Compressive strength values obtained from standardized tests are adopted in the use of silica fume mortar as a reinforcement material, how- ever, they usually do not represent the compressive strength of mortar applied to the substratum. In a reinforcement procedure, each portion of mortar applied to the substratum undergoes densification according to the energy with which it collides with the substratum, resulting in different compressive strength values along the reinforcement; this affects the overall strength of the reinforcement as a whole, which, in turn, defines the new loading capacity of the reinforced structural element. In order to verify the actual behavior of a reinforcement mortar, a silica fume mortar plate dimensionally similar to a reinforced column face was executed, and prismatic samples extracted from the mortar plate were submitted to compression tests. The average compressive strength obtained was compared with the average compressive strength observed in cylindrical test specimens, molded from the same material used in the mortar plate. The prismatic samples' average compressive strength presented a reduction of 35% in this particular case.
mortar; silica fume; reinforcement