The effect of air-entraining agent on the properties of mortars

The effect of the air-entraining agent on properties of mortar mixtures as well as on the compressive strength of hardened mortars was the objective of this study. Such mortars contain a certain amount of evenly spread closed air-voids pores with dimensions of 0.02-0.05 mm. On the one hand, the presence of a large volume of such air bubbles results in the reduction of mechanical properties of mortar. On the other hand, the use of this technological approach improves rheological properties of mortar mixture. The effect of the air entrainment on the flow, density, volume of entrained air of mortar mixture and compressive strength of hardened mortar was established. Obtained results show substantial increasing in the mortar flow at cement to sand ratio 1:2 by 1.8 times. The further decrease of C:S ratio results in a slight increase of the flow and even negligible its decrease at C:S = 1:4 compared to the reference mortar. The increase of the volume of entrained air results in the decrease of the density and compressive strength of mortar, but improve the resistance to freezing/thawing cycles. The results of this study can be a guide for mortar mix design to choose the most appropriate mix proportion to produce economically efficient mortars.