Effect of Stray Current on Cement-Based Materials under Sulfate Attack
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34, Issue 2
Abstract
In coastal areas, concrete of subway infrastructure can be jeopardized by coupled degradation conditions of stray current and sulfate solution. This paper focuses on the effect of stray current on the durability of cement-based materials exposed to sulfate-rich environments. In addition to chemical analysis, mechanical, transport, and microstructural properties of specimens exposed to five conditions were analyzed: (1) control environment with no degradation conditions, (2) stray current, (3) internal mixing sulfate, (4) stray current and internal mixing sulfate, and (5) stray current and external sulfate solution. Experimental results of this study reveal that (1) stray current can exacerbate leaching of cement-based materials, and 40-V stray current results in greater leaching compared to specimens subjected to 20-V stray current; (2) compared to specimens subjected to internal mixing sulfate alone, the combined effect of stray current on the production of gypsum and ettringite is slight due to the increase in particle collision induced by stray current; and (3) stray current has a migration effect on the rate of ions ingress, which significantly aggravates the external sulfate attack on cement-based materials. The primary degradation products were ettringite and gypsum, which results in the cracking and the maximum decrease in strength of 47.1% after exposure to coupled conditions of 40-V stray current and external sulfate solution for 150 days.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the financial support from the Key Project Supported by the Joint Funds of National Natural Science Foundation of China (U20A20324), National Natural Science Foundation of China (51878116), Liaoning Province Key Project of Research and Development Plan (2020JH2/10100016), Dalian Science and Technology Innovation Fund Project (2020JJ26SN060), and the Chinese Scholarship Council. The authors are also grateful to Dr. Runxiao Zhang for insightful discussion and the comments. The authors also acknowledge support from Professor Panesar’s Hart Professorship and National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34 • Issue 2 • February 2022
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 4, 2021
Accepted: Jun 4, 2021
Published online: Nov 25, 2021
Published in print: Feb 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Apr 25, 2022
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