9

th
International Masonry Conference 2014 in Guimares


9
th
International Masonry Conference, Guimares 2014 1


The modelling of water grout transfer into masonry walls units


PEREIRA-DE-OLIVEIRA, LUIZ
1


ABSTRACT:
The questions of masonry grout infill workability could be a problem to be solved, when the narrow
dimensions of the masonry unit holes needs to be filled. Normally, two solutions are used: the W/C
ratio is increased or by the use of superplasticizer. The masonry units, as porous media, are strongly
hygroscopic and capable to reduce the grout infill W/C ratio. This reduction may undermine the
cement paste hydration if even an adequate grout consistency is attained. By consequence, the
prediction of resultant W/C ratio in the grout mixtures is an important parameter to help the mix design
and the grout placing. This study is focussed on the grout water transfer into the masonry units and
about the effect of the variables concerning this mechanism. With this goal, an analytical model,
based on Darcy, Laplace and Poiseuille laws, was first developed and justified by an experimental
study where some variables as grout W/C ratio, temperature and masonry unit porosity were put in
evidence. As conclusion, it was possible to define a model to preview the mixing grout water resulting
in the grout infill as a function of time and the variables studied.
Keywords: masonry grout infill, water transfer, water loss
1 INTRODUCTION
In a typical reinforced hollow unit masonry construction, the steel reinforcing provides a strong
structure that can be tied together and better resist the lateral dynamic forces of wind and
earthquakes. To assure the necessary consolidation between a hollow unit and reinforcement, in
practice, a concrete infill, or grout, is used to fill cells of hollow masonry units and relatively narrow
spaces in masonry walls [1]. The difficulty in consolidating the masonry grout by vibration requires
that this material must have a high flowability to flow through the hollow space around the reinforcing
bars and completely surround and bond to the steel and masonry unit. While the normal concrete is
placed with a minimum of water into nonporous forms, the masonry grout is placed with considerably
more water, as the masonry units creates absorptive forms [2]. To obtain a self consolidating grout
(SCG) it is necessary to apply water - cement ratio around 0.60 to 0.80 or combine a more reduced
water amount with the action of a superplasticizer to provide a necessary flowability [3].
The concrete masonry unit, as a porous medium, induces a grout water loss at the early age. The
water loss makes the grout susceptible to increased shrinkage and may prevent or weaken the
contact with the concrete block wall surfaces. Thus, the knowledge about variables influents on the
masonry grout water loss could be an important tool to help the practitioner on the grout mix design
and its workability optimization.
This paper presents a theoretical and experimental study about the grout water movement
highlighting the variables affecting the mechanism of water transfer from the grout to the masonry
units.


1)
Associate professor, University of Beira Interior, Centre of Materials and Building Technologies C-MADE, luiz.oliveira@ubi.pt

Pereira de Oliveira, Luiz A.

9
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International Masonry Conference, Guimares 2014
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2 THE MECHANISM OF THE GROUT WATER ABSORPTION BY THE MASONRY UNITS
The grout flowability is necessary to fill the masonry wall when a certain wall height is reached.
When the grout is poured, this fresh mixture is confined inside the hollow of masonry units. These
units have a relative high porosity favourable to be impregnated by water that try to escape to outside.
The porous media are generally characterized by a number of interconnected capillaries of different
shapes and dimensions that make the determination of their porous structure practically impossible.
Under these conditions the study of the movement of a liquid in a porous medium can only be done
through a simplified model. In order to simplify the reasoning, it was assumed that the masonry unit
porous are, at the beginning, empty and have a constant size, while the grout porous vary according
its set and hardening. The movement of water between the grout and the masonry unit is first
governed by the masonry unit action and then by the grout action.
2.1. Masonry unit action
The masonry unit pores (empty), in the beginning, are smaller than those of the grout. Thus, the
masonry unit pores act on water grout due to the pressure capillary forces differences. They will be
impregnated by grout water. It is noticed that grout water is composed of an ionic solution and a
suspension of colloidal particles.

