Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Lime is arguably the world first true green and versatile building material. The traditional lime binder offers greater durability but less strong compared to cement. The objective of the study is to improve the strength parameters of lime using traditional herbs. Lime mortar prisms (mix proportion: 1:2 i.e., one part of lime to 2 parts of sand) were cast after 15 days of fermentation with traditional herbal extract [aqueous extract of oonjalvalli (Cissus glauca Roxb.), pananchikaai (Cochlospermum religiosum), kulamavu (Persea macrantha), gallnut (Terminalia chebula) and palm jaggery (from Borassus flabellifer)] and tested for its Flexure, Tension and Compressive strengths. The lime mortar prism fermented with plain water was used as control. The transverse strength of herbal lime mortar (5% herbs) is 1.6 times greater than lime mortar fermented with plain water. Besides, there was an increase in the tensile strength by three folds, due to elastic nature of herbal lime mortar. The compressive strength is greatly enhanced up to 2.5 times on the addition of 5% herbs. This may be due to the fact that herbal extract enhanced the density of lime mortar by bringing the particles of lime mortar closer to each other, thereby producing a more compact mass. Traditional structures built with lime mortar, which are more than 4,000 years old like Mohanjo-Daro is still a heritage monument of Indian civilization. It is more appropriate to blend the traditional concept with modern structures. The present work may also help in reviving ancient monuments.
Keywords: Lime mortar, herb, Compression strength, Ancient building material