CE 1213 – Building and Construction Materials

Lime

Md. Ramjan Ali

Lecturer
Department of Building Engineering and Construction Management,
Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET)
Khulna-9203, Bangladesh

27-Aug-22 1
 Introduction
• Construction industry is the largest
consumer of material resources, of
both the natural ones (like stone, sand,
clay, lime) and the processed and
synthetic ones. Each material which is
used in the construction, in one form
or the other is known as construction
material (engineering material).
27-Aug-22 2
 Introduction
oSelection of right material is an important problem
which an engineer has to face. The basic concern of a
building engineer is design, construction ,supervision
of different types of structures.

oA key element field practice is to deal with type of

material. Selection of material depends upon their
properties in relation to intend use.

oA study of these aspects of material and their

application in construction is very important for an
building and construction engineer.
27-Aug-22 3
 Types of Building Materials
❖ Naturally available materials
❖ Industrial materials
❖ Stone
❖ brick
❖ Lime
❖ Cement
❖ Timber
❖ Sand
❖ Aggregates
❖ Mortar
❖ Concrete
❖ Bitumen
27-Aug-22 4
 Naturally Available Materials
• Clay/Earth/Soil
• Wood/Timber
• Sand/Fine Aggregate
• Stone
• Rock

27-Aug-22 5
 Artificial or Industrial Materials
• Cement
• Bricks
• Steel
• Tiles
• Ceramics
• Paints and Varnishes
• Glass
• Plastic
• Stone
•
27-Aug-22
Lime 6
 Lime or Limestone
• Naturally occurs as: Limestone

Aggregate form

Powder form

27-Aug-22 7
 Limestone
• The Great
Pyramid of Giza,
one of the Seven
Wonders of the
Ancient World;
its outside cover
is made entirely
Great pyramid of Giza
from limestone.

27-Aug-22 8
 What is Limestone?
• Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely
of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are
different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
Many lime stones are composed from skeletal
fragments of marine organisms such as coral or
foraminifera.

LIMESTONE ROCKS LIMESTONE CHALK

27-Aug-22 9
 Limestone

Chalk Limestone (CaCO3) Marble

(Soft) (Comparatively hard) (Hardest)

27-Aug-22 10
 Limestone Cycle

27-Aug-22 11
 PCC manufacturing

• The Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Plant offered

by us is made by following steps:
• Calcination / Burning of limestone in a vertical shaft
lime kiln to give quick lime and carbon dioxide gas.
• Hydration of quick lime to give hydrated lime.
• Washing and cooling of carbon dioxide gas.
• Reaction of hydrated lime with CO2 gas to give
desired grade of precipitated calcium carbonate
slurry.

27-Aug-22 12
 Limestone
• Limestone has
numerous uses,
including as building
material, as aggregate
to form the base of
roads, as white
pigment or filler in
products such as
toothpaste or paints, A building made up of limestone
and as a chemical
feedstock.

27-Aug-22 13
 Limestone Chalk
 Chalk is a soft, white, porous
sedimentary rock, a form of
limestone composed of the
mineral calcite. It forms under
reasonably deep marine
conditions from the gradual
accumulation of minute
calcite plates shed from
micro-organisms called
coccolithophores. Chalk can
also refer to other compounds
including magnesium silicate
Limestone Chalk and calcium sulfate

27-Aug-22 14
 Limestone Constituents
o Calcium oxide
o Clay
o Silica and Alumina
o Magnesium Carbonate
o Alkalies and Metallic oxides
o Iron pyrites

27-Aug-22 15
 Test on Limestones
• Physical tests-Presence of clay and
suitable for producing hydraulic lime with
white color.
• Chemical test
✓Heat test
✓Slaking test
✓Acid test

➢ See the examples from book

27-Aug-22 16
 Chemical Analysis of Limestones

• Hydraulic Index or Ratio = (Silica +

Alumina + Oxides of Iron) / (Lime +
Magnesia)

• Cementation Index = (2.8 Silica + 1.1

Alumina + 0.7 Oxides of Iron) / (Lime +
1.4 Magnesia)
➢See the examples from book

27-Aug-22 17
 USES OF LIMESTONE
 It is the raw material for the manufacture of quicklime (calcium
oxide), slaked lime(calcium hydroxide), cement and mortar.
 Pulverized limestone is used as a soil conditioner to
neutralize acidic soils.
 It is crushed for use as aggregate—the solid base for many
road construction.
 Geological formations of limestone are among the
best petroleum reservoirs;
 As a reagent in flue-gas desulfurization, it reacts with sulphur
dioxide for air pollution control.
 Glass making, in some circumstances, uses limestone.
 It is added to toothpaste, paper, plastics, paint, tiles, and
other materials as both white pigment and a cheap filler.
27-Aug-22 18
 IMAGES

