Generalization of Abrams' law for cement mortars

The influence of constituent materials and various mix proportions on compressive and splitting tensile strength of mortar (ranged from high strength to low strength) has been studied experimentally and reported. In this study, cement/sand ratios of 1:2, 1:2.5, and 1:3 are used. At each cement/sand ratio, the water/cement ratio varied from 0.30 to 0.65 at a constant increment of 0.05. For all the mortar mixes, the compressive strength of mortar was determined at ages of 3, 7, and 28 days. From the experimental test results, it has been observed that the important parameter affecting the strength of mortar was the water/cement ratio and Abrams' generalization law is applicable to mortar both in compression and splitting tension. Generalizing Abrams' law for mortars with different mix proportions has been proposed for mortars falling in the range between very low strength to very high strength. It has been observed that the Abrams' generalized law is applicable to mortars with water/cement ratio greater than 0.40. Empirical model expressions have been proposed to predict the compressive strength of mortar using water/cement ratio. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.