2.2. Grout action
After the first grout water movement to the masonry unit wall, the grout has a tendency to shrink.
This shrinkage is independent of the grout settlement, but it is the result of grout water internal
drainage and bleeding due to the hydrostatic pressure effects. During a first period, the bleeding
water is provoked by the action of capillaries forces carried by the masonry unit pores, while the grout
capillaries are still saturated. After the bleeding water elimination, the grout capillaries start to empty
and meniscuses in vicinity of grout-masonry unit surface are formed.
The water movement will be dependent of resultant capillaries forces:
a) At the beginning the mean radius of the masonry unit capillaries may be lower than the grout
capillaries: it follows that the water movement is from the grout towards the masonry unit:
b) under the action of cement hydration, the mean radius of the grout capillaries decreases until it
becomes equal to the masonry unit capillaries: consequently the movement of water stops;
c) if the mean radius of the grout capillaries becomes smaller than of the masonry unit capillaries,
the direction of water movement changes, in other words the grout receives water from the
masonry unit. This is possible only after the grout hardening. This eventual process that has a
secondary interest is not taken into account in this study.
3 MODELLING THE GROUT WATER MOVEMENT
The capillary movement of liquid through a porous medium is usually described par Darcy's law [4,
5], equation 1.
L
h
K Q
A
=
(1) .
Where, Q is the liquid flow rate through a unit area of the porous medium, L is the thickness of the
porous medium through which the liquid flows, h is the pressure variation expressed in liquid height
and K is the permeability coefficient. One can still write Darcy's law in the following differential form:
| grad K v =
(2) .
Where, v is the flow rate in the porous medium and is the hydraulic loading. Using the equation of
continuity:
The modelling of water grout transfer into masonry walls units


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International Masonry Conference, Guimares 2014
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0 = v div
(3) .
One finds that the hydraulic loading should verify the Laplace equation with different boundary
conditions:
0 = A|
(4) .
Taking into account that this equation can only be solved analytically in number of special cases
using numerical methods, it was estimated that a more simple reasoning to model the materials
porosity could be sufficient to represent the water grout transfer into masonry wall units.

The flow in a porous medium is done through the voids left and the solid grains. These voids in the
porous mass form a network of very fine channels. One can think that the flow is similar to that
observed in capillary tubes. That is why we often refer to the capillary models, and the simplest
among them is the one that represent a porous medium by a set of parallel cylindrical capillaries with
equal radii R. The application of this model in this study led to the representation shown in Fig1.


Figure 1. Porous media represented by an ensemble of parallels capillaries tubes.
The flow through these capillaries is given by Poiseuille's law:
|

o t
grad
8
2

=
R
Q
(5) .
Where, R is the capillary radii, is the liquid density and is the liquid viscosity.
If n is the number of capillaries by surface unit, the flow through capillaries is given by:
|

o
t
grad
8
2
2

=
R n
R
Q n
v
(6) .
Comparing equations (5) e (6), one can deduce that the permeability coefficient K can be defined
by:

8
2

=
R n
K
(7) .
Now the driving pressure in the capillaries has to be determined. It is known that in a capillary tube,
the liquid raise due to surface tension. If the tube wetting is not perfect, a contact angle between the
fluid and the tube wall is formed [6]. In this case, the capillary rise H can be determined at equilibrium,
as shown in the equation 8.

cos 2
R
H

I
=
o
u

(8) .
Pereira de Oliveira, Luiz A.

9
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International Masonry Conference, Guimares 2014
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Where, H is the capillary rise, is the surface tension and is the wetting angle.

As we have seen previously, the masonry unit as a hollow concrete block is treated as a porous
medium represented by parallel capillaries. After filling the hollow concrete block column in the
masonry wall, the grout is in contact with the inner wall of masonry unit. This inner wall can also be
considered as a porous medium consisted of parallel capillaries, as shown in Fig.1, but with
significantly larger radii. The R
b
and R
g
are defined as the average radii of the cylindrical capillary
block and grout respectively. The extremities of these capillaries finish at the air and at the grout.
When the grout contact with the block inner wall, it is saturated with water, and the block is dry. As R
g

is substantially larger than R
b
, the grout water is absorbed by the block capillaries. The amount of
water absorbed depends on the difference between the capillary action of the masonry unit and the
grout water retention capacity, which generates a pressure driving given by the Laplace laws
(equation 9).

