Study on the Mechanical Properties and Durability of Hydraulic Lime Mortars Based on Limestone and Potassium Feldspar

Natural hydraulic lime (NHL) can be used as an inorganic cementitious material, as it exhibits low shrinkage, salt-alkali resistance, moderate strength, and good durability with cultural relics. There has been increasing interest in NHL, as it is considered an appropriate material for the restoration and reinforcement of architectural cultural relics. In this study, limestone and potassium feldspar were mixed and calcined at different ratios and high temperatures, and artificial hydraulic lime (HL) was produced. According to the X-ray diffraction (XRD) results, the resulting products after high-temperature calcination were mainly composed of calcium oxide, dicalcium silicate (C2S), and dicalcium aluminosilicate (C2AS). As a compromise, when potassium feldspar accounted for 30% of the total mass, HL contains a more suitable air-hardening component and hydraulic component. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) analyses show that the phases of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and hydrated calcium silicate (C-S-H) gradually increased with prolonged curing time for HL. To study the partial mechanical properties and durability of HL, a comparison was made with NHL. The mechanical properties were investigated with the flexural and compressive strengths and shrinkage. The results show that HL has higher strength than NHL, but NHL has smaller shrinkage. Accelerated aging tests indicated that HL and NHL5 led to higher resistance to water immersion, fluctuations in temperature and humidity, sulphate decay, an alkali environment, and frost–thaw action than NHL2. HL has excellent mechanical properties and durability and can be considered a conservation material for stone relics in the future.