Calculating liquid transport into high-performance concrete during wet freeze/thaw

A method for calculation of the liquid transport into high-performance concrete (HPC) during wet freeze/thaw exposure is proposed. This transport, or pumping effect, which is larger than absorption above 0 °C, is in the present calculation assumed to be caused by diffusion of water from the wet surface, through hardened cement paste (HCP) where water in nonfreezable, to large voids with very low vapour content. Saturated flow is assumed between the wet concrete surface and the active voids. Cranks solution for stationary transport into a hollow sphere of mean radius r? is combined with Powers spacing factor. The shell thickness is the mean void spacing factor (L?). The flow into voids was calculated (“good” vs. “bad” void system) for various maximum possible moisture potentials between wet surface, saturated HCP and active void (at 263 K and 1 atm; Δp=saturation pressure=260 Pa or Δv=moisture content=0.00215 kg/m³ in void, etc.). Realistic voids and diffusivity were used. The calculation fits with liquid uptake measured in wet freeze/thaw of HPC with exposed surface equal to the surface of the active voids. The lower the void content, the lower is the pumping effect. Nonstationary transport, further experiments and simulations are discussed briefly.     

Influence of compaction on the interfacial transition zone and the permeability of concrete

The interfacial transition zone (ITZ) is regarded as a key feature for the transport properties and the durability of concrete. In this study one self-compacting concrete (SCC) mixture and two conventionally vibrated concrete (CVC) mixtures are studied in order to determine the influence of compaction on the porosity of the ITZ. Additionally oxygen permeability and water conductivity were measured in vertical and horizontal direction. The quantitative analysis of images made with an optical microscope and an environmental scanning electron microscope shows a significantly increased porosity and width of the ITZ in CVC compared to SCC. At the same time oxygen permeability and water conductivity of CVC are increased in comparison to SCC. Moreover, considerable differences in the porosity of the lower, lateral and upper ITZ are observed in both types of concrete. The anisotropic distribution of pores in the ITZ does not necessarily cause anisotropy in oxygen permeability and water conductivity though.     

A numerical model for elastic modulus of concrete considering interfacial transition zone

The effect of interfacial transition zone on mechanical properties of concrete has been found to be significant, thus the interfacial transition zone should be considered in the analysis for better estimation of elastic modulus of concrete. However, it is difficult to estimate elastic modulus of concrete practically using simple models proposed so far. In this study, a numerical concrete model that adopts three-phase model and finite element with material discontinuity was proposed to analyze concrete with complex interface in three dimensions. The validity of the proposed model was verified by comparing the calculated elastic moduli of concrete with those obtained from experiments. The effect of interfacial transition zone on elastic modulus of concrete with either low or high w/c was also investigated. The analysis results suggest that careful selection of characteristics for interfacial transition zone should be made for the accurate estimation of elastic modulus of concrete.     

Analysis of iron oxides accumulating at the interface between aggregates and cement paste

Iron oxides formed by the corrosion of a steel reinforcing bar were found to accumulate at interfaces between aggregate and cement paste in Portland cement-based concrete. Microstructural characterization of the zones of oxide was carried out using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. The study showed that the oxide layer has an average thickness of about 1.5 mm, and consists of inner and outer layers with different types of oxides in each layer. A mechanism based on the Schikorr reaction is proposed for the preferential formation of iron oxides in the two layers taking into account local variations in pH of the pore solution during the early ages of the cement paste.     

A study on characteristics of interfacial transition zone in concrete

The aim of this study was to observe the behavior of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) of high-performance concrete that was under curing in saturated lime water. From the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), it was found that the pores and hydration products at the ITZ, within 100 μm between the paste and aggregate, permuted each other during the early hydration stage, and then appeared as a large lump or strip. They gradually became irregular and small lumps for the further curing age. At the curing age of 56 days, the pores almost concentrated within an area of 0-15 μm from the aggregate edge. The hydration products were much denser with the increase in its distance from the aggregate edge.     

