Mortar Characteristics for Reinforcement of Ancient Tomb Murals Using Oyster Shells

The application of reinforcing agents with hydraulic property and strength development characteristics was studied under conditions similar to those of mural-painting mortar made with oyster shell powder. Reinforcement mortar made with oyster shell powder showed hydraulic properties and strength to supplement the weaknesses of natural hydraulic lime(NHL); this confirmed its possibility as a wall-reinforcing material with enough strength for preserving mural paintings. Reinforcement mortar 1 showed hydraulic property and general characteristics of lime mortar, such as consistency and viscosity, as well as lower strength and higher whiteness compared to an NHL product. For Reinforcement mortar 2, the original wall sample characteristics were reflected by mixing more shell produced through calcination; and it showed similar strength to that of Reinforcement mortar 1 as well as high whiteness. In measuring the contraction ratio of reinforcement mortar samples, Reinforcement mortar 1 and 2 showed more stability in property change compared to the NHL Group.