers have been added. The results show that the fibers affect significantly the behaviour of the mortar. Although the fibers have a negative impact in the workability and increase the air void content, they improve significantly the mechanical strengths. Although no relevant differences have been found in the pre-cracking behaviour, it has been proven that the fibers avoid a fragile behaviour of the mortar, showing a better post-cracking behaviour. Mortars with carbon fibers are the ones that show the best performance, increasing the toughness up to 12080% over the reference mortars.