27-Aug-22 19
 Lime
• Lime is an important cementing material use in
engineer construction.
• A cement material may be defined as that material
which has the capacity of holding structural unit
together with sufficient strength.
• When it is mixed sand and water, the mixture is called
lime mortar and is used to bind bricks and stones in
wall of building and plaster of walls.
• When it is mixed with sand ,coarse aggregates and
water the mixture is called lime concrete and is used
as filler material of foundation and base coarse for
flooring etc.
27-Aug-22 20
 Lime
• Up until the 20th century , quick lime was used as a
disinfectant, usually in 10% solution called milk of
lime. However, it had disadvantage of decomposing
rapidly on exposure to air and moisture, and the burnt
lime had to be fresh and unslaked.

• Calcium oxide (Cao)

commonly known as burnt lime, lime or quick lime, is a
widely used chemical compound. It is a white caustic
and alkaline crystalline solid. As a commercial product
lime often also contain magnesium oxide, silicon oxide
and smaller amounts of Aluminium oxide, and iron
oxide.
27-Aug-22 21
 Lime
marine animals
• Chemistry for pure rock:

CaCO3 (calcium carbonate)

but, impurities are always present:

MgCO3,Al2O3, Fe2O3, SiO2

27-Aug-22 22
 Lime Production

• Excavation
• Crushing Limestone
• Grinding
• Calcination → Quicklime
• Pulverize quicklime
• Mix with water under pressure → Slaked Lime
• Drying of Slaked Lime
• Pulverizing
• Marketing in bags.
27-Aug-22 23
 Lime Manufacturing or
Production Process
The limestone goes through 3 different stages in the
kiln.
1. Pre-heating – Limestone are heated in closed
container of about 6000 F.
2. Calcining or Burning – Limestone is burnt in clamps
or in kiln and the process of burning is called the
calcination of lime.
3. Hydration or slaking – After calcination, the next
step is hydration or slaking.

27-Aug-22 24
 Calcining or Lime Burning
• Lime stone is extracted from quarries or
mines.
• Part of the extracted stone, selected
according to its chemical composition, is
calcinated about 1000 degree Celsius. In
different type of kiln fired by such fuels as
natural gas, coal, fuel oil, lignite etc.
• Quick lime is produced by the reaction
caco3+heat cao+co2

27-Aug-22 25
 Calcination or Lime Burning
➢ CaCO3 = CaO + CO2 ( > 900°C)
“quick lime”
• Calcination is carried out in kilns:
- Intermittent
- Continuous
- Rotary
- Reactor
o Lime is more or less impure calcium oxide (CaO)
and obtained by the calcination (heating of lime
stones or corals or other composed pure or impure
CaCO3). Lime act as a binding or cementing
material in engineering construction.
27-Aug-22 26
 Different types of lime kiln
• Intermittant kiln • Continous kiln

27-Aug-22 27
 Technical Terms
• Quick Lime
✓ Calciumoxide(CaO),commonly known as quick
lime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical
compound. It is a white, caustic,alkaline
crystalline solid at 1500C temperature
Usually obtainedfrom
usuallyobtained fromlimestone
limestone.
✓ A lime kiln is used to produce quick lime through
the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate).
CaCO3+ heat →CaO+CO2
• Calcination: This is the heating of limestone to
redness (15000 C) in air.

27-Aug-22 28
 Technical Terms
• Slaking: When water is added on quick lime it
gives rise to heat due to certain chemical
reactions and this process is termed as
slacked or hydration.
• Slaked lime: The substance left slaking of
quick lime is called slaked lime or hydrated
of lime.
• Setting (Hardening): when lime is mixed with
water to form a paste it hardens and this
process is called setting or hardening of lime.
• Hydraulicity: This is the property of the lime for
setting under water.
27-Aug-22 29
 Slaking of Lime (Hydration)
➢CaO + H2O → Ca(OH)2 + Heat (i.e. exothermic)

➢CaO is mixed with water in a slaking box until

a “putty” has been formed.

➢The putty is then covered with sand to protect

it from the action of the air & left for
seasoning.

➢Time of seasoning →1 week for mortar use

27-Aug-22
6 weeks for plaster use 30
 ➢ If CaO is not slaked well, it will absorb moisture
from air & since the volume expands up to 2.5-3
times.

