influence of sulphate solution concentration on the performance of cementitious materials during external sulphate attack

R. El Hachem Ibrahim (1) , Emmanuel Rozière (1) , Frederic Grondin (1) , Ahmed Loukili (1)

1 GeM - Institut de Recherche en Génie Civil et Mécanique

Despite the various studies on concrete submitted to an external sulphate attack in aqueous environments, this aggressive factor threatening the durability of concrete is not completely understood. A study has been made in our laboratory in order to explain the effect of the sulphate solution concentration during external sulphate attack. Length and mass measurements are registered continuously; leached calcium and hydroxide ions are also calculated. In parallel, a scanning electron microscopy observation is realized. The results show the strong influence of the sodium sulphate concentration on the kinetics of degradation: higher is the concentration, faster is the attack. It should be noted that the degradation mechanism is not really affected by the sulphate concentration which leads us to reconsider the fact that the relative proportions of expansive products depend on the sulphate concentration.

Domaines: Mécanique [physics.med-ph]; Matériaux

R. El Hachem Ibrahim, Emmanuel Rozière, Frederic Grondin, Ahmed Loukili. influence of sulphate solution concentration on the performance of cementitious materials during external sulphate attack. Concrete in Aggressive Aqueous Environments - Performance, Testing and Modelling, Jun 2009, Toulouse, France. ⟨hal-01008333⟩