Influence of cellulose ether particle size on water retention of freshly-mixed mortars

Laetitia Patural (1, 2, 3) , Alexandre Govin (1, 2, 3) , Philippe Grosseau (1, 2, 3) , Bertrand Ruot (4) , Olivier Deves (4)

1 SPIN-ENSMSE - Centre Sciences des Processus Industriels et Naturels
2 P2MC-ENSMSE - Département Poudres et Matériaux Multi-Composants
3 LPMG-EMSE - Laboratoire des Procédés en Milieux Granulaires
4 CSTB - Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment

Cellulose ethers are polymers frequently introduced into mortar formulations in order to improve water retention capacity and workability of the freshly mixed materials. Cellulose derivatives can induce excellent water retention thanks to the possible superposition of two phenomena. Mortar rheology can impact water retention, increasing media viscosity. Other specific effects provided by cellulose ethers may improve water retention, though this effect remains misunderstood until now. These admixtures may act as a diffusion barrier, preventing water loss, or they can modify the porous network in the fresh state. Physico-chemical parameters of the admixtures (molecular weight, granulometry, etc) seem to have a strong influence on mortar water retention capacity.

Mots clés: cellulose ethers; mortar; particle size; water retention

Domaines: Génie des procédés

Laetitia Patural, Alexandre Govin, Philippe Grosseau, Bertrand Ruot, Olivier Deves. Influence of cellulose ether particle size on water retention of freshly-mixed mortars. Journal du CEREM, 2009, 16 p. ⟨hal-00457932⟩