FRESH STATE CHARACTERIZATION OF LIME MORTARS WITH PCM ADDITIONS

The application of sustainability principles in construction encourages the development of new products, with new functionalities and applications, able to improve buildings environmental performance. The use of latent heat storage materials in lime mortars aims to reduce the energy consumption of buildings. This work intends to evaluate the impact of phase change materials (PCM) incorporation in rheological and hardened state properties of aerial lime mortars. A fresh state characterization was conducted through the rheological study complemented with flow table tests of different mortar formulations. To complete the mortar characterization some hardened state properties (porosity, mechanical strength and microstructure) after 28 days, were also evaluated. It was concluded that, the PCM microcapsules incorporation does not compromise aerial lime mortars overall performance and may help to improve some characteristics like workability and mechanical strength. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the energy demand in old buildings, improving their performance and sustainability.