Hydration, Pore Solution, and Porosity of Cementitious Pastes Made with Seawater
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 31, Issue 8
Abstract
Unreinforced concrete or concrete reinforced with noncorrosive reinforcement could potentially be mixed with seawater in locations where potable water is scarce. A fundamental understanding of the properties of concrete mixed with seawater is therefore essential. This paper analyzes the hydration kinetics, hydrate phases, pore solution, and porosity of cementitious pastes made with seawater and compares these results with the corresponding ones from pastes made with deionized water. Pastes were prepared with cement and with a 20% mass replacement of the cement with fly ash. Isothermal calorimetry (to study hydration kinetics), thermogravimetric analysis (to study the hydrated phase assemblage), X-ray fluorescence (to determine pore solution composition and electrical resistivity), and dynamic vapor sorption (to determine the pore size distribution) were performed on the paste samples. Seawater accelerates hydration kinetics at an early age; however, this effect is negligible at later ages. Friedel’s salt formation in systems with seawater at later ages is negligible [0.4% (by mass of paste) at 91 days]. The primary difference between the hydrated phases of pastes made with seawater and those made with deionized water appears to be the absorption of chloride in the calcium silicate hydrate. The pore solution in pastes made with seawater has higher sodium, chloride, and hydroxide ion concentrations. The concentrations of sodium, potassium, and hydroxide ions in pore solutions are lower in pastes with fly ash compared to pastes without fly ash. Pastes with seawater show a lower electrical resistivity than pastes with deionized water due to the higher ionic concentrations. Paste with seawater has a slightly finer pore structure compared to paste with deionized water.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Infravation for funding under Project 31109806.005-SEACON, Qatar Foundation Grant No. NPRP9-110-2-052, and ACI Foundation’s Concrete Research Council. The statements made herein are the sole responsibility of the authors.
References
ASTM. 2017a. Standard specification for coal fly ash and raw or calcined natural pozzolan for use in concrete. ASTM C618. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2017b. Standard specification for portland cement. ASTM C150. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Barneyback, R. S., and S. Diamond. 1981. “Expression and analysis of pore fluids from hardened cement pastes and mortars.” Cem. Concr. Res. 11 (2): 279–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-8846(81)90069-7.
Bentz, D. P., T. Barrett, I. De la Varga, and W. J. Weiss. 2012. “Relating compressive strength to heat release in mortars.” Adv. Civ. Eng. Mater. 1 (1): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1520/ACEM20120002.
Brunauer, S., R. S. Mikhail, and E. Bodor. 1967. “Some remarks about capillary condensation and pore structure analysis.” J. Colloid Interface Sci. 25 (3): 353–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9797(67)90041-0.
Chang, M. T., P. Suraneni, O. B. Isgor, D. Trejo, and W. J. Weiss. 2017. “Using X-ray fluorescence to assess the chemical composition and resistivity of simulated cementitious pore solutions.” Int. J. Adv. Eng. Sci. Appl. Math. 9 (3): 136–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12572-017-0181-x.
Durdzinski, P., et al. 2017. “Outcomes of the RILEM round robin on degree of reaction of slag and fly ash in blended cements.” Mater. Struct. 50 (2): 135. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-017-1002-1.
Fagerlund, G. 2009. Chemically bound water as measure of degree of hydration: Method and potential errors. Lund, Sweden: Lund Univ.
Florea, M. V. A., and H. J. H. Brouwers. 2012. “Chloride binding related to hydration products: Part I: Ordinary portland cement.” Cem. Concr. Res. 42 (2): 282–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2011.09.016.
Hirao, H., K. Yamada, H. Takahashi, and H. Zibara. 2005. “Chloride binding of cement estimated by binding isotherms of hydrates.” J. Adv. Concr. Techonol. 3 (1): 77–84. https://doi.org/10.3151/jact.3.77.
Hong, S.-Y., and F. P. Glasser. 1999. “Alkali binding in cement pastes: Part I. The C-S-H phase.” Cem. Concr. Res. 29 (12): 1893–1903. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(99)00187-8.
Hong, S.-Y., and F. P. Glasser. 2002. “Alkali sorption by C-S-H and C-A-S-H gels: Part II. Role of alumina.” Cem. Concr. Res. 32 (7): 1101–1111. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(02)00753-6.
Kaushik, S. K., and S. Islam. 1995. “Suitability of sea water for mixing structural concrete exposed to a marine environment.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 17 (3): 177–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/0958-9465(95)00015-5.
Khatibmasjedi, M. 2018. “Sustainable concrete using seawater and glass fiber reinforced polymer bars.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Miami.
Khatibmasjedi, M., F. D. Caso, and A. Nanni. 2016. “SEACON: Redefining sustainable concrete.” In Proc., 4th Int. Conf. on Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies (SCMT4). Las Vegas, NV.
Khatibmasjedi, M., S. Ramanathan, P. Suraneni, and A. Nanni. 2019. “Shrinkage behavior of cementitious materials mixed with seawater.” Adv. Civ. Eng. Mater. 8 (2). https://doi.org/10.1520/ACEM20180110.
Mohammed, T. U., H. Hamada, and T. Yamaji. 2004. “Performance of seawater-mixed concrete in the tidal environment.” Cem. Concr. Res. 34 (4): 593–601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2003.09.020.
