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Schutter-Audenaert2004 Article EvaluationOfWaterAbsorptionOfC
Schutter-Audenaert2004 Article EvaluationOfWaterAbsorptionOfC
ABSTRACT RI~SUMI~
The pore structure of concrete is known to be of high Il est bien connu que la durabilit6 du b~ton est corrdl6e avec
importance for the durability of the material. A les caract6ristiques de la structure des pores. Beaucoup de
characterisation of this pore structure by means of a simple test recherches ont dOjh 6tOfaites concernant la caractdrisation de
is often investigated, in order to find a very simple compliance cette structure h I'aide d'un essai simple, et ceci, afin de trouver
criterion with respect to concrete durability. Within some un critkre d'acceptation simple garantissant la durabilitd.
daily-used Belgian technical guidelines, the water absorption Parfois, l'absorption d'eau par immersion est considdr~e
by immersion is considered to be a relevant parameter in this comme un paramdtre important clans ce contexte, it l "aide d'un
respect. Based on an extended experimental research programme expOrimental de recherche sur 22 compositions
programme, with tests on 22 different concrete mixes diff6rentes (comprenant b6ton traditionnel et b6ton auto-
(traditional concrete and self-compacting concrete), t h e plaganO la relation entre l "absorption d'eau par immersion et
relation between water absorption by immersion and some deux aspects de la durabilit~ du bOton a Ot6 ~tudi6e. Le
concrete durability issues is investigated. Within these tests, programme exp6rimental inclut des essais accOl6r6s de
accelerated carbonation and chloride migration tests are carbonatation et de p6n6tration de chlorures. En plus, quelques
realised. Furthermore, some technological parameters are paramOtres technologiques ont 6tO examines, comme le rapport
investigated, related with the volume to surface ratio of the entre le volume et la surface des 6chantillons. De ces essais, il
specimens used for the water absorption test. It is concluded est conclu que le rapport volume~surface n 'est pas un paramktre
that the influence of the volume-to-surface ratio of the signifiant, tenu compte de la variabilitd des rd,sultats individuels.
specimens is not significant when considering the natural De plus, l'absorption d'eau par immersion n'est pas un
scatter on the test results. Furthermore, the water absorption paramktre fiable pour l'estimation de la r~sistance contre la
by immersion is not a reliable parameter for the estimation of carbonatation et la migration de chlorures. L "absorption d'eau
the concrete durability. The water absorption by immersion par immersion donne une idde globale de la porosit~ totale du
gives an estimation of the total (reachable) pore volume of the b6ton. Malheureusement, l'absorption d'eau par immersion
concrete, but gives no indication on the concrete permeability, n "estpasfortementcorr616e avec lapermdabilit6 ; celle-ci est un
which is more important with regard to durability. param~tre plus important pour la durabilitO.
Editorial Note
Prof. Dr. It. Geert De Schutter is a RILEM Senior Member. He is the Chairman of RILEM TC DSC "Durability of self-compacting
concrete' and also participates in RILEM TCs 195-DTD 'Recommendation for test methods for autogenous deformation and thermal
dilation of early age concrete ', 188-CSC 'Casting of self-compacting concrete' and 196-ICC 'Internal curing of concretes '.
He was afffarded the Robert L'Hermite Medal in 2001.
induced corrosion (penetration of chloride ions). The during 24 hours is less than 0.1%. The obtained saturated
permeability of the concrete is depending on the porosity, mass is called Ms. Afterwards, the specimens are dried in a
and on the connectivity of the pores. The more open the pore ventilated oven at a temperature of 105_+5~ until the
structure of the concrete, the more vulnerable the material is difference in mass during 24 hours is less than 0.1%. The
to degradation mechanisms caused by penetrating substances. dry mass is called Mo. The water absorption by immersion
A detailed discussion of the relation between permeability (W) is expressed as the water uptake relative to the dry mass:
and porosity is out of the scope of this paper. Reference can
be made to literature [1]. W- Ms - MD (1)
A detailed characterisation of the pore structure of the MD
concrete can be realised by means of advanced techniques
like electron microscopy or X-ray computed tomography [2]. According to the Belgian Standard, the specimen shape is
However, these techniques are rather cumbersome, and are not strictly regulated. The ratio of volume to surface (V/S
neither available nor useful for daily concrete practice: A ratio) however has to be within the range of 12 to 20 ram.
