Exploring the effect of dry premixing of sand and cement on the mechanical properties of mortar

A spout-fluid bed device was developed for dry premixing sand and cement to produce mortar. The goal of the work was to explore the efficacy of a new method for dispersing cement in sand to produce a mortar with better mechanical and physical properties. This strategy was found to work best at high sand/cement ratios, indicating that the dry premixing is more effective as the cement content is reduced and that it may be possible to produce commercially acceptable mortars with a lower cement content. Other properties of the mortar are also positively affected, including a decrease in the shrinkage and an increase in the workability.