➢ Slaked lime can also be bought from a factory. It is

more homogeneous & economical but less plastic.

➢ Seasoning provides a homogeneous mass &

completion of chemical reactions

➢ During slaking heat evolves & volume expands.

27-Aug-22 31
 Hardening of Slaked Lime
air

➢Ca (OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 + H2O

Air-Slaked Lime
➢ At surface of uncovered quicklime (CaO) it
picks up moisture and CO2 from air becomes
partly CaCO3.

➢ CaO + H2O → Ca(OH)2 Expansion observed

➢ Ca(OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 + H2O

27-Aug-22 32
 Classification of lime
o Fat lime
-This is also known as high calcium lime. Fat lime is
obtained by calcination of nearly pure limestone, chalk,
sea shells. It is nearly white and free from other
substances.
-Fat lime is generally used for finishing coat in plastering,
white washing and lime punning.
o Hydraulic lime
✓ Eminently hydraulic lime
✓ Moderately hydraulic lime
✓ Poorly hydraulic lime
o Natural lime or cement- Hydraulic binding material
almost similar to hydraulic limestone but containing
27-Aug-22
about 40% of clayey material. 33
 Hydraulic lime
➢ Obtained by calcination of siliceous or clayey
limestone at higher temperature.

➢ It differs from quicklime:

- Burned at higher temperature
- It contains lime silicates
- It can set & harden under water

➢ This is used for masonry in foundations and for

thick walls. It is also used for mortar for masonry
works in superstructure of building.

27-Aug-22 34
 Uses of lime
1. Fat lime is used in white washing and plastering
walls
2. Hydraulic lime is used for preparing mortar for
thick walls and damp places etc to increase the
rate of hardening
3. Poor lime is some time used in inferior works
4. In production of masonry blocks
5. Making concrete that is also called lime concrete
6. Manufacturing cement
7. It is also used in water and sewage treatment to
reduce acidity to soften
8. It is used in agriculture to remove acidic soils

27-Aug-22 35
 Properties or Qualities of Good Lime

• It should be free from ashes, under

burnt particles and other impurities.
• It must pass through sieve No. 64.
• It should stiffen quickly.
• It has low shrinkage.
• It should be good moisture resistance
• It should be good workability.
• It should slake easily with water.
27-Aug-22 36
 Lime Mortar
• Lime mortar is a type of mortar composed of lime
and an aggregate such as sand, mixed with water.
• Lime mortar is primarily used in the conservation of
buildings originally built using lime mortar, but may be
used as an alternative to ordinary Portland cement.

27-Aug-22 37
 Properties of Lime Mortars

➢Lime + sand lime mortar

Adding sand:
- Adjusts plasticity – otherwise too sticky

- Provides economy

- Decreases shrinkage effects

27-Aug-22 38
 Lime Mortar Preparation
• The paste is prepared by mixing lime and sand or
surkhi in suitable proportions in addition to water.
• If surkhi is to be added in lime mortar the equal
proportions of sand and surkhi should be mixed
with lime.
• These mortars are inferior to cement mortars in
strength as well as water tightness.
• These mortars should not be used for underground
works as they set in the presence of carbondioxide
and break up in damp conditions.

27-Aug-22 39
 Testing of Lime
• Adhesive strength test – A lime mortar ratio 1:3
prepared. Standard size brick are placed flat one
over the other and kept under water for 7 days.
The force (pull) required to separate them at the
joint should not be less than 30 psi.

• Tensile strength test – A briquette mould made

and kept under water for 7 days. Thus tested in
the machine for tensile strength of lime. This
should not be less than 45 psi and 90 psi for 28
days.
27-Aug-22 40
 Testing of Lime
• Compressive strength test- with same mortar ratio
prepare 2” cube mould and kept in water for 7
days. The cubes are then tested for compressive
strength by testing machine. The strength should
not be less than 200 psi for 7 days and 450 psi
for 28 days.

• Soundness test – The paste made with same

mortar ratio into a small ball 1” diameter by hand.
Then it allows to set under wet cloth for 24 hours
and afterwards it is exposed to steam for 6 hours.
At the end of this period, the ball should not show
any sign of cracking or warping.
27-Aug-22 41
 PRECAUTIONS
TO BE TAKEN IN
HANDLING LIME

27-Aug-22 42
 PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN
HANDLING LIME

• Following precautions are to be taken

while handling lime to avoid accidents.

➢ Contact with water

➢ Facilities for workers

➢ Fire hazard

➢ Instructions to workers.

27-Aug-22 43
 Thanks to All

27-Aug-22 44