AS 2701.10-1984

SCOPE. This standard sets out recommended procedures for methods of analysis and interpretation that may be used on fresh or hardened mortar to determine the nature and proportion of its original ingredients.NOTES:1. The range of situations leading to such investigations and the amount of available information vary so much that it is not possible to cover all cases, however, the methods given here are preferred.2. Types of problem covered. The methods given here are applicable particularly to the following types of investigation: (a) Assessment of the efficiency of mixing and the accuracy of batching.(b) Analysis of mortar for compliance with specification. (c) Investigation of failure.The methods cannot be used without modification for mortars based on masonry cements because it is usually uncertain which of a wide range of possible ingredients have been used.3. Limitations of chemical analysis of mortar. Proportions of mortar materials traditionally are specified by volume, and in the case of site-mixed mortars have also been measured by volume. In the analytical methods described below measurement is by mass, and the results are calculated as percentages by mass. To transform the analytical figures back to the original volume measure requires a knowledge of the bulk densities of the ingredients, and the errors inherent in this step are much greater than those inherent in the analytical procedures.The bulk density of portland cement remains reasonably constant but the bulk densities of hydrated lime and lime putty depend upon the source of the material. The bulk density of sand depends not only on the source but also on the moisture content.In certain parts of Australia, sand is known to contain significant amounts of acid-soluble calcium salts. When these sands are used in mortar, unless a sample of them is supplied for testing, only gross deviations from specification will be detected by chemical analysis. It will nearly always be possible to make comparisons of mortar from different parts of the same building with more certainty than on samples from different sources.

Under Revision see DR 99210