reliable and practical representation of the effect of the pore Within the experiments, as described hereafter, also V/S
structure on durability by means of one simple test result ratios outside this range will be tested, in order to study the
would clearly be a major step forward for concrete practice. influence of this parameter. The volume of all the specimens
The use of practical test results, as a criterion for considered is within the range of 800 to 1200 cm 3, in
durability of concrete has been the topic of previous accordance with the Belgian Standard.
publications [3-7]. It is well established that the durability
of concrete is to a great extent determined by the ability of
potentially aggressive substances to penetrate into the pore 3. C A R B O N A T I O N AND CHLORIDE
system of the concrete. This is the reason why testing of MIGRATION
transport parameters for concrete, such as permeability,
diffusivity or absorption behaviour, has often been done on In Belgium, as in many other countries, reinforcement
the basis of durability considerations [3]. A problem with corrosion is the main cause of damage to concrete
this approach however is the lack of data on correlation structures [8]. The hundreds of papers published in the last
between the transport characteristics and the resistance of two decades on the subject of reinforcement corrosion are a
the concrete to different degradation mechanisms [3]. testimony to the international scale of the problem. It is
In Belgium, the water absorption by immersion is daily well known that this degradation process can be initiated by
used as a practical compliance criterion with regard to concrete two different mechanisms: carbonation and chloride
durability. This can be seen in numerous technical penetration. Atmospheric carbon dioxide reacts with the
prescriptions (and even in some codes) regarding concrete calcium hydroxide, leading to a reduction of the pore
products for infrastructure, sewer systems, stables and solution pH values. The result is a depassivation of the
buildings (NBN B21-011 (1994) "Tuyaux en brton non arm6 steel in contact with the carbonated zones. The chloride
non soumis/t pression interne", PTV 101 (1998) "Chambres ions may be present in the concrete mix, through the
de visite prrfabriqures en briton", PTV 102 (1999)"Elrments aggregates, the mixing water, or an accelerating admixture.
de pertuis rectangulaires prdfabriqurs en brton arm6", PTV However, this is fortunately not common. More frequently,
200 (1997) "E16ments de structure prrfabriqurs en brton arm6 chlorides penetrate from outside, either due to the presence
ou prrcontraint", PTV 201 (1997) "E16ments prdfabriqurs de of seawater, or because of the application of de-icing salts.
planchers alvroles en brton arm6 et prrcontraint", PTV 202 As these two mechanisms - carbonation and chloride
(1999) "Prrdalles en brton arm6 et prrcontraint (6galement penetration - are responsible for the most common damage
destinres aux ouvrages d'art"), PTV 203 (1997) "E16ments problems related to reinforced concrete structures, they will
prdfabriqurs en bdton arm6 et prdcontraint pour stabulations", be focused on within the experimental part of this research.
PTV 21-601 (2001) "E16ments architectoniques et industriels
prrfabriquds en brton ddcoratif',...). In this approach, the
water absorption by immersion is determined according to the 4. E X P E R I M E N T A L P R O G R A M
Belgian Standard NBN B15-215 (1989). Requirements are
typically twofold: a limiting value for the individual test results 4.1 Technological parameters
(e.g. limited to 6%), and a requirement for the mean test result
(e.g. limited to 5.5%). Based on practical experience however, In a first part of the experimental program, the influence
this approach was criticised recently. On this occasion, an of some technological parameters on the determination of
experimental evaluation is made of the usefulness of the water the water absorption by immersion is investigated.
absorption by immersion as an indication for concrete Specimens of different sizes are considered, and the
durability. influence on the resulting water absorption is evaluated.
These tests are realised on concrete mixes 1, 2 and 3, as
given in Table 1.
2. WATER ABSORPTION BY IMMERSION The specimens tested are cylindrical cores, drilled from
the centre part of concrete cubes with side length 150 mm or
The water absorption by immersion is determined from the central part of concrete prisms 150 m m x 150 m m x
according to the Belgian Standard NBN B15-215 (1989). 600 ram. Different combinations of diameter and height are
Principally, the test consists of two major steps: saturating considered, with diameters ranging from 50 mm to 113 ram,
the specimens followed by drying. First, the concrete and heights ranging from 50 mm to 250 ram. The V/S ratio
specimens are immersed in water until the change in mass
592
Materials' and Structures / Matdriaux et Constructions, Vol. 37, November 2004
593
De Schutter, Audenaert
5.2 Relation with carbonation and chloride Fig. 2 -Relation between water absorption and air content of the
fresh concrete.
migration
The experimentally obtained results concerning the 80
influence of water absorption by immersion on the durability
of concrete are given in Table 3. Fig. 2 shows the relation
between the air content of the fresh concrete and the water 560
absorption by immersion at 28 days. No correlation is noticed
between both parameters. A better correlation is obtained
40
between the compressive strength and the water absorption, as
shown in Fig. 3. As can be expected, higher water absorption '-""" 30 l -
points at a higher porosity, and thus a lower concrete strength.