Montanari, L., A. Amirkhanian, P. Suraneni, and W. J. Weiss. 2018a. “Toward a mixture design methodology for internally cured concrete based on autogenous shrinkage.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 30 (7): 04018137. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002331.
Montanari, L., P. Suraneni, M. Tsui-Chang, C. Villani, and W. J. Weiss. 2018b. “Absorption and desorption of superabsorbent polymers for use in internally cured concrete.” Adv. Civ. Eng. Mater. 7 (4): 547–566. https://doi.org/10.1520/ACEM20180008.
Nayar, K. G., D. Panchanathan, G. H. McKinley, and J. H. Lienhard. 2014. “Surface tension of seawater.” J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 43 (4): 043103. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4899037.
Nishida, T., N. Otsuki, H. Ohara, and Z. M. Garba-Say. 2015. “Some considerations for applicability of seawater as mixing water in concrete.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 27 (7): B40140041. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0001006.
Poisson, A., C. Brunet, and J. C. Brun-Cottan. 1980. “Density of standard seawater solutions at atmospheric pressure.” Deep Sea Res. Part A 27 (12): 1013–1028. https://doi.org/10.1016/0198-0149(80)90062-X.
Qiao, C., P. Suraneni, N. W. Y. Then, A. Choudhary, and W. J. Weiss. 2019. “Chloride binding of cement pastes with fly ash exposed to CaCl2 solutions at 5 and 23°C.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 97: 43–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2018.12.011.
Qiao, C., P. Suraneni, and W. J. Weiss. 2018. “Damage in cement pastes exposed to NaCl solutions.” Constr. Build. Mater. 171: 120–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.03.123.
Selicato, F., M. Moro, L. Bertolini, and A. Nanni. 2015. “Towards sustainability of concrete without chloride limits.” In Proc., 1st International Workshop on Durability and Sustainability of Concrete Structures, DSCS 2015. Farmington Hills, MI: American Concrete Institute.
Shi, Z., M. R. Geiker, B. Lothenbach, K. De Weerdt, S. F. Garzón, K. Enemark-Rasmussen, and J. Skibsted. 2017. “Friedel’s salt profiles from thermogravimetric analysis and thermodynamic modelling of portland cement-based mortars exposed to sodium chloride solution.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 78: 73–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2017.01.002.
Shi, Z., Z. Shui, Q. Li, and H. Geng. 2015. “Combined effect of metakaolin and sea water on performance and microstructures of concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 74: 57–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.10.023.
Snyder, K. A., X. Feng, B. D. Keen, and T. O. Mason. 2003. “Estimating the electrical conductivity of cement paste pore solutions from OH−, K+ and Na+ concentrations.” Cem. Concr. Res. 33 (6): 793–798. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(02)01068-2.
Suraneni, P., V. J. Azad, O. B. Isgor, and W. J. Weiss. 2016. “Calcium oxychloride formation in pastes containing supplementary cementitious materials: Thoughts on the role of cement and supplementary cementitious materials reactivity.” RILEM Tech. Lett. 1: 24–30. https://doi.org/10.21809/rilemtechlett.2016.7.
Suraneni, P., J. Monical, E. Unal, Y. Farnam, and W. J. Weiss. 2017. “Calcium oxychloride formation potential in cementitious pastes exposed to blends of deicing salt.” ACI Mater. J. 114 (4): 631–641.
Thomas, M. 2011. “The effect of supplementary cementing materials on alkali-silica reaction: A review.” Cem. Concr. Res. 41 (12): 1224–1231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2010.11.003.
Todd, N. T. 2015. “Assessing risk reduction of high early strength concrete mixtures.” M.S. thesis, School of Civil Engineering, Purdue Univ.
Todd, N. T., P. Suraneni, and W. J. Weiss. 2017. “Hydration of cement pastes containing accelerator at various temperatures: Application to high early strength pavement patching.” Adv. Civ. Eng. Mater. 6 (2): 23–37. https://doi.org/10.1520/ACEM20160079.
Tsui-Chang, M., P. Suraneni, L. Montanari, J. F. Munoz, and W. J. Weiss. 2019. “Determination of chemical composition and electrical resistivity of expressed cementitious pore solutions using X-ray Fluorescence.” ACI Mater. J. 116 (1): 155–164.
Villani, C., R. Spragg, R. Tokpatayeva, J. Olek, and W. J. Weiss. 2014. “Characterizing the pore structure of carbonated natural wollastonite.” In Proc., 4th Int. Conf. on the Durability of Concrete Structures. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue Univ.
Vollpracht, A., B. Lothenbach, R. Snellings, and J. Haufe. 2016. “The pore solution of blended cements: A review.” Mater. Struct. 49 (8): 3341–3367. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-015-0724-1.
Xiao, J., C. Qiang, A. Nanni, and K. Zhang. 2017. “Use of sea-sand and seawater in concrete construction: Current status and future opportunities.” Constr. Build. Mater. 155: 1101–1111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.08.130.
Younis, A., U. Ebead, P. Suraneni, and A. Nanni. 2018. “Fresh and hardened properties of seawater-mixed concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 190: 276–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.09.126.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 12, 2018
Accepted: Mar 13, 2019
Published online: May 24, 2019
Published in print: Aug 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Oct 24, 2019
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.