Influence of Different European Cements on the Hydration of Cover-Zone Concrete during the Curing and Postcuring Periods
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 25, Issue 9
Abstract
The durability of reinforced concrete structures depends, in the main, on the performance of the cover-zone concrete, which protects the steel from the external environment. This paper focuses on the use of discretized electrical property measurements to study depth-related features during both the curing and postcuring period, thereby allowing an integrated assessment of the protective properties of the cover region. In the current work, use is made of a small, multielectrode array embedded within the surface 75 mm of concrete specimens. Concretes were manufactured with different European cements (CEM) and water/binder ratios representing mixes that satisfied the minimum requirements for a range of environmental exposure classes, including exposure to chlorides. Electrical resistance measurements were taken over a period in excess of 300 days which showed ongoing hydration, pozzolanic reaction, and pore-structure refinement; in addition, in the postcuring period, when exposed to a cyclic chloride ponding regime, measurements could be used to study the convective zone and ionic enrichment of the surface layer.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, U.K. (research grants EP/G025096/1, EP/G02152X, and EP/I005846). The technical support of AmphoraNDT (http://www.amphorandt.com) is also gratefully acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 25 • Issue 9 • September 2013
Pages: 1335 - 1343
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 8, 2012
Accepted: Sep 5, 2012
Published online: Sep 6, 2012
Discussion open until: Feb 6, 2013
Published in print: Sep 1, 2013
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