Calculation of Sulfate Diffusion Coefficients of Concrete Based on Migration Test
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 35, Issue 11
Abstract
External sulfate attack is a remarkable and complex phenomenon of degradation of cement matrixes. This paper proposes a method to calculate sulfate diffusion coefficients based on ion migration testing, in order to establish parameters for concrete service life prediction models based on a fast test. The influence of the type (sodium and magnesium) and concentration (5% and 10% ) of the sulfate solution for a concrete matrix was evaluated in the tests. Sulfate concentrations were monitored by measuring the electrical conductivity of the anode compartment. The results were validated by comparing them with those obtained in natural diffusion tests. Similar sulfate profiles were obtained for concrete samples after 1 month of migration and after 3 and 6 months of diffusion, mainly for magnesium sulfate. The greatest correlations between the calculated diffusion coefficients were achieved at higher concentrations of in the cathode compartment. The results indicated that the proposed migration method enables the calculation of the sulfate diffusion coefficients in concrete.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the State University of Ponta Grossa for providing the infrastructure for this research, in particular the multiuser laboratories complex (C-LABMU); the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq); and the Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for funding in the form of scholarships. This work was supported by the Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes), foundation of the Ministry of Education (MEC), Brazil.
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 14, 2022
Accepted: Apr 10, 2023
Published online: Aug 28, 2023
Published in print: Nov 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jan 28, 2024
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