An inverse method to determine the elastic properties of the interphase between the aggregate and the cement paste

Concrete is a three-phase material consisting of cement paste matrix, discrete inclusions of rock (aggregate), and an interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between the matrix and the inclusions. We model the material as a composite formed by a matrix with embedded spherical particles; each surrounded by a concentric spherical shell. Effective elastic moduli of this composite are evaluated on the basis of the generalized self-consistent scheme (GSCS). This formulation is used to solve the inverse problem of determining the elastic moduli of the ITZ from experimentally known elastic properties of the composite.     

Observations of air-bubbles escaped from fresh cement paste

Recent experimental work is presented using a new technique to observe bubbles that have escaped from cement pastes and suspended in the bleed water. These experiments suggest that the stability of an air-entrained bubble may be related to the integrity of the hydration shell. This paper also reviews literature dealing with changes to air bubbles with time in fresh air entrained cement paste and concrete and to the existence of a shell surrounding these bubbles.     

Approximate migration coefficient of percolated interfacial transition zone by using the accelerated chloride migration test

In this study, the electrochemical technique is applied to accelerate chloride ion migration in cement-based material to estimate its migration coefficient. In order to investigate the chloride migration coefficient of percolated interfacial transition zone (ITZ) on the chloride migration coefficient of specimen, specimens with cylindrical aggregates of the same height as the specimen were cast and tested. In this study, the volume fraction of aggregate is constant and the varied lateral surface area of the aggregate cylinder was obtained by using different diameters and number of aggregate. The chloride migration coefficient of cement-based material was determined experimentally as a function of the lateral surface area of aggregate. A model obtained for the migration coefficient of cement-based material and the regression analysis are used to determine the approximate chloride migration coefficient of the percolated ITZ. Based on the experimental and regression analytical results, the approximate percolated ITZ migration coefficient is 40.6, 35.5, and 37.8 times of the altered migration coefficient of matrix mortar for the water/cement (w/c) ratio of 0.35, 0.45, and 0.55, respectively.     

The physical and chemical characteristics of the shell of air-entrained bubbles in cement paste

Recent research has suggested that the shell of an air-entrained void is important for resisting coalescence between air-voids and diffusion of gas from the surrounding fluid. The current paper describes the physical and chemical properties of an air-void shell during the first 2 h of hydration and chemical characteristics at 60 days. Results from this research suggest that the air-void shells found in air-entrained paste have varied physical properties and the crystalline material of these shells is largely made up of fine cement particles during the first 2 h of hydration. Observations of paste at 60 days of hydration suggest that the shell is made up of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) with a morphology different from that in the bulk paste.     

Influence of aggregate size, water cement ratio and age on the microstructure of the interfacial transition zone

This paper presents the results of an investigation on the effect of water-cement ratio (w/c), aggregate size, and age on the microstructure of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between normal weight aggregate and the bulk cement paste. Backscattered electron images (BSE) obtained by scanning electron microscope were used to characterize the ITZ microstructure. The results suggest that the w/c plays an important role in controlling the microstructure of the ITZ and its thickness. Reducing w/c from 0.55 to 0.40 resulted in an ITZ with characteristics that are not distinguishable from those of the bulk paste as demonstrated by BSE images. Aggregate size appears to have an important influence on the ITZ characteristics. Reducing the aggregate size tends to reduce the ITZ porosity. The evolution of the ITZ microstructure relative to that of the bulk paste appears to depend on the initial content of the unhydrated cement grains (UH). The results suggest that the presence of a relatively low amount of UH in the ITZ at early age may cause the porosity of the ITZ, relative to that of the bulk paste, to increase with time. The presence of relatively large amount of UH in the ITZ at early ages may cause its porosity, relative to that of the bulk paste, to decrease with time.     