1 1
cos 2
|
|
.
|

\
|
I = A
g b
R R
p u
(9) .
Poiseuille's law written for one capillary permits to determine the amount of liquid that penetrates a
certain length L in the block from the contact surface. For this case the flow velocity is expressed by:
L
p

8
2
A

b
R
v
(10) .
In which the quantity | o grad has been replaced by the finite quantity L p A . Then, replacing p
in equation (10), give:
L
1

R
R
- 1 R
4
cos
g
b
b
|
|
.
|

\
|

I
=

u
v
(11) .
As, dt dL v = and if we put:

R
R
- 1 R
4
cos
g
b
b
|
|
.
|

\
|

I
=

u
_
(12) .
We have:
L dt
dL _
=
(13) .
Assuming that _ is a constant, which will be discussed below, we get:
2
1
) . 2 ( t L _ = (14) .
If n is the number of capillaries per unit area of the masonry unit, and if V
c
is the volume of water
absorbed at time t per unit area of masonry unit, one has:
2
1
2
) . 2 ( t L R n V
b c
_ t = (15) .
Replacing _ by its value defined in equation (12), we get:
2
1
2
1
2
5
2
1
) 1 (
2
cos
t
R
R
L R n V
g
b
b c

|
|
.
|

\
| I
=

u
t
(16) .
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International Masonry Conference, Guimares 2014
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The R
b
could be considered during the suction phase having a constant radius, while R
g
varies with
the time. In this phase, R
g
decreases as a result of the contraction due to the capillary pressure and
the cement hydration. As the grout normally has much water, one can consider that R
g
varies little for
a defined time interval. It should also be noted that the term
2
1
1
|
|
.
|

\
|

g
b
R
R
is not very sensitive to
variations of R
g
as long as R
b
/R
g
is sufficient small. One can consider that we have approximately:
2
1
t V
c
= | (17) .
Where | is approximately constant. If a slightly more sophisticated modelling is desired, this is
possible if the time is divided into intervals t
i
, during which it is assumed that the R
g
radius remains
constant and equal to R
gi
. Then, the volume of water absorbed between the initial time t
0
and the
saturation time t
s
could be express by:
( )
2
1
0
2
1
2
5
) 1 (
i
s
t
t
t g
b
b c
R
R
R V A =

=

(18) .
Where
2
1
2
cos
|
|
.
|

\
| I
=

u
t n
(19) .
It is assumed now that the masonry unit walls are saturated. The water flows to the masonry unit
will be possible if their outer face is directly exposed to atmospheric effects (sun, wind, environment
humidity), which promote evaporation of the water contained in the masonry unit. It is always
possible, theoretically, to model this phenomenon, for example by applying the general diffusion
equation. However, this model is less attractive, since the water movements become much less
significant and therefore less influential in the subsequent grout behaviour.
4 EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ABOUT GROUT MIXING WATER LOSS
The problem to be investigated is represented by a wall built at a certain height when the hollows
are grouting. It is concern the mixing water loss.
4.1. Materials
Different types of structural hollow concrete blocks (f
bk
> 6.0 MPa), whose characteristics are
presented in Table 1, were used. These physical characteristics were determined by standardized
tests according EN 771-3:2003.
A Portland cement type CEM I 42.5R with density of 3140 kg/m
3
, a natural sand with maximum
size 0.3 mm and density of 2635 kg/m
3
, a limestone coarse aggregates with maximum size 9.5 mm
and a density of 2699 kg/m
3
were used to composed a standard grout mix. A modified polycarboxylate
superplasticizer was used to obtain a slump flow higher than 600 mm.









Pereira de Oliveira, Luiz A.

9
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International Masonry Conference, Guimares 2014
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Table 1. Physical properties of hollow concrete masonry units
Block
type
SSb
agr

(m
2
/kg)
Water
absorption
(%)
Capillary
absorption
(kg/m
2
)
Density
(kg/m
3
)
Bulk
density
(kg/m
3
)
Voids
ratio
BI 174 7.55 5.05 2678 1972 0.264
BII 246 4.4 1.82 2643 2154 0.185
BIII 289 4.7 0.29 2720 2094 0.230
BIV 261 5.9 0.86 2749 2092 0.239

In this study, the masonry grout mixtures were composed with a mass proportions 1.00:2.50:2.50
of cement : sand : coarse aggregates. The grout mixtures were produced with different water/cement
ratios, i.e: 0.55; 0.60; 0.75 and 0.85. The superplasticizer dosage for mixtures with W/C = 0.55 and
0.60 was 1.0% of cement mass and 0.6% for mixtures with W/C = 0.75 and 0.85.

