Effect of Interfacial Transition Zone on the Carbonation of Cement-Based Materials
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 7
Abstract
This study dealt with an analysis of the effects of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) on the carbonation of cement-based material. To this end, a series of experiments dealing with paste and the mortar-gallet interface carbonation were designed and conducted. Experimental results showed that the carbonation depth in the ITZ was several times greater than that in the cement matrix resulting in the emergence of an interfacial effect zone (IEZ). Backscattered electron (BSE) analysis and nanoindentation tests were also conducted on the material to examine the microstructure of the ITZ before and after carbonation and to explore the mechanisms of the ITZ effects. After carbonation, the thickness of the ITZ decreased from 50–60 μm to 20–30 μm, but its porosity was still greater than the porosity of the cement matrix. Therefore, after carbonation, the ITZ was still a weak zone so that the diffusion rate of in the ITZ was higher than in the cement matrix.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51178103). The authors gratefully acknowledge to the Editorbar Language Editing Company for their help in this project.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 7 • July 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 24, 2016
Accepted: Oct 19, 2016
Published online: Mar 2, 2017
Published ahead of print: Mar 16, 2017
Published in print: Jul 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Aug 2, 2017
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