Influence of Cyclic Drying–Wetting and Carbonation on Oxygen Diffusivity of Cementitious Materials: Interpretation from the Perspective of Microstructure
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34, Issue 10
Abstract
The oxygen diffusion coefficient of coastal concrete structures under cyclic drying–wetting and carbonation is one of the most crucial factors in its durability performance. In this work, the oxygen diffusion coefficients of cement mortar and concrete after 28-day cyclic drying–wetting cycles and carbonation were tested. The microstructure development of mortar and concrete after drying–wetting cycles and carbonation was characterized by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) methods. It was found that porosity and critical pore diameter have strong correlation with oxygen diffusion coefficient on plain mortar and concrete. After drying–wetting cycles, the refined porosity and critical pore diameter did not show obvious correlation with the oxygen diffusion coefficient. Nevertheless, the reduction of the oxygen diffusion coefficient after drying–wetting cycles was proportional to the change of porosity and critical pore diameter. A theoretical model based on Fick’s law was derived to calculate the oxygen diffusion coefficient of the carbonated area. It was found that with the development of carbonation duration, the oxygen diffusion coefficient in carbonated area decreased. The influence of porosity on oxygen diffusion coefficient after carbonation is similar with plain cementitious materials, while the oxygen diffusion coefficient in the carbonated area is less influenced by the critical pore diameter change. It can be concluded that the retarding effect on oxygen diffusion coefficient by drying–wetting cycles and carbonation can delay the corrosion rate for reinforced concrete structures.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the financial support from the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (Grant Nos. LR21E080002 and LZ20E080003) and the National Natural Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 51678529 and 51978620).
References
Ahmad, S. 2003. “Reinforcement corrosion in concrete structures, its monitoring and service life prediction––A review.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 25 (4–5): 459–471. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0958-9465(02)00086-0.
Barnes, P., and J. Bensted. 2002. Structure and performance of cements. London: CRC Press.
Behnood, A., K. Van Tittelboom, and N. De Belie. 2016. “Methods for measuring pH in concrete: A review.” Constr. Build. Mater. 105 (Feb): 176–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.12.032.
Boher, C., F. Frizon, S. Lorente, and F. Bart. 2013. “Influence of the pore network on hydrogen diffusion through blended cement pastes.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 37 (1): 30–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2012.12.009.
Boumaaza, M., B. Huet, G. Pham, P. Turcry, A. Aït-Mokhtar, and C. Gehlen. 2018. “A new test method to determine the gaseous oxygen diffusion coefficient of cement pastes as a function of hydration duration, microstructure, and relative humidity.” Mater. Struct. 51 (2): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-018-1178-z.
Chang, C. F., and J. W. Chen. 2006. “The experimental investigation of concrete carbonation depth.” Cem. Concr. Res. 36 (9): 1760–1767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2004.07.025.
Das, B. B., and B. Kondraivendhan. 2012. “Implication of pore size distribution parameters on compressive strength, permeability and hydraulic diffusivity of concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 28 (1): 382–386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.08.055.
Deschner, F., F. Winnefeld, B. Lothenbach, S. Seufert, P. Schwesig, S. Dittrich, F. Goetz-Neunhoeffer, and J. Neubauer. 2012. “Hydration of portland cement with high replacement by siliceous fly ash.” Cem. Concr. Res. 42 (10): 1389–1400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2012.06.009.
Dong, Z., and A. Poursaee. 2020. “Corrosion behavior of coupled active and passive reinforcing steels in simulated concrete pore solution.” Constr. Build. Mater. 240 (Apr): 117955. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117955.
Farnam, Y., T. Washington, and J. Weiss. 2015. “The influence of calcium chloride salt solution on the transport properties of cementitious materials.” Adv. Civ. Eng. 2015: 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/929864.
Fu, C., D. Fang, H. Ye, L. Huang, and J. Wang. 2021. “Bond degradation of non-uniformly corroded steel rebars in concrete.” Eng. Struct. 226 (Jan): 111392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2020.111392.
Fu, C., Y. Ling, and K. Wang. 2020. “An innovation study on chloride and oxygen diffusions in simulated interfacial transition zone of cementitious material.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 110 (Jul): 103585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103585.
