Effect of filler nature on mechanical performance and drying shrinkage of self-leveling mortars

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Abstract
Self-leveling mortars (SLM) have a high filler content in their composition to achieve fluidity, without component separation. These mortars are mainly used in floor systems and have a large area exposed to the external environment, which facilitates water loss and increases the risk of cracking due to drying shrinkage. This study, in order to verify the influence of filler on the production of SLMs, used for comparative effect, quartz filler (QF) and crushed basalt filler (BF), in addition to limestone filler (LF), in contents of 5%, 10% and 20% of the mass of total solid. For that purpose, the tests of spreading in the fresh state and flexural strength, compressive strength, dynamic modulus of elasticity, drying shrinkage and desorption isotherm in the hardened state were carried out. SLMs microstructure was evaluated through isothermal calorimetry. The results show that the use of LF provides higher compressive strengths (up to 18% and 14% higher than QF and BF, respectively, in the first ages, and up to 13% and 22% higher than QF and BF, respectively, at 28 days), probably due to the better physical effect of this filler. In formulations with 20% of filler, LF and QF SLMs showed lower shrinkage when compared to BF SLMs (shrinkage 44% higher than LF mixture and 64% higher than QF mixture). It is concluded that the ideal content of filler to be used in SLMs must be between 10% and 20% of the mass of total solid and varies according to the filler.

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