Carbonation around near aggregate regions of old hardened concrete cement paste

Analogous with most modern cities, waste disposal is a pressing issue due to limited landfill and public filling (land reclamation) areas in Hong Kong in which construction and demolition (C&D) waste forms the major source. Concrete, apportioning the largest portion of C&D waste, has the greatest potential for recycling. However, the knowledge on micro-structural behavior of concrete waste is immature to give adequate details on the macro-behavior of concrete waste. This paper attempts to examine the problems of recycling old concrete by investigating the microstructure and phase transformation of the concrete samples collected from buildings with 46 and 37 years of services. From the results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination, it is found that there are a lot of pores at the near layers of aggregate where carbonation of the hardened cement paste (HCP) is high. The pores may be generated as a result of poor workmanship such as insufficient concrete mixing time, trapping of air voids beneath coarse aggregate, inappropriate water to cement ratio, and the microclimate conditions such as humidity that affects the demand on water from the aggregate during mixing.     

On the mechanism of strength enhancement of cement paste and mortar with triisopropanolamine

Recent work on the strength-enhancing mechanism of triisopropanolamine (TIPA) suggested that TIPA enhances the mechanical properties of mortar and concrete by acting on the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between paste and sand or aggregate rather than improving the properties of the hydrated binder. This paper presents compressive strength data for 10 Portland cements tested as cement paste as well as two different kinds of mortar after 28 days hydration, so that these two mechanisms could be compared directly. The average strength improvement with TIPA was 10% in the hydrated portland cement paste and 9% in the mortar, clearly showing that the strength enhancement is not dependent on an ITZ mechanism.     

Application of nanoindentation testing to study of the interfacial transition zone in steel fiber reinforced mortar

The characteristics of the profiles of elastic modulus and hardness of the steel fiber-matrix and fiber-matrix-aggregate interfacial zones in steel fiber reinforced mortars have been investigated by using nanoindentation and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), where two sets of parameters, i.e. water/binder ratio and content of silica fume were considered. Different interfacial bond conditions in the interfacial transition zones (ITZ) are discussed. For sample without silica fume, efficient interfacial bonds across the steel fiber-matrix and fiber-matrix-aggregate interfaces are shown in low water/binder ratio mortar; while in high water/binder ratio mortar, due to the discontinuous bleeding voids underneath the fiber, the fiber-matrix bond is not very good. On the other hand, for sample with silica fume, the addition of 10% silica fume leads to no distinct presence of weak ITZ in the steel fiber-matrix interface; but the effect of the silica fume on the steel fiber-matrix-aggregate interfacial zone is not obvious due to voids in the vicinity of steel fiber.     

Observations of ice lens formation and frost heave in young Portland cement paste

As part of a research program to image frozen cement past specimens, abnormal microstructural formations are seen in specimens frozen after 10-h hydration. The formations are areas of loose microstructure with aspect ratios of 6-10, which appear perpendicular to the direction of cooling in the specimen. After sublimation of the water in the specimens during the imaging process, these formations collapse, indicating that ice is instrumental to their structure. These formations coincide with longitudinal cracks in the specimen, which do not appear to be due to specimen preparation and are consistent with an internal tensile strain. The authors have hypothesized that ice lens formation and frost heave, or a similar freezing mechanism, is responsible for these microstructural features, which are seen in 10-h specimens and are absent in all other cement paste specimens. Triaxial permeability tests have also shown that the cement paste mix used in this study has a permeability at 10-h age of ∼10⁻⁶ cm/s. This permeability is similar to that of silty soil, some of the most susceptible to frost heave.     

Numerical simulation of hydration-driven moisture transport in bulk and interface paste in hardening concrete

In real concrete two types of cement paste can be distinguished, i.e., bulk paste and interface paste. Initially the paste in the interface zone will generally contain more water than the bulk paste and will therefore hydrate differently. Differences in relative humidity and associated differences in pore water pressure will result as well. If the interface paste and the bulk paste could hydrate individually, a situation will result where a relatively porous water-rich interfacial zone coexists with a relatively dry bulk paste. However, due to gradients in porosity, permeability, relative humidity and pore water pressure, a flow of moisture will start from the water-rich interfacial zone to the bulk paste. It will be shown how the moisture transport can be simulated numerically and how this transport phenomenon influences the overall rate of hydration of cement in concrete. Numerical results are compared with experimental data presented in literature. The relevance of modelling of this kind of transport phenomena is briefly dealt with.     