4.2. Methods
The water absorption, the water capillary absorption, the real density and bulk density were
determined according to EN 772 standards.
To simplify the study a water flow model in one direction was adopted [7]. A parallelepipedical
Plexiglas cell shown in the Fig. 2 with internal dimensions of 100 mm x 100 mm x 110 mm was built.
This cell has two open sides, which allows the placement of a wall masonry unit piece measuring 100
mm x 100 mm x 40 mm, so as to obtain a void volume which is then filled with grout. The grout water
loss is determined by successive weighing of the cell with grout and the masonry unit piece and
separated weighing of the masonry unit piece. After each weighing the masonry unit piece was
returned to the cell. A sheet of filter paper was interposed between the masonry unit piece and grout
facilitating their separation. Preliminary results showed that the interposition of filter paper has an
insignificant influence on the results.


Figure 2. Plexiglas cell with the masonry unit sample
5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In Table 1, the water absorption gives the percentage of voids accessible by water, while the voids
ratio expresses the amount of pores in the masonry unit.
Since the masonry unit porous structure is dependent of their aggregates specific surface area or
voids, one can also think that this structure influences the masonry unit hygroscopic properties. In this
regard, Fig. 3 shows a more significant correlation between the masonry unit aggregates specific
surface area and water capillary absorption than water absorption.

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International Masonry Conference, Guimares 2014
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Figure 3. Water absorption and water capillary absorption as function of masonry unit aggregates
specific surface area (SS
agr
)
In fact, the right graph of Fig. 3 shows a significant linear correlation. It is observed that increasing
SS
agr
reduces the water capillary absorption by the masonry unit. It is resultant of a more compact
masonry unit structure found in the concrete blocks BIII and BIV.
When the water absorption and water capillary absorption results, shows in Fig. 4, are correlated
with the masonry unit voids ratio a nonlinear significant correlation with the water absorption was
found. This outcome was expected, once the water absorption by immersion is dependent only of the
accessible volume of voids.


Figure 4. Water absorption and water capillary absorption as function of masonry unit voids ratio
Fig. 5 shows the results of grout mixing water loss obtained at temperatures of 20C and 40C.
These results represent the values of water absorption caused by one type of masonry unit in contact
with one grout mix produced with different W/C ratios. It was observed that the evolution of the grout
water loss as function of the time square root had the same characteristics for all mixtures. These
characteristics identify a bilinear trend evolution, which can be represented by the model shown in
Fig. 6.

Pereira de Oliveira, Luiz A.

9
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International Masonry Conference, Guimares 2014
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Figure 5. Grout water loss as function of time at the different environment temperatures 20C and
40C
Analysing the grout water loss on the time, at 20C, an increase of the water loss with the W/C
ratio was observed.
The environmental temperature influence was more evident for the W/C ratio lower than 0.85. The
water loss at 20C is similar for 7 and 24 hours while at 40C a slight increase is observed during this
period modifying then the grout hardening kinetics.

Taking into account the grout water loss results on the time, a model presented at Fig. 6 could be
designed. This model is composed of two zones where the grout water loss by masonry unit surface
area increases linearly with the time square root. The straight line 0 -1 essentially describes the grout
water absorption by the masonry unit (zone I) and the line 1 2 represents the water loss by
absorption and evaporation (zone II). In this zone the water loss velocity is reduced by the effect of
the cement hydration that modifies the grout porosity structure. After the time t
2
the water loss
become insignificant and sometimes can oscillate around an equilibrium value that depends of
environmental conditions. Taking into account such behaviors, it was taken the bilinear model as
representative of the water loss, here identified by zones I and II.


