LAUSR

Abstract As the earliest cementing materials, lime, divided into aerial lime and hydraulic lime according to reaction mechanism, has been widely applied to heritages. Previous studies revealed that hydraulic lime mortars satisfy the conservation principles and high early strength demands of conservation because they have better mechanic strength and higher environmental adaptability than aerial lime. In this research, Chinese traditional hydraulic lime (ginger nut, AGA clay and shell lime) were modified and designed to restore San-he Tu buildings (composing of clay, sands and aerial lime). The result reveal that modified ginger nut showed optimal mechanic properties and weather resistance abilities than other lime mortars, and it is possibly due to the structure between aggregates and hydration or carbonation products. Conservation application using modified ginger nut mortar on the restoration of cracks were carried out and the restoration effect was discussed in detail. The conservation results indicated that the Chinese traditional hydraulic lime mortars are proper to restoring limes in ancient buildings.