Rheology of grouts for masonry injection

Grout injection technique applied in a multiple leaf masonry walls aims at increasing the compactness of the masonry and, therefore, improving their monolithic behaviour by bonding the separated segments together without compromising the architectural value of the masonry building. The success of the injection grouts depends mainly on their rheological properties. This means that the flow properties of fresh grouts are as important as their properties in the hardened state, since they govern the ability of the grout to flow and fill the voids within masonry. In practice, the variability of voids within masonry requires ability to fine tune the rheological properties of the grout, in order to optimal fill all voids with grout. So, models were developed with the main purpose of predict and control the rheological properties of grouts just performing simple flow tests traditionally used in the field. It is well known that flow tests commonly performed (such as Marsh cone and slump test), which try to describe the workability of cementitious materials, only give a qualitative result that can not be expressed in physical rheological units. However, the proposed models allow calculating a physical parameter (e.g. viscosity) instead of an empirical one (e.g. fluidity). This research shows the effect of grout design variables on the properties of natural hydraulic lime grouts based on the correlation between rheometry measurements and simple flow tests. Furthermore, the proposed models can be very useful to smooth the grout design methodology, since these models enable the prediction of rheological properties of the grout without the need for expensive and complex equipment, such as rheometers or viscometers.