Fu, C., H. Ye, X. Jin, D. Yan, N. Jin, and Z. Peng. 2016. “Chloride penetration into concrete damaged by uniaxial tensile fatigue loading.” Constr. Build. Mater. 125 (3): 714–723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.08.096.
Halamickova, P., R. J. Detwiler, D. P. Bentz, and E. J. Garboczi. 1995. “Water permeability and chloride ion diffusion in portland cement mortars: Relationship to sand content and critical pore diameter.” Cem. Concr. Res. 25 (4): 790–802. https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-8846(95)00069-O.
Haque, M. N., and H. Al-Khaiat. 1997. “Carbonation of concrete structures in hot dry coastal regions.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 19 (2): 123–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0958-9465(96)00047-9.
He, R., C. Fu, H. Ma, H. Ye, and X. Jin. 2020. “Prediction of effective chloride diffusivity of cement paste and mortar from microstructural features.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 32 (8): 04020211. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0003288.
He, R., H. Ma, R. B. Hafiz, C. Fu, X. Jin, and J. He. 2018. “Determining porosity and pore network connectivity of cement-based materials by a modified non-contact electrical resistivity measurement: Experiment and theory.” Mater. Des. 156 (Oct): 82–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2018.06.045.
He, R., H. Ye, H. Ma, C. Fu, X. Jin, and Z. Li. 2019. “Correlating the chloride diffusion coefficient and pore structure of cement-based materials using modified noncontact electrical resistivity measurement.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 31 (3): 04019006. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002616.
Kim, T. 2019. “The effects of polyaluminum chloride on the mechanical and microstructural properties of alkali-activated slag cement paste.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 96 (Feb): 46–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2018.11.010.
Lafhaj, Z., M. Goueygou, A. Djerbi, and M. Kaczmarek. 2006. “Correlation between porosity, permeability and ultrasonic parameters of mortar with variable water/cement ratio and water content.” Cem. Concr. Res. 36 (4): 625–633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2005.11.009.
Linares-Alemparte, P., C. Andrade, and D. Baza. 2019. “Porosity and electrical resistivity-based empirical calculation of the oxygen diffusion coefficient in concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 198 (Feb): 710–717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.11.269.
Liu, P., Z. Yu, and Y. Chen. 2020. “Carbonation depth model and carbonated acceleration rate of concrete under different environment.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 114 (Nov): 103736. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103736.
Long, W.-J., Y.-C. Gu, F. Xing, and K. H. Khayat. 2018. “Microstructure development and mechanism of hardened cement paste incorporating graphene oxide during carbonation.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 94 (Nov): 72–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2018.08.016.
Marcos-Meson, V., M. Geiker, G. Fischer, A. Solgaard, U. H. Jakobsen, T. Danner, C. Edvardsen, T. L. Skovhus, and A. Michel. 2020. “Durability of cracked SFRC exposed to wet-dry cycles of chlorides and carbon dioxide—Multiscale deterioration phenomena.” Cem. Concr. Res. 135 (Sep): 106120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2020.106120.
Marques, P. F., C. Chastre, and Â. Nunes. 2013. “Carbonation service life modelling of RC structures for concrete with portland and blended cements.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 37 (1): 171–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2012.10.007.
Mehta, P. K., and P. Monteiro. 2014. Concrete: Microstructure, properties, and materials. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Neves, R., F. Branco, and J. De Brito. 2013. “Field assessment of the relationship between natural and accelerated concrete carbonation resistance.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 41 (Aug): 9–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2013.04.006.
Ngala, V. T., and C. L. Page. 1997. “Effects of carbonation on pore structure and diffusional properties of hydrated cement pastes.” Cem. Concr. Res. 27 (7): 995–1007. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(97)00102-6.
Seo, J., S. Kim, S. Park, S. J. Bae, and H. K. Lee. 2021. “Microstructural evolution and carbonation behavior of lime-slag binary binders.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 119 (May): 104000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2021.104000.
Sercombe, J., R. Vidal, C. Gallé, and F. Adenot. 2007. “Experimental study of gas diffusion in cement paste.” Cem. Concr. Res. 37 (4): 579–588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2006.12.003.