However, the correlation is still not very high (R2=0.52). O
In literature, water permeability is accepted as a parameter o 10 I,
related with concrete durability. For mixes 1 to 6 the water 0~
permeability was tested as explained before. For these mixes, 3 4 5 6 7
Fig. 4 shows no relation between the entrained water quantity
Water absorption (%)
within the test period and the water absorption by immersion.
Fig. 5 gives a similar result, now looking at the entrained water Fig. 3 - Relation between water absorption and compressive
in terms of penetrated distance during the test. According to strength.
these results, there seems to be no relation between the water
absorption by immersion and the water permeability. A 40
0
35
Althoughpermeability, of course, plays a role in the absorption
.~ 30 R2= 0 . 0 3 4 6 ~ - -
of water, the water absorption by immersion clearly is not a
very sensitive parameter with respect to water permeability. f
The water absorption gives an idea of the total reachable pore
volume (time being no parameter in the test method), but is not
representative for the permeability of the concrete (for which 5 i
time is an important parameter). As for durability the 0 ~
permeability is more impo~nt, it can be expected that water 4 4.5 5 5.5 6
absorption by immersion is not a representative parameter in Water absorption (%)
this respect. Fig. 4 - Relation between water absorption and water permeability
(quantity).
/ 594
M a t e r i a l s ' a n d S t r u c t u r e s / Matdriaux et Constructions, Vol. 37, November 2004
significant correlation
Table 3 - E x p e r i m e n t a l r e s u l t s c o n c e r n i n g i n f l u e n c e o n d u r a b i l i t y
exists between carbonation
Water Air content Compressive Water Water Carbonation Chloride
and water absorption (R 2
absorption of fresh strength at 28 penetration penetration (mm/~/year) migration
Mix about 0.28) or between
at 28 days concrete days (N/ram :) (cc) (mm) (1012mVs)
(%) (%) chloride migration and
1 5.2 2.7 50.6 22 53 7.2 water absorption (R 2 about
2 6.0 3.4 46.2 22 52 18.0 0.20). This might be
3 5.3 2.5 49.1 38 65 7.2 explained by the earlier
4 4.1 2.0 55.7 21 53 7.2 finding that the water
5 5.8 2.1 39.8 13 63 32.5 absorption by immersion is
6 5.8 2.1 37.1 18 69 57.7 not a representative
7 4.9 1.8 45.9 15.5 14.2
parameter for the
8 4.6 1.2 48.8 6.4 11.7
permeability of the
9 4.7 1.3 50.7 - 5.6 8.6
concrete. Furthermore, the
10 4.8 2.2 54.0 - 14.7 11.5
important effect o f e.g.
11 5.0 2.0 54.1 - 21.7 8.1
cement type with respect to
12 5.1 2.4 62.9 23.6 4.6
carbonation mechanism and
13 4.4 1.6 65.0 20.1 11.3
chloride binding capacity of
14 5.0 2.6 46.4 46.4 16.6
15 the concrete is not included
4.7 1.6 64.2 13.2 8.2
16 4.2 1.8 68.7 7.4 in
8.1 the simple water
17 5.1 1.2 55.3 - 19.1 absorption test. The effect
14.0
18 3.4 3.0 68.1 9.2 of carbonation on the pore
4.3
19 4.2 2.2 58.0 10:6 system o f the concrete e.g.
21.4
20 6.0 2.8 53.6 16.5 depends on the cement type
17.1
21 4.2 2.1 68.7 13,0 applied.
10.3 Carbonation
22 6.1 1.5 46.4 32.5 normally
16.9 reduces the
- = Not determined permeability of Portland
cement based concrete, but
80 the opposite effect can be observed for blast furnace slag
70
cement based concrete [3, 11, 12]. The chloride binding
E capacity of the concrete also significantly depends on the
E 60
cement type. High sulphate resisting Cement types, with a low
=
~3 50
C3A content, have a much lower chloride binding capacity [3].