Digital laminography assessment of the damage in concrete exposed to freezing temperatures

The research explores the possibility of using digital laminography as a non-destructive inspection X-ray method to image the damage existing in concrete exposed to low temperatures. Freezing-thawing and scaling tests were performed and digital laminography was used to determine the degree of damage existing inside the concrete samples. First, digital laminography was performed on the concrete sample and then a visual inspection was done by slicing the sample after it was vacuum-impregnated with epoxy in order to compare the differences in crack width.     

Effects of metakaolin, water/binder ratio and interfacial transition zones on the microhardness of cement mortars

Variations in the microhardness of the hydrated cement matrix component of model mortars have been investigated as functions of the distance from the aggregate surfaces for specimens in which the binder was Portland cement or a blend of Portland cement and metakaolin.Microhardness measurements were made using a Knoop indenter at distances of up to 120 μm from the aggregate. The microhardnesses of the paste-aggregate interfacial transition zones (ITZs) were found to be between 14% and 22% lower than those of the corresponding bulk cement pastes at the lower water/binder ratios investigated, i.e. 0.4 and 0.5 for samples prepared with Portland cement and 0.4 for samples prepared with a binder comprising Portland cement and metakaolin.Metakaolin increased the mean microhardness of specimens prepared at the higher water/binder ratios of 0.5 and 0.6 by 13% and 54%, respectively.     

Influence of the aggregate on the electrical conductivity of Portland cement concretes

The electrical conductivity and compressive strength of several high-performance Portland concretes with different amounts of crushed aggregate and sand have been measured at early age in isothermal conditions (20 °C). The total aggregate volume fraction varied from 0 (plain paste) to 0.75 and a constant weight ratio (1.2) between crushed aggregate and sand was used. The w/c ratio was 0.37 and microsilica (in slurry form) and a superplasticizer in water solution were used.The time taken before the electrical conductivity began to drop correlated very well with the induction period. The drop of conductivity was slightly delayed by the aggregate. The analysis of the electrical data, by means of different numerical and analytical models [hard core soft shell model (HCSS), differential effective medium theory (DEMT), Lu-Torquato, Maxwell], allowed an estimate of the properties of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ). In particular, an ITZ thickness of about 9 μm and an ITZ to bulk conductivity ratio of ∼2.5 were found. The existence of a percolating pathway through the interfacial regions was found by both electrical measurement and modeling when the aggregate volume fractions exceeded 60%. Finally, a new relationship among electrical conductivity, compressive strength, and aggregate amount was derived.     

Effects of alkali addition on the mechanical properties and durability of concrete

Increasing the concrete alkali content from 0.6% to 1.25% of Na₂O_e of the cement mass by adding NaOH to the mixture water has harmful effects on most mechanical properties (compressive, splitting, direct tensile, and flexure strengths) of concrete made with a water-to-cement (w/c) ratio of 0.41 and limestone aggregates not susceptible to alkali-silica reaction (ASR), however not on the elasticity modulus measured under compression or direct tension. Shrinkage tests at 50% RH and 23 °C started after 7 days at 100% RH and 23 °C show that the low-alkali concrete shrinks more than the high-alkali one, despite similar water losses. Freeze-thaw tests performed on air-entrained concretes show that the two concretes resist well to freezing and thawing while showing similar air-void systems. When examined under the scanning electron microscope (SEM), the hydrates in the two concretes present similar microstructure; however, the high-alkali concrete shows a more reticular and porous microtexture, which could explain the reduction in strength.     

An approach to optimizing mix design for properties of high-performance concrete

Laboratory and in situ test results reveal that the densified mixture design algorithm (DMDA) can be used to produce high-performance concrete (HPC) of good durability and high workability. The water-to-solid (W/S) weight ratio is known to have significant influence on the volume stability of concrete. This paper discusses strength of f′c>56 MPa, slumps of 230-270 mm, effect of the W/S ratio on the development of strength and durability of HPC at both fresh and hardened states. In addition to the water-to-cement (W/C) ratio and water-to-binder (W/B) ratio, the W/S ratio also has a significant effect on the performance of concrete. The utilization of fly ash and slag has been proven beneficial to the rheology of HPC in enhancing its strength development and durability.