Flexural Strength of Cement Paste Beam under Chemical Degradation: Experiments and Simplified Modeling
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 25, Issue 5
Abstract
This paper presents the findings of a research program that developed prediction equations for estimating the flexural strength of degraded paste beams. Deterioration was attributable to calcium leaching from the beam’s four lateral sides. Given that natural leaching is a slow process, an accelerated experiment was performed by using a 6 M ammonium chloride solution. At specified leaching durations, sound and deteriorated beams were tested in flexure using the three-point bending (TPB) test. The leaching depth and the paste’s compressive strength were both measured. Based on the residual rate of compressive strength and the residual rate of the elastic modulus that was obtained from experimental data, the loss of flexural strength with respect to the leached ratio was constructed with a simplified model. The influence of the residual rate of tensile strength on the prediction and the best-fitting curves are presented. The degradation processes between flexural strength and compressive strength are different.
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Acknowledgments
The writers acknowledge financial support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under project No. 50808066 and 50978085, and the Six Talent Peak Project (Class A) of Jiangsu Province. The support of the Experimental Center of Mechanics and Materials in Hohai University has been very helpful and is appreciated.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 25 • Issue 5 • May 2013
Pages: 555 - 562
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 13, 2011
Accepted: Jun 25, 2012
Published online: Aug 25, 2012
Published in print: May 1, 2013
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