40
These effects cannot be captured by a mere water absorption
E test by immersion. The non-capability o f permeability-related
~= 3 o
test methods to take account of the effect of cement type on
20 concrete durability is also illustrated in [4].:
10
The prediction capacity of the water absorption by
immersion with respect to the durability of the concrete is
certainly not better than the prediction capacity of the
4.5 5 5.5
compressive strength. Moreover, the applicability of concrete
Water absorption (%)
strength itself as an indicator for concrete durability is also
Fig. 5 - Relation between water absorption and water doubted in literature [13, 14]. This poo r correlation is also
permeability (depth). illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 showing the carbonation and
chloride migration as a fimction of 28 days compressive
60 ' - - 25
o" 50
g 4o 20
'~ _~ 0.2788(
Q
R = 0.2037
.o 0
10 - -
0
3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5
Water absorption (%) o
'E
0
Fig. 6 - Relation between water absorption and carbonation. "~ 5 t
t~
595
De Schutter, Audenaert
= 15
0
IR2=030 [2] Boel, V., Audenaert, K. and De Schutter, G., 'Pore structure
of self-compacting concrete', First North American
:=
m Conference on the Design and Use of Self-Consolidating
,m 10 Concrete, Evanston, 12-13 November 2002, 15-20.
E
[3] Kropp, J. and Hilsdorf, H.K. (eds.), 'Performance criteria for
"0
..-. concrete durability', in RILEM Report 12 (E&FN Spon,
o 5 London, 1995).
c-
O [4] Hilsdorf, H.K., 'Durability of concrete - a measurable
quantity?', IABSE Symposium 'Durability of structures',
40 50 60 70 80
Lisbon, 1989, 111-123.
[5] Wirquin, E., Hadjieva-Zaharieva, R. and Buyle-Bodin, F., 'Use
Compressive strength (N/mm =) of water absorption by concrete as a criterion of the durability of
Fig. 9 - Relation between compressive strength and chloride concrete - application to recycled aggregate concrete', Mater.
Struct. 33 (July 2000) 403-408.
migration.
[6] Balayssac, J.-P., Detriche, Ch.-H. and Grandet, J., 'Validity of
strength. The obtained correlation values are rather low, the water-absorption test for characterizing cover concrete',
Mater. Struct. 26 (May 1993) 226-230.
although somewhat higher than in the case of water absorption
[7] De Souza, S.J., Hooton, R.D. and Bickley, J.A., 'A field test
by immersion as independent wxiable. Although some general for evaluating high performance concrete cover quality',
trend might be noticed when comparing e.g. carbonation with Can. J. Civ. Eng. 25 (1998) 551-556.
compressive strength, this approach can be criticised [8] de Hainaut, K., 'Inventarisation of damage to concrete
fundamentally, as also illustrated in [3]. structures' (in Dutch), Master's thesis, Magnel Laboratory
The experimental results, obtained on 22 different concrete for Concrete Research, Ghent University, Belgium, 2001.
compositions, show that the water absorption by immersion is [9] Luping, T. and Nilsson, L.-O., 'Rapid determination of
not a representative parameter for the durability of the concrete. chloride diffusivity of concrete by applying an electric field',
A CI Materials Journal (1992) 49-53.
The water absorption by immersion gives an estimation of the
[10] Luping, T. and Nilsson, L.-O., 'Ionic migration and its relation
total (reachable) pore volume of the concrete, but gives no
to diffusion', in 'Ionic and Mass Transport in Cement Based
indication on the concrete permeability, which is more Materials', The American Ceramics Society, 2001, 81-96.
important with regard to durability. Absorption tests could be [ 11] De Schutter, G., 'Quantification of the influence of cracks in
used as quick test methods when the results give an idea of the concrete structures on carbonation and chloride penetration',
absorbed water in a certain time period [6]. However, when the Magazine of Concrete Research 51 (6) (Dec. 1999) 427-435.
absorption test only gives an idea of the total water content in [12] Maekawa, K. and Ishida, T., 'Service-life evaluation of
saturated conditions, after a longer time period, no indication is reinforced concrete under coupled forces and environmental
obtained for durability. The rate of water absorption is more actions', in 'Ionic and Mass Transport in Cement Based
important, not the final value, as shown in [7]. Materials', The American Ceramics Society, 2001, 219-238.
[13] Neville, A.M., 'Maintenance and durability of structures',
Concrete International (Nov. 1997) 52-56.
6. C O N C L U S I O N S [14] Lamond, J.F., 'Designing for durability', Concrete
International (Nov. 1997) 34-36.
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