Effect of Carbonation Curing on Portland Cement Attack: Laboratory Characterization at 900 Days
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33, Issue 4
Abstract
Sulfate exposure at low temperatures is known to accelerate chemical deterioration in limestone cement concrete by promoting thaumasite formation. Carbonation curing as an emerging sequestration strategy converts gaseous into mineral calcite, a key species that incurs thaumasite formation in conventional limestone cements. To clarify the risk of thaumasite sulfate attack after carbonation curing, this paper presents a laboratory characterization of carbonation-cured mortars stored in a solution at 6°C for up to 900 days. It was found that carbonation curing suppressed mortar swelling and enhanced material mechanical integrity and dimensional stability. The mineral thaumasite and gypsum were significantly lessened after carbonation curing. The maximum longitudinal expansion of mortar bars during exposure was lowered from to less than 0.06% by carbonation curing. The compressive strength of carbonation-cured mortars remained higher than 60 MPa whereas the noncarbonated control decreased to less than 2 MPa. Moreover, mortar critical pore diameter after storage decreased from (noncarbonated) to (carbonation-cured), with the total pore volume lowered by resulting from carbonation curing. The pore densification led by calcium carbonate precipitation tends to limit ingress and prevent mortar interior damage. It was concluded that the calcium carbonate converted from through carbonation curing did not promote thaumasite formation, and material durability with respect to thaumasite sulfate attack could be further enhanced after carbonation curing.
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Data Availability Statement
No data, models, or code were generated or used during the study.
Acknowledgments
Financial support for Dr. Beata Jaworska was provided by the Dr. Anatole S. and Pamela D. Dekaban Fund through the Dekaban Fellowship in 2018–2019.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 4 • April 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 5, 2020
Accepted: Aug 31, 2020
Published online: Jan 26, 2021
Published in print: Apr 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Jun 26, 2021
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