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Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) plays a vital role in building mortar, mainly including water retention, thickening and changing fluidity, improving cohesion and operability, slowing effect and introducing appropriate amount of bubbles.

‌Water retention‌: HPMC can effectively slow down the water loss rate of mortar, especially under poor environmental conditions, to ensure the normal development of mortar performance. It slows down the diffusion rate of water inside the mortar to the surface by adsorbing water molecules, thereby reducing the evaporation of water on the surface of the mortar or diffusion into the base material, and maintaining the necessary water for the hydration reaction of the cementitious material. ‌

‌Thickening and changing fluidity‌: HPMC has a significant thickening effect, which can improve the construction performance and workability of the mortar, and change the fluidity of the product to achieve the desired appearance effect. ‌

‌Improve cohesion and operability‌: HPMC can improve the cohesion and operability of the mortar, overcome the common problems of ordinary mortar such as shelling and hollowing, reduce falling materials, save materials and reduce costs. ‌

‌Retarding effect‌: HPMC has a certain retarding effect, which can ensure the operability time of mortar, improve the plasticity and construction effect of mortar‌.

‌Introducing an appropriate amount of bubbles‌: HPMC can introduce an appropriate amount of bubbles to improve the frost resistance of mortar and improve the durability of mortar‌.

In addition, HPMC also has micro-expansion properties. During the hydration process, it can produce substances that cause micro-expansion properties, so that the mortar has a certain micro-expansion property, prevent the mortar from cracking due to shrinkage during the later hydration process, and improve the service life of the building‌. These characteristics make HPMC one of the indispensable materials in the construction industry.