Figure 6. Grout water loss model

The line 0 - 1 inclination can be expressed by the coefficient as follows:
( )
2 1
2
min
kg/m

i
i
t
M
= |
(20) .
coefficient identifies the water loss velocity in a certain absorption period that depend of the
water concentration C. The diffusion velocity in the zone I is proportional to the volumetric
concentration gradient, that is:
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9
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International Masonry Conference, Guimares 2014
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v
C
D
dt
dM
c
c
=
(21) .
where D is the diffusion coefficient calculated as function of the water mass transferred and the
masonry unit volume in contact with the grout. Thus, if one can express:
wb
M D = |
(22) .
So,
( )
2 1
min m
M
D
wb
|
=
(23) .
where, M
wb
is the weight of the water absorbed by masonry unit volume at instant t
I
.

The model describing the grout mixing water loss is represented in the two zones as follows:
t b M t M
E A
e | + = = and
(24) .
Where M
A
is the water loss, in the zone I, by surface unit due exclusively to the absorption and M
E
is
the water loss influenced by grout set and hardening reactions. It was found that the proposed model
to predict the grout water loss was confirmed experimentally. Indeed, the grout water absorption by
the masonry unit is characterized as follows:
2 1
t M
A
= |
(25) .
The equation (25) is nothing else than equation (17), where the water loss is expressed in mass.
Observing the Fig. 7, one can verify that the coefficient increases with the W/C ratio. It is also
observed that the coefficient is not significantly affected by the environmental temperature.


Figure 7. The coefficient as function of W/C ratio at temperatures of 20C and 40C
In all grouts here studied, a separation between zones I and II was observed. These zones are
delimitated by the time t
1/2
between 15 and 20 min
1/2
which correspond to the period between 4 and 6
hours. This indicates that the phenomena are well defined: first by the absorption by the masonry unit,
that is little dependent on temperature; second by the absorption and evaporation plus hydration
kinetics, depending on the temperature. These observations allowed us to understand the
mechanisms of mixing grout water loss from the moment it comes into contact with the masonry unit
walls. This however, should not be an end in itself. Indeed, in a cement based mixture, the strength
depends largely of the W/C ratio. In the case of grout, the available water quantity for the cement
hydration is a key element, and it is important to translate the previous findings in terms of W/C ratio
for the purpose of the grout mix design.
Pereira de Oliveira, Luiz A.

9
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International Masonry Conference, Guimares 2014
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6 CONCLUSIONS
The transfer of water from grout to masonry unit is as function of a surface wetting and capillary
actions.
Different masonry concrete blocks were characterized and a strong linear correlation was found
between the blocks water capillary absorption and their aggregates specific surface areas (SS
agr
). The
increase of blocks SSagr reduces the water capillary absorption. On the other hand, it was observed
that water absorption of concrete blocks is more influenced by their voids ratio. Taking into account
that the mixing grout water transfer to the masonry unit is governed by capillarity, a theoretical model
was developed and experimentally agreed.
The experimental results show that, on the same porous medium, a bilinear model can explain two
different behaviours. One defined as zone I where the coefficient is only dependent of W/C ratios
and another, zone II, where the coefficient is also influenced by the environment temperature.
Finally, the prediction of grout water loss can be used to control the mixing water amount in the
masonry grout mix design.
REFERENCES

[1] Amrhein, J.E.: Reinforced Masonry Engineering Handbook, Masonry Institute of America 7th
Edition (2012), 469p
[2] Pereira de Oliveira, L.A. Evaluation of early shrinkage of structural masonry concrete infill,
Masonry International, UK, 17 (2004), 2, 66-70.
[3] National Concrete Masonry Association: Self-Consolidating Grout Investigation: Making and
Testing Prototype SCG Mix Designs, Report of Phase II Research, Project No. 05-330,
Publication No. MR3, February 2007, Herndon, VA, USA
[4] Scheidegger, A.E.: The physics of flow through porous media. University of Toronto Press,
Canada, 1974.
[5] Szymkiewicz, A.: Modelling water flow in unsaturated porous media. Springer, 2012, XXI, 237p.
[6] Bories S.: Transferts de chaleur et de masse dans les matriaux, analyse critique des diffrents
modles mathmatiques utiliss, lhumidit dans le btiment, Sminaire de lUNESCO, 23-25
Novembre 1982, France,
[7] Pereira de Oliveira, L. A.: The influence of masonry grout and constructions systems on the
structural masonry behaviour. (In French). PhD thesis, University of Lige, Belgium, 1992, 189p