Lightweight Masonry Mix Reducing Bag Weight
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pre-mixed mortar, stucco, and masonry mixes are heavy, leading to worker fatigue, increased transportation costs, and environmental impact due to the weight and volume of bags, which current lightweight cement mix solutions do not address when including sand as a component.
Innovation Solution
A pre-mixed composition comprising 70-80% sand and 20-30% lightweight cement mix, including Portland or hydraulic cement, hydrous magnesium silicate, sodium tall oil, sodium stearate, sodium C14-16 Alpha Olefin, linear alkyl benzene, and silicon dioxide, which reduces the weight of each bag to approximately 65 pounds while maintaining equivalent volume and strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional pre-mixed mortar, stucco or masonry is used with standard sand-to-cement ratios, then structural strength is achieved, but worker fatigue and transportation costs increase due to heavy bag weights
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters of the cement mix by incorporating specific additives (hydrous magnesium silicate, sodium tall oil, sodium stearate, sodium C14-16 Alpha Olefin, linear alkyl benzene, and silicon dioxide) in controlled amounts. These parameter changes reduce the density and weight of the cement mix while maintaining its binding strength, allowing the mortar to achieve required structural strength with significantly lighter bag weights
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite cement material by combining traditional cement with multiple specialized additives including hydrous magnesium silicate for lightweight structure, surfactants (sodium tall oil, sodium stearate, sodium C14-16 Alpha Olefin, linear alkyl benzene) for workability, and silicon dioxide for strength enhancement. This composite approach achieves both weight reduction and strength maintenance simultaneously
2Productivity
If larger bags of pre-mixed mortar are used to reduce transportation trips, then transportation efficiency improves, but worker handling difficulty and fatigue increase
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the density parameter of the cement mix through additive incorporation, the patent enables larger bag sizes (e.g., 80-pound bags) to produce greater volumes of mortar while remaining manageable for workers. The modified composition reduces the effective density, making large bags lighter and easier to handle while improving transportation efficiency through reduced trip frequency
3Productivity
If more pre-mixed mortar bags are stored in warehouses, then construction productivity is maintained, but storage space requirements and transportation costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the volume-to-weight ratio parameter of the cement mix by incorporating lightweight additives. This allows the same weight of cement mix to occupy larger volume, or equivalently, the same volume to weigh less. For warehouse storage, this means bags can be stacked higher or more efficiently arranged, reducing the total storage volume required for the same productivity level
Data Source
AI summary
An application for a pre-mixed mortar, stucco or masonry composition includes a approximately 75% sand and 25% of a light-weight cement mix comprising a cement (either Portland cement or hydraulic cement), hydrous magnesium silicate, sodium tall oil, sodium stearate, sodium C14-16 Alpha Olefin, linear alkyl benzene; and silicon dioxide.