Shrinkage and creep of masonry mortar

Shrinkage and creep results are presented for different types of masonry mortars having a wide range of strength. The range of values implies that the type of mortar has an appreciable influence on deformation of masonry. The results are analysed, together with other data obtained from other investigations carried out over several years in the same laboratory, and predictive models developed. Factors quantified are strength, volume/surface/ ratio, time of exposure to drying (shrinkage) and time under load (creep). While creep is unaffected, for a given strength, shrinkage of water-cured mortar is greater than shrinkage of mortar that is cured under polythene. When based on 28-day strength, the average error of prediction for shrinkage is 19% but if based on the strength at the start of shrinkage, the error coefficient is reduced slightly to 16%. Creep is estimated with an average error of 24%.