NATURAL POZZOLANIC MORTARS FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE

Masonry buildings form large part of the world architectural heritage. They are often located in seismic areas and their vulnerability has been put in evidence after the seismic events in the course of their lives. The need of assessment of these buildings according to the performance-based demands of recent seismic codes require a deep knowledge of mechanical properties of structural mortars, particularly the lime-based ones. The drawing of significant samples of structural mortars from existing buildings cannot performed easily, so that laboratory reproduction of ancient mortars based on traditional composition allow to detect reference values for restoration materials fulfilling code requirements. This paper presents an analysis of strength properties of typical of Southern Italy mortars, composed by lime and pozzolan as an aggregate. The laboratory tests, performed by the authors on different types of pozzolanic lime mortars, are discussed and the results are compared to those present in literature.