Sinsiri, T., P. Chindaprasirt, and C. Jaturapitakkul. 2010. “Influence of fly ash fineness and shape on the porosity and permeability of blended cement pastes.” Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater. 17 (6): 683–690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-010-0374-9.
Sun, R., X. Hu, Y. Ling, Z. Zuo, P. Zhuang, and F. Wang. 2020. “Chloride diffusion behavior of engineered cementitious composite under dry-wet cycles.” Constr. Build. Mater. 260 (Nov): 119943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119943.
Tang, L., and L. O. Nilsson. 1993. “Chloride binding capacity and binding isotherms of OPC pastes and mortars.” Cem. Concr. Res. 23 (2): 247–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-8846(93)90089-R.
Tittarelli, F. 2009. “Oxygen diffusion through hydrophobic cement-based materials.” Cem. Concr. Res. 39 (10): 924–928. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2009.06.021.
Torrent, R. J. 1992. “A two-chamber vacuum cell for measuring the coefficient of permeability to air of the concrete cover on site.” Mater. Struct. 25 (6): 358–365. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02472595.
Villani, C., T. E. Nantung, and W. J. Weiss. 2014. “The influence of deicing salt exposure on the gas transport in cementitious materials.” Constr. Build. Mater. 67 (Part A): 108–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.08.018.
Ye, H., N. Jin, X. Jin, and C. Fu. 2012. “Model of chloride penetration into cracked concrete subject to drying–wetting cycles.” Constr. Build. Mater. 36 (6): 259–269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.05.027.
Ye, H., N. Jin, X. Jin, C. Fu, and W. Chen. 2016a. “Chloride ingress profiles and binding capacity of mortar in cyclic drying-wetting salt fog environments.” Constr. Build. Mater. 127 (Nov): 733–742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.10.059.
Ye, H., X. Jin, C. Fu, N. Jin, Y. Xu, and T. Huang. 2016b. “Chloride penetration in concrete exposed to cyclic drying-wetting and carbonation.” Constr. Build. Mater. 112 (2): 457–463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.02.194.
Yue, Y., J. J. Wang, P. A. M. Basheer, and Y. Bai. 2018. “Raman spectroscopic investigation of Friedel’s salt.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 86 (Feb): 306–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2017.11.023.
Zhang, J., F. Bian, Y. Zhang, Z. Fang, C. Fu, and J. Guo. 2018. “Effect of pore structures on gas permeability and chloride diffusivity of concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 163 (Feb): 402–413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.12.111.
Zhang, J., and G. W. Scherer. 2011. “Comparison of methods for arresting hydration of cement.” Cem. Concr. Res. 41 (10): 1024–1036. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2011.06.003.
Zhou, R., Q. Li, J. Wang, K. Zhou, R. He, and C. Fu. 2021. “Assessment of electrical resistivity and oxygen diffusion coefficient of cementitious materials from microstructure features.” Materials 14 (12): 3141. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14123141.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34 • Issue 10 • October 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 21, 2021
Accepted: Feb 2, 2022
Published online: Jul 21, 2022
Published in print: Oct 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Dec 21, 2022
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
- Ning Yang, Muhammad Akbar, Qing Wu, Zahoor Hussain, Wajahat Sammer Ansari, Microstructural Analysis of Corrosion Products of Steel Rebar in Coral Aggregate Seawater Concrete, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 10.1061/JMCEE7.MTENG-16193, 35, 12, (2023).
- Chuanqing Fu, Rui He, Kejin Wang, Influences of Corrosion Degree and Uniformity on Bond Strength and Cracking Pattern of Cement Mortar and PVA-ECC, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 10.1061/JMCEE7.MTENG-14846, 35, 6, (2023).
- Chunping Gu, Yuzhu Shuang, Yongjie Ji, Haixia Wei, Yang Yang, Yanwen Xu, Rusheng Qian, Dong Cui, Hangjie Zhou, Effect of environmental conditions on the volume deformation of cement mortars with sewage sludge ash, Journal of Building Engineering, 10.1016/j.jobe.2022.105720, 65, (105720), (2023).