Current trends in development of lime based composites

Prior to the beginning of this century, lime dominance as a building material particularly, lime mortar was incontrovertible. Reminiscence of this is reflected in many buildings of historic references which stand till date as their durability features are predominantly attributed to lime’s inherent properties of flexibility, plasticity and breathability, among others. However, lime’s characteristic long ‘setting and hardening’ periods, low mechanical strength and poor internal cohesion coupled with subsequent discovery of Portland cement put its use into decline. In this paper, new approaches involving lime based composites aimed at maximising lime’s sterling features while improving its identified shortcomings are highlighted. The focus is particularly on lime based mortars blended with cement and ‘Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag’ (slag) in varying compositions individually, for improved performances. As this effort attempts to evolve lime revival for new constructions, it will also serve as a befitting response to the phenomena climate change with a view to minimising